This major shift in the consumer choice has forced carmakers to field their version of expedient under 4-metre machines in the market.
Young buyers willing to frequently replace older models with newer ones are boosting bookings and sales.
While sales of compact cars, including models such as Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire declined, sales of utility vehicles, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga, increased 26.3 per cent to 19,177 units as compared to 15,178 in the year-ago month.
Maruti's compact segment comprising New WagonR, Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno, Dzire, and utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Ertiga, XL6, S-Cross and Vitara Brezza saw robust sales, while the mini segment comprising Alto, S-Presso and Old WagonR saw negative growth.
Sales of mini cars comprising Alto and WagonR were at 11,577 units as compared to 37,710 units in July last year, down 69.3 per cent.
Maruti is sticking to this strategy at a time when rival Hyundai is looking to make the most of the monopoly it will have in the compact diesel segment from April 1, 2020, when the BSVI emission norms kick in. The market leader's confidence stems from the rapid shift in favour of petrol in the PV segment. For newer models such as MG Hector and Seltos, nearly 75 per cent bookings are for petrol variants, Kia has 55 per cent from petrol variants. The change in customer preference from diesel variants to petrol has happened quickly over the past few years.
Ahead of the peak festive season, India's passenger vehicle makers are staring at a cumulative order backlog of nearly 500,000 units as chip shortage continues to cripple production. The crisis is forcing companies to change their production plans frequently and take a call on the variants they can manufacture based on the availability of semiconductors. The booking numbers are not a true reflection of demand, said manufacturers.
For players like Toyota Kirloskar and Ford, the contribution of UVs to overall sales is now well over 60%.
Leading carmakers Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai witnessed a double-digit drop in sales in October on account of the global semiconductor shortage impacting production. Kia India, Honda Cars and MG Motor also saw a fall in dispatches last month as compared with October 2020. However, companies like Tata Motors, Mahindra, Nissan and Skoda managed to post positive numbers last month despite the supply chain challenges.
What explains India's love affair with SUVs? They are not exactly "value for money" -- the watchword for brands across segments -- nor always practical. Is it for the badge value? Or the butch imagery associated with SUVs? Maybe both, says Alokananda Chakraborty.
Around 23 per cent of all units sold by the company in the domestic market currently are diesel cars.
While Toyota will acquire 4.94 per cent shares of Suzuki, worth $ 908 million, the latter will make a $ 454-million investment in the biggest automaker of Japan. Premium products from the Maruti stable such as the Baleno, Ciaz and Vitara Brezza will be sold under the Toyota brand with small changes.
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Passenger vehicle market leaders Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai on Saturday reported a decline in wholesales in December 2021, although homegrown majors Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra reported growth, amid semiconductor shortage continuing to impact production. Other manufacturers Nissan and Skoda also reported an increase in December 2021 sales although Honda Cars India witnessed a decline last month. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) reported a 4 per cent fall in wholesales to 153,149 units in December 2021 as against 160,226 units a year ago.
The compact segment where Sonet will be launched is crowded with the Maruti Vitara and Brezza, which top the sales' list, and a bevy of models from Mahindra & Mahindra apart from Hyundai's offering. But volumes in this are slightly higher than those in the mid-segment, making it attractive, says Surajeet Das Gupta.
Prices third Nexa car aggressively at Rs 4.59 lakh, to take on Hyundai's i10Grand and M&M'S KUV100.
Ford India and Renault too reported good sales growth in April
Major automobile manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors and Toyota Kirloskar on Tuesday reported decline in domestic passenger vehicle sales in May compared to the previous month as a spike in COVID-19 cases and lockdowns across various states hit production and dispatches. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), which shut production from May 1 to May 16 so as to divert oxygen from industrial use for medical purposes, reported domestic dispatches to dealers at 35,293 units last month, down 75 per cent from 142,454 units in April. The company said sales of its mini cars, comprising Alto and S-Presso, declined by 81 per cent to 4,760 units in May as against 25,041 units in April this year.
Major automakers, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kia, Toyota and Honda, on Thursday reported healthy growth in passenger vehicles sales in June, recovering from the disruptions induced by the second wave of COVID-19. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) posted total sales of 1,47,368 units in June, up from 46,555 units in May. Its domestic dispatches to dealers last month stood at 130,348 units, up from 35,293 units in May, as easing of COVID-related restrictions helped the auto major to dispatch more units to dealerships.
Trend researchers who come from design schools and have an art and sociology background are the latest foot soldiers in the struggle of auto companies to stay ahead in the competitive race.
Sales volume for compact sedan Dzire Tour came in at 2,068 units in June.
Auto majors, including Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai and Tata Motors, on Sunday reported high double-digit growth in their domestic passenger vehicle sales in July riding on stabilisation of macro-economic factors and better consumer sentiments. Similarly, Honda, Nissan, MG Motor and Skoda also reported healthy growth in their sales last month leveraging on improved market mood amid prevailing lower coronavirus infection rate, despite supply constraints of semi-conductors. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India's (MSI) domestic sales increased by 39 per cent to 1,41,238 units last month as against 1,01,307 units in July 2020, the company said in a statement.
Toyota's India unit will also source two cars manufactured by Maruti Suzuki, the Baleno and Brezza, including their hybrid variants, and in return Toyota will offer its Corolla sedan to Maruti.
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BS-VI emission norms and the COVID-19 lockdown impacted the dispatches.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday reported a 11.8 per cent increase in wholesales to 164,469 units in February. The company had sold 147,110 units in February last year, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement. Domestic sales increased 11.8 per cent to 1,52,983 units last month, as against 1,36,849 units in February 2020, it added.
WR-V has been launched at a starting price of Rs 775,000 and is available in two trims: S and VX.
The increase in PV sales in September was driven by festive season purchases, with SUV models like Maruti Suzuki's Brezza, Hyundai Creta, Mahindra Scorpio, Ford Ecosport and Honda W-RV witnessing good traction
The carmaker has managed to significantly improve its product mix in the past two-three years by successfully launching sedans, utility vehicles and premium hatchbacks.
Its sales grew 21% to 165,346 units
Top 10 vehicles, value-wise, is dominated by the two players in the market, Maruti Suzuki & Hyundai
The passenger car segment, in comparison, remained sluggish and grew a modest 1.9 per cent to 162,566 units in April
Leading automakers Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors on Thursday reported robust sales in March as a shift towards personal mobility and pent up demand continued to help companies push dispatches to their respective retail partners. Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Honda Cars and Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) also reported strong sales last month as compared to the year-ago period, when dispatches were adversely impacted due to the impending transition to BSVI from April 2020 and the nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India said its domestic sales stood at 1,49,518 units last month. The auto major had reported sales of 76,976 units in March 2020.
Morgan Stanley Sales & Trading, US, believes the stock is better value for money than others and has a upside as high as 73 per cent. A slowdown in the economy has hit demand and led to a fall in overall consumption in an auto market which till recently was one of the fastest growing in the world.
The list clearly shows the dominance of Maruti and Hyundai in the Indian passenger vehicle market.
Maruti's Alto retained the top position in June with 14,856 units, as against 15,750 units in June last year.
The entire range of Hyundai's diesel cars - from compact ones to SUV models, including the soon-to-be-launched Aura - will be eco-friendly.
HMIL sells a range of vehicles starting from entry-level small car Eon to premium SUV Santa Fe, which are priced between Rs 325,000 and Rs 31.75 lakh
While Hyundai Motor India reported a marginal growth, Toyota Kirloskar Motor witnessed a dip in sales last month.
M&M also saw its domestic passenger vehicle sales grow by 1 per cent, while Toyota Kirloskar Motor witnessed a decline in its PV sales.
