Highlights:
SUV/Crossover body-styled products now command 52% of the Indian passenger vehicle market in H1 2024
The hatchback segment is now reduced to mere 26% due to a shift in demand towards SUV-styled products
The MUV segment reached 13% market share with 27% growth in H1 2024, with sedans losing ground further
Body style market share
SUV/Crossover body-styled products grew by 23% and now command a 52% share of the Indian market
A shift in consumer preference led to a de-growth of hatchbacks by 17%, leading to a mere 26% market share in H1 2024
Higher sales of Toyota Innova Hycross and Maruti Ertiga moved entire MUV segment share up by 2% in H1 2024
CNG sub-4m sedan sales have contained a steep fall in the overall sedan segment in 2024
H1-2024 : Large segments with a high growth rate
Largest segment : ~4m Crossover (monocoque chassis)
~4m monocoque chassis-based Crossover is now the biggest segment in India. This segment further grew by 14% in 2024 to reach a volume level of 4,19,277 units.
Maruti is a dominant player right now with three products: Brezza, Fronx, and Taisor (with a Toyota badge), and 41% of the of the segment share. The Tata Nexon Facelift-2 is the second-best-selling product in the segment, followed by the Hyundai Venue facelift and the recently launched Kia Sonet Facelift. Mahindra is trying to make a comeback in this segment with the facelifted and rebranded XUV 300 (3XO), which now has segment-first ADAS-L2 and a dual glass-pane panoramic sunroof.
Clearly, this segment has two price spectrums. The lower spectrum is composed of products like Maruti Fronx, Toyota Taisor, Nissan Magnite, and Renault Kiger, which do not offer sunroof as of now.
Second largest segment : ~4.3m Mid-size Crossover (monocoque chassis)
~4.3m monocoque chassis-based Crossover is the second largest segment in India. This segment further grew by 17% in 2024 to reach a volume level of 2,71,052 units.
This segment has been dominated by the Hyundai Creta ever since 2015. Every other brand tried to emulate Creta’s success template; however, nobody was ever able to deliver sustainable volume and profitability, because Hyundai kept on raising the bar with every iteration of Creta, whether it was a facelift or a generation change. Maruti, along with Toyota’s volume, has reached closer to Creta’s segment share but has to offer huge discounts in 2024 to convert high wholesale into retail. Rest, everyone else is struggling under the heat of the mighty Creta ‘brand’ that it has become over a period of time, due to its all-rounded attributes!
Emerging segment – ~3.8m Small Crossover
The entry of Tata Punch in 2021 has created this sub-segment of crossover under the sub-4m category. The addition of a CNG (mid-2023) and an electric (early 2024) drivetrain has made Punch the best-selling car of 2024. This nascent segment grew much faster in 2024 due to the entry of the Hyundai Exter.