Small Car Segment War Intensify With Datsun redi-GO 1.0L

The highly competitive small car segment is likely to get more competitive as Nissan’s sub-brand Datsun India on Wednesday (26 July) launched the upgraded version of its small car redi-GO. The new hatchback named as Datsun redi-GO 1.0L is equipped with the iSAT engine, which gives the car more power.

Redi-Go priced at Rs 3, 57,333 will compete with existing established players such as Maruti Suzuki Alto, Renault Kwid, Hyundai Eon and Tata Tiago.

Jerome Saigot, vice president, Datsun India said, “The car is loaded with many best in the class features and will be successful in attracting young buyers.”

Datsun entered the Indian market with its GO model in 2014 and since then has sold more than 90,000 units. Without stating sales expectation from the new car, Datsun India (with Nissan) said that it aims to capture five per cent of the market share by 2020.

If Datsun along with Nissan aims to have 5 per cent market share in the next 3-4 years, a lot will depend on Datsun brand as small cars still dominates India’s PV market and for a company to mark a name, a successful small car in its kitty has become a must.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) has a couple of successful hatchbacks in its line-up and helps it to have a lion’s share of over 70 per cent in the category. Its Alto remains the top selling car for 14th straight year. In the first 5 months of 2017, MSIL sold more than 1 Lakh units of Alto. MSIL’s other small four-wheelers, Wagon R and Celerio, are regular names in the monthly best sellers list.

India’s number two car player Hyundai Motor’s small car i10 and Eon is also a popular choice for small car buyers. Though priced a bit higher than competition between Rs 4.55 - 7.3 lakh, the Grand i10 finds more than 10,000 buyers every month.

Now that the small cars from Maruti Suzuki’s and Hyundai’s stable have been there for quite some years, other players like Tata, Renault and Nissan are eying the segment to increase their market share.

Home-grown auto major Tata Motors with its small car Tiago and French carmaker Renault with Kwid have emerged as a popular choice among buyers, mainly because of the fresh look and interior they offer.

Launched in the May 2015, Renault Kwid recently crossed the 1.75 lakh sales milestone in India. Tata Tiago which was launched almost a year later in April 2016, has crossed the 100,000 bookings milestone in the domestic market. The two cars are competing neck and neck with each other. The new launch redi-GO will further make the segment more competitive.

In the years to come, the segment is likely to become more competitive as new players which are set to enter the domestic market in the next 2-3 years will try to capture the market by offering additional features in their small cars. It is also being reported that Maruti Suzuki may come up with another small car with SUV-ish looks to take over Kwid.