What is even more worrying is that, in comparison to April last year, sales in the mid-size segment fell by nearly 35 per cent. A clear indication that the market is tightening up and new entrants could have a hard time getting a foothold.

Tentative sales figures for April indicate that the Esteem reported sales of 1,130 units, followed by the Cielo with 775 and the City with 667 units. Opel Astra is way behind with sales totalling barely 280 cars, while it has been worse for the Ford Escort, which is believed to have sold just 185 units.

The Escort's showing has been especially puzzling as sales in March were around420 cars, ahead of the Astra with 265 vehicles. Even then, it was apparent that the City was becoming a force to reckon with as sales for the month hovered around the 850-mark.

In March, Esteem continued to lead with sales totalling 1,722 cars, while the Cielo reported around 1,100 units. It is quite apparent that the huge price cut announced by Daewoo Motors India helped considerably in boosting Cielo's sales. The million dollar question is, how long will this last?Nobody is really willing to hazard a guess, but going by market feedback during the last three months it can be safely presumed that Cielo will continue to do well for a while though sales would progressively decline. This is because the City will have improved its market share, though it is expected that the Esteem will continue to occupy the top slot right through 1998-99.

The two American joint ventures, General Motors India (GMI) and Mahindra Ford, have been facing rough weather for a while and given the present state of the mid-sizesegment, their fortunes are unlikely to change for a while. GMI officials at a recent press conference had said that they had scaled down their production target to around 8,000 cars for calendar 1998 but even this seems a tall order going by the trend in sales.

Mahindra Ford's latest offering, the 1.6-litre Ford Escort, has received rave reviews and experts believe that it has the potential to do well. Consumer preference has, however, been largely influenced by price and this is where the Astra and Escort could have lost out. The situation has only got more complex with Daewoo Motors slashing the price of Cielo. What is then the secret of City's success? One, it is reasonably priced with its 1.3-litre version, a good Rs 1 lakh cheaper than the Ford Escort and Astra.

Two, as dealers reiterate, the Honda brand name is so strong that it becomes prestigious for a customer to associate himself with it. Three, the HEAD (Honda exclusive authorised dealer) concept is gaining acceptance among buyers who find iteasy to have all their needs under one roof.

The only other entrant in the mid-size is the Mitsubishi Lancer which makes its debut in August. The car's diesel version is tipped to be a winner and the fact that production in 1998-99 will be confined to 5,000 units reflects a practical approach by its manufacturer, Hindustan Motors.