About 16 passenger vehicle models crossed the 100,000-unit sales mark each in calendar year 2023. More than half of them were SUVs.
Maruti Brezza and Grand Vitara, Tata Nexon and Punch, Hyundai Creta and Venue, Kia Seltos, Mahindra Scorpio and Bolero/Neo figured among SUV models that hit a new sales milestone in 2023. The trend is likely to continue with several of the latest SUV models proving to be instant hits, according to Jato Dynamics data.
The increased focus on SUVs reflects a major shift in the Indian passenger car market in the last five years. Demand for hatchbacks and sedans have fallen sharply, with more than half of new car buyers preferring SUVs. Multipurpose vehicles, the workhorses of Indian families, have maintained a steady 12% share. This significant change in consumer preference is particularly prevalent in entry-level SUVs where sales breached the one-million-unit market in CY2023.
Shashank Srivastava, senior executive director at Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest carmaker, strengthened its SUV portfolio with the Fronx and Jimny models last year. “We hope to increase the SUV market share to around 25% this year from last year’s level of 20%. In fact, the Suzuki Fronx, the entry-level SUV launched last year, crossed the 100,000 sales mark, in less than 10 months.”
Hyundai Motor India expects SUVs to comprise two-thirds of sales in 2024 thanks to a refreshed product portfolio. “We expect the share of SUVs in our total sales will be higher,” said Tarun Garg, CEO, Hyundai Motor India, told ET at the recent launch of its Creta SUV facelift.
The share of SUVs in domestic passenger vehicle sales has been on the rise, growing to 49% in 2023. This has led carmakers like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra to launch more SUVs to attract new buyers.