-Škoda Auto Volkswagen India last week started production of the Kylaq, Škoda’s third locally developed model following the Kushaq and Slavia, at the Pune manufacturing plant. The first deliveries to local customers is scheduled for January 2025.
-Next year, Mahindra will start deliveries of BE 6 and XEV 9e electric SUVs – priced Rs 20-30 lakh on-road – and Tata Motors is expected to drive in Sierra EV, Safari EV, and Avinya luxury EV whose price might touch Rs 40 lakh.
-Apart from regulars Maruti and Hyundai, Tata Motors’ Punch and Nexon were among the Top 5 brands sold in November and ranked third and fourth.
Back in 2011, when Maruti Suzuki launched the luxury car Kizashi, it bombed. It was the carmaker’s second failure, after the Grand Vitara luxury SUV in 2007. “Both were overpriced, but both were also perceived to be ‘Indian’ despite their Japanese roots,” a former company employee told FE. “Affluent Indians those days splurged on Honda Accord and Civic, Toyota Camry, Volkswagen Jetta and Passat, but not on an ‘Indian’ Maruti.” This year, Mahindra has launched the Thar Roxx, “and while its prices start at Rs 13 lakh, it’s the top-end AX models priced Rs 20-25 lakh on-road that are getting maximum interest,” a Delhi-based dealer told FE.
So has the ‘Indian’ car brand finally come of age?
Business and brand-strategy expert Harish Bijoor says the Indian buyer of premium cars is well-travelled and connected to the rest of the world, and if she finds the car aspirational, she will spend irrespective of the brand. “When it comes to EVs, the buyer is also making a green statement, and there are a lot of Indians who will fork out Rs 20-40 lakh on an Indian car if the offering is robust, and comes from a reliable brand name,” he says.
An automotive analyst told FE that Indians love features on the dashboard, such as a large colourful touchscreen, music system, buttons on the steering wheel, wireless charging, and even the sunroof, and value these over traditional car USPs such as solid ride and handling. “Tata and Mahindra have been frontrunners in introducing such features, and if today Tata Punch is India’s largest-selling car, it is because of these blingy features at a competitive price,” he says. “Its ride and handling may not be in the same league as that of a German SUV, but that German SUV comes at double the price.”
Veejay Nakra, president, automotive sector, Mahindra, and joint MD, Mahindra Electric Automobile, told FE that 60-70% sales come from top-end variants of its SUVs. “In the XUV700, priced Rs 13.99-25.64 lakh, more than 70% demand is for top-end variants,” he adds.
An area where Indians have earned goodwill is safety. The buyer wants safe cars, and most new cars made by Tata and Mahindra have received the top 5-star safety rating by global crash testing agencies, say analysts.
Yet there are outliers. For example, Toyota’s Innova Hycross and Maruti Suzuki Invicto are same cars under the hood – developed as part of Toyota-Suzuki global alliance – but while Toyota has sold more than 55,000 units of the Hycross during January-November 2024, Maruti Suzuki has managed just 3,191 units (data from industry body SIAM).
That said, analysts agree the ‘Indian versus foreign’ differentiation is disappearing fast. “Indians are smart buyers – they will lap whatever they feel is the best for them,” says an auto retailer.