The Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) models are probably the flavour of the season for not just Indian customers but globally too. In fact, a total of 37 new SUVs have been launched in the country (18 in 2021 and 19 in 2022) across automakers, thus showing the growing demand for the body style.
According to Ravi Bhatia, President, JATO Dynamics, “The SUV segment grew by 65% in 2021 on a low-year ago base (due to Covid) and has grown by 36% in 2022. Presently there are 98 SUV models sold in the market.”
He further stated that the trend is uniform across various price points and even brands that have been historically associated with sports cars and luxury sedans are now selling more SUVs.
In fact, of the 24 OEMs selling SUVs in India, only nine of them saw a decline in their sales in the calendar year 2022 (upto November). The country saw 1.4 million SUVs sold in the first 11 months of the year, compared to 1.18 million SUVs sold last year, a growth of 25 percent.
| SUV SALES IN INDIA | ||||
| Company | 2022 | 2021 | Change (in %) | Market share |
| Audi | 1,293 | 1,142 | 13% | 0.09% |
| BMW | 4,113 | 3,986 | 3% | 0.28% |
| Citroen | 361 | 624 | -42% | 0.02% |
| Force Motors | 820 | 888 | -8% | 0.06% |
| Ford | 0 | 27,106 | -100% | 0.00% |
| Honda Cars India | 5,633 | 8,057 | -30% | 0.38% |
| Hyundai Motor India | 273,753 | 252,586 | 8% | 18.54% |
| Isuzu India | 44 | 53 | -17% | 0.00% |
| Jaguar | 207 | 175 | 18% | 0.01% |
| Jeep India | 12,548 | 11,652 | 8% | 0.85% |
| Kia India | 176,349 | 177,476 | -1% | 11.94% |
| Land Rover | 1,442 | 1,954 | -26% | 0.10% |
| Mahindra & Mahindra | 302,616 | 199,608 | 52% | 20.49% |
| Maruti Suzuki India | 147,605 | 136,351 | 8% | 9.99% |
| Mercedes-Benz India | 7,554 | 5,820 | 30% | 0.51% |
| MG Motor India | 44,164 | 40,273 | 10% | 2.99% |
| Nissan India | 32,545 | 35,946 | -9% | 2.20% |
| Renault India | 27,941 | 31,456 | -11% | 1.89% |
| Skoda India | 25,582 | 14,094 | 82% | 1.73% |
| Tata Motors | 326,354 | 177,544 | 84% | 22.10% |
| Toyota Kirloskar Motor | 62,373 | 46,235 | 35% | 4.22% |
| Volkswagen India | 22,203 | 10,866 | 104% | 1.50% |
| Volvo Indai | 1,398 | 1,201 | 16% | 0.09% |
| Total | 1,476,898 | 1,185,093 | 25% | 100.00% |
| *2022 data from January to November |
Tata, Mahindra, Volkswagen, Skoda big winners
Looking at the first sales performance for the first 11 months, Volkswagen India (+104% YoY), Tata Motors (+84% YoY), Skoda India (+82% YoY) and Mahindra (+52% YoY) clocked the highest growth. On the other hand, Citroen, Force Motors, Ford, Honda Cars India, Kia India, Land Rover India, Nissan India and Renault India were in the red.
With 22 percent market share, the biggest winner amongst them all was Tata Motors, thanks to market acceptance for its new product range and refreshes. Mahindra with 20 percent market share was close behind bringing the combined share of the two Indian players to 42.59 percent.
Hyundai India and Kia India combined had a market share of 30 percent.
What is driving the appeal for SUVs?
“The higher driving position gives a sense of more safety when driving. The ground clearance is higher, and it is more comfortable to get in and get out. Additionally, these vehicles feature aggressive designs and are positioned as technologically more capable in all driving conditions. Lastly, the SUVs moved from being boxy to becoming more modern and affordable,” added Bhatia.
While there will be customers looking at non-SUV products, the introduction of new SUV models by OEMs in the Indian market is further expected to eat into sales for the hatchback and sedan segment.
Future outlook
When asked about the outlook for the passenger vehicle segment. Bhati said, “The pent up demand and easing of supply chain constraints consumers remain willing to purchase vehicles despite waiting periods. Covid-19 has continued to diminish apart from the recent alarm around rise in Chinese situation. The long-term forecast however will be primarily driven by economic growth , job growth and consumer sentiment.”
He expects that the passenger vehicle industry will grow from 3.7 million units in 2022 to over 4 million plus in 2025.
