SUVs are selling like hot cakes in the Indian market. A total of 1,14,097 units of the SUVs were sold in April 2021. India’s largest passenger vehicle manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki registered sales of 24,578 units (excluding the Eeco and Ertiga MPVs) and had 21.54% market share. Interestingly, the sales gap between Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai narrowed down to 753 units. The South Korean carmaker managed to sell 23,825 units of the SUVs including Creta, Venue and Tucson.
Kia India stood at number fourth with total SUV sales of 1611 units and 14.12% market share. Hyundai and Kia’s combined SUV sales was 39,936 units and together they hold around 35% market share, beating Maruti Suzuki with a significant margin. Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors grabbed the third and fifth spots with total SUV sales of 18020 units (15.79% market share) and 10164 units (8.91% market share) respectively.
Maruti Suzuki is reported to expand its SUV portfolio in coming years. The Indo-Japanese carmaker will introduce bigger SUVs to challenge Hyundai, Kia and Mahindra. The plan outlines the 5-door Jiimny, a Baleno-based crossover, a mid-size SUV (to be developed with Toyota) and a premium 7-seater SUV. Besides this, the company will foray into the premium 7-seater MPV space with Toyota. Maruti Suzuki’s new upcoming bigger SUVs and MPV are likely to be retailed via the Nexa dealerships.
Talking about Hyundai and Kia, the South Korean carmaker will soon enter into the compact MPV segment to challenge dominance of the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. Hyundai is also working on a mini SUV (AX1) that will be positioned against the upcoming Tata HBX. Meanwhile, the carmaker is getting ready to launch the Hyundai Alcazar 6/7-seater SUV in the third week of June 2021. It will lock horns against the Tata Safari, MG Hector Plus and the upcoming Mahindra XUV700.
