Friday, January 06, 2023
By CarKhabri Team

Indian Buyers Shifting From Hatchbacks To Utility Vehicles
The year 2022 not only witnessed the launch of some incredible cars in the Indian car market but also witnessed a dynamic shift in the buying behaviour of buyers. It was after many decades, utility vehicles broke the dominance of small cars. Buyers now prefer utility vehicles rather than small cars. According to data revealed by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the production of utility vehicles (including compact and sub-compact SUVs) was equivalent to passenger cars in 2022.

The impact of this shift in the buying pattern of car buyers can be seen in the production strategy of the leading car manufacturing company Maruti Suzuki. Going through the increasing demand for utility vehicles, the Indo-Japanese carmaker moved towards the production of big cars and launched the compact SUV Grand Vitara in the Indian car market. However, at the same time, the company also admits the fact that small passenger cars will be its strength and it will not stop its production.
It would be interesting to know that the sales of utility vehicles have helped in increasing the revenue of all the car markers. Where the sales of MSIL grew to 22.3 per cent because of UVs, the sales of Mahindra & Mahindra have also grown to 62.2 per cent. There is a huge demand for Mahindra’s SUVs like Thar, XUV700, Scorpio, Scorpio-N, and Bolero, instead of Marazzo, Verito or KUV100. New entrants like Kia Motors and MG Motors have played a major role in affecting the buying preference of potential buyers with their products.
The South-Korean car maker Kia started its journey in India three years back with the compact SUV Seltos, which was followed by another compact SUV Sonet. Unfortunately, its premium MPV Carnival failed to impress the buyers but Carens succeeded in receiving an encouraging response. On the other side, the US car maker MG Motors entered the Indian car market with Hector compact SUV and received an impressive response from buyers.
Speaking about the domestic car maker Tata Motors, the compact SUV Nexon has the game changer for the company. The same success is enjoyed by Harrier and Safari. Even the compact SUV Punch is also impressing buyers in India.
As far as the Japanese carmaker Toyota Motors is concerned, it continues to rule the SUV segment with Fortuner SUV. As far as the Innova brand is concerned it is undoubtedly the King, with the recently launched Innova Hycross also receiving an encouraging response from buyers.
The Korean car maker Hyundai Motors also has marked its strong presence in the SUV segment with the compact SUV Creta doing well in the market. The company also updated the compact SUV Venue last year. The Korean maker also launched the refreshed Tucson SUV developed on Advanced Drive Assistance System (ADAS) platform.
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