Sedans may not command the market shares they enjoyed a decade ago but they’re not altogether unpopular. In fact, they added 60 basis points to their share in 2025 taking it to 8.6% of the total passenger vehicle space. Buyers bought not just the popular Dzire but also the Honda Amaze. Indeed, the Hyundai Verna, Honda City, Skoda Slavia and the Volkswagen Virtus are all doing reasonably well.
In fact car sales have been brisk in January rising nearly 18% year-on-year to 2.7 million units, signalling healthy demand across categories.
Dzire tops sedans with 19,629 Jan sales
The Maruti Suzuki Dzire has been a standout performer, clocking 19,629 units in January, up 28% year-on-year. It ranked second in passenger vehicle sales for the month and was the only sedan to feature in the top 10 list. Competitive pricing, fuel efficiency and Maruti’s extensive service network continue to work in its favour even as compact SUVs crowd the sub- Rs 10 lakh price band. The Honda Amaze, though absent from the top rankings, has maintained steady monthly volumes averaging around 2,800 units.
The midsize sedan space, at the higher end, has undoubtedly seen better days. With the Ciaz exiting production, only four models remain, the Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Volkswagen Virtus and Skoda Slavia. The Virtus and Slavia typically register monthly sales in the 1,200–1,800 unit range, while the Verna averages about 700 units. The City averaged 600 units a month over the past year. According to V G Ramakrishnan, managing director at Avanteum Advisors, consumer upgrade patterns have changed. Buyers now tend to move directly from hatchbacks to compact SUVs, bypassing the traditional hatch-to-sedan progression. Sedans, he notes, offer superior passenger comfort compared with similarly priced SUVs, but have narrower appeal among younger buyers drawn to the commanding stance of high-riders.
Sedans slumped amid aging models; SUVs gained with new nameplates
The slump in sedan sales in earlier years has been attributed to very few new launches. The gradual discontinuation of older models weakened buyer confidence while SUVs benefited from frequent refreshes, new nameplates and aggressive marketing spends.
This year, all four midsize sedans are slated for facelifts starting with the Verna and, followed by updated versions of the City, Virtus and Slavia. While these updates may not dramatically shift volumes, they could bring in stability and nudge market share upward.
Som Kapoor, Partner, EY India, believes that the sedan body style is far from obsolete. “The sedan body style has endured for decades and will remain relevant, albeit at lower volumes. As SUV fatigue gradually sets in, consumer preferences will rebalance, paving the way for a measured sedan comeback,” he says.
