With 2014 nearing its end, we take stock of the year and continue to bring both, the best and the worst, of the automotive world this year. We had done a piece about the top-selling cars of the year, which lead us to contemplate about the cars that couldn't lure many buyers this year. Before we get on with that, you ought to know that the cars needed to fulfill the following criteria in order to figure on the list:
a. Must have been on sale throughout the year
b. Must not belong to any luxury carmaker (Audi, BMW, Mercedes etc), since their contribution in the overall market share is quite low
One last thing, we put together the list based only on the sales of the first 11 months (January 2014 - November 2014) since carmakers are yet to share their December, 2014 figures.
The 10 worst-selling cars of 2014:
1. Nissan Teana - 15 units
2. Toyota Landcruiser - 40 units
3. Toyota Prado - 51 units
4. Chevrolet Captiva - 63 units
5. Hyundai Sonata - 97 units
6. Skoda Yeti - 123 units
7. Renault Koleos - 148 units
8. Ford Endeavour - 222 units
9. Renault Fluence - 306 units
10. Nissan Evalia - 484 units
Key Observations:
- The listed cars failed to find buyers in India despite being one of the most capable products of its respective brand. Their high cost of purchase and maintenance might have some role to play in the low sales numbers.
- While the below-Rs 15 lakh SUV segment has seen a rise in India, the premium SUV segment is still struggling to find any takers. The only SUV that costs over Rs 20 lakh and is also doing good is the Toyota Fortuner.
- Out of the 10 worst-selling cars of the year, 6 are sports utility vehicles (SUVs).
- The only mass segment car on the list is the Nissan Evalia, which, despite being quite a spacious and fuel-efficient MPV, couldn't draw the attention of even fleet owners.
- Talking about manufacturers, Toyota, Nissan and Renault have two products each in the list of the 10 worst-selling cars of 2014. Toyota - Landcruiser and Prado; Renault - Koleos and Fluence; and Nissan - Teana and Evalia.
- Skoda Yeti has never been a volume generator for the Czech carmaker in India. The car was discontinued for a few months before being brought back in 2014. Despite receiving some significant updates, the car continued to be the worst-seller for Skoda India. The old Yeti was considered a tad bit expensive, which kept it from converting sales numbers. Despite that, Skoda re-launched it with an even higher price tag in 2014.
- Interestingly, the country's second largest carmaker, Hyundai India, too has a car in the list of 10 worst-sellers of the year. The sales for Sonata, which raked in fairly decent numbers in the past, dropped to an all-time low of 97 units in 2014. That said, the company is planning to launch the new-generation Sonata by the end of 2015 or early 2016.
