Maruti Suzuki sold 19,190 units of the Brezza in August, ahead of Hyundai’s flagship SUV, Creta which sold around 16,760 units.
While Creta slipped to the third spot in the best-selling list last month, Tata Motors’ popular model Punch fell to the fifth position with sales of about 15,640 units.
Interestingly, of the top five vehicles sold in the local market last month, four were utility vehicles. In a market where small cars once ruled the roads, there was only one volume drawer from the hatchback segment-Maruti Suzuki’s WagonR with sales of 16,450 units.
Maruti Suzuki also took the second spot last month with MPV Ertiga, which sold 18,580 units.
Overall, as many as six models-Brezza, Ertiga, WagonR, Swift, Baleno, Fronx-in the best-selling list belonged to Maruti Suzuki in August. Tata Motors had two vehicles, while Mahindra & Mahindra and Hyundai Motor India had one SUV each.SUVs continued to be the most popular vehicle of choice, comprising six of the top-selling vehicles in the country last month. As per industry estimates, SUVs made up as much as 55% of all cars sold in the local market in FY24, up from about 50.4% at the start of this fiscal year, and 43% in FY23.Three hatchbacks from Maruti Suzuki-WagonR, Swift and Baleno-featured in the bestselling list in August. Hatchbacks accounted for about 30% of all cars sold last month, with the remaining volumes coming in from sedans and MPVs. Maruti Suzuki’s Ertiga was the sole representative from the category in the best seller list, with its CNG variants especially showing strong traction among customers.
India’s car sales in FY24 grew by nearly 9% year-on-year to a record 4.23 million units, helped by improved supplies and sustained demand, cementing the country’s position as the world’s third-largest market for passenger vehicles.
But not all categories fared well-the share of hatchbacks in total sales declined to 28% last fiscal from about 34% in FY23, while that of sedans slid by more than 100 basis points to 9%. This is being reflected in the mix of models making it to the top 10 list the past few months.
Sales have moderated, on a high base, in the first five months of the current fiscal year.
Automakers expect the industry to end the fiscal with low single-digit growth.