Festive cheer: Which launch will drive the auto sector?

The auto sector is in focus as the festive season begins. We have seen a whole host of new launches in the last couple of weeks, fourteen new launches in the last month or two.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Bertrand D'souza, Overdrive says there will be some amount of pick-up in the auto sector during the festive season.

Mahindra Ssangyong's Rexton, he says, is a fairly large SUV. "The pricing is roughly about Rs 17-18-19 lakh. It is a very competitive price considering it competes against Fortuner," he adds.

He further says the other big ticket item for this festive season is the Tata Safari Strome. "It is priced attractively at around Rs 9.5 lakh. It is a nice SUV," he adds.

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Below is the edited transcript of his interview with CNBC-TV18's Sonia Shenoy.

Q: Which is the most exciting product that is being launched this time around?

A: We have seen two latest products recently. One is Mahindra Ssangyong's Rexton. It is a fairly large SUV. The pricing is roughly about Rs 17-18-19 lakh. It is a very competitive price considering it competes against Fortuner.

The other big ticket item for this festive season is the Tata Safari Strome. It is priced attractively at around Rs 9.5 lakh. It is a nice SUV. It has got this cult iconic status in India, very well established reputation. Tata is building on that branding again. So, these are the two big ticket items for this season.

Q: Do you see either of this becoming a game changer for their company and turning out to be best sellers, which could pump up their growth?

A: Yes, I think Mahindra especially has that because it is all new segment that they are entering in. It is a very well established segment. People are looking for products in that segment. Ssangyong is not an established brand in India. People are not aware of what Ssangyong is. But it is a Mahindra product at the end of the day. A lot of people are going to go in for that.

I also think there is a lot of movement in several new segments that have come up, the Ertiga and the Quanto. Those are two other products that are doing fantastic numbers. The Ertiga has done 45,000 units right now. That is about 15,000 over the last three-four months.

The Quanto has nearly registered 6,000 bookings in just its first month, it is a phenomenal number for Mahindra as well. So, these are the new segments. That is opening up new market for them.

Q: What is the pulse check of the entire industry? Car sales as we know are at 11-year low. Do you expect to see any pick-up this festive season?

A: There will be some amount of pick-up. A lot of excitement has been created around these new products, especially Rexton Mahindra, Tata Safari Strome and Quanto. These plans were already put in place two years ago. So, manufacturers had to execute them. They could not hold on to these products for too long. Thus, festive season is the best time to come out with this and get in buyers.

But is it going to change the dynamics of the market significantly? I don't think. But there will still be some buoyant mood in the industry because there are so many products out.