With several SUVs being launched in India this year, or a few more that will in the next few weeks, the segment in India is increasingly becoming the backbone of the auto industry. The rush to buy SUVs has intensified rivalry and flooded the market with varied options to choose from. Yet, only a few of them have been hit as far as sales are concerned. In August, it was Maruti Suzuki’s turn to take the SUV crown, thanks to its latest generation Brezza. It took the lead by beating Tata’s SUV last month. Three of Mahindra’s SUVs, despite long waiting periods, also make it to the list.
Maruti launched the new Brezza earlier this year at a time when Tata Nexon began to establish its lead in the SUV segment. However, within a month after its launch, Maruti Suzuki sold 15,193 units of the new Brezza last month, edging out Nexon by a few units to take the top position. In august last year, Maruti could sell only 12,906 units of Brezza.
At number two, Tata Nexon remains one of the most preferred models among the sub-compact SUVs in India. Tata Motors sold 15,085 units of Nexon last month, up from 14,214 units in July and even higher than 10,006 units sold in August last year.
Hyundai’s compact SUV Creta remains the best-selling and one of the most consistent performers for the Korean carmaker in India. Hyundai sold 12,577 Cretas last month, marginally down from 12,625 units in July. In August last year, Hyundai had sold 12,587 units of Creta.
Punch is Tata Motors’ second highest-selling car after Nexon. With 12,006 units sold last month, which is an improvement from around 11,000 units delivered in the previous month, Tata has made its mark as a popular small SUV among Indian customers.
Hyundai launched the new generation around the same time Maruti launched the Brezza this year. Despite being more affordable offering more options in terms of powertrain, Venue has not had as much success as the new Brezza so far. Hyundai sold 11,240 units of the SUV last month.
remains the best-selling model from the Korean carmaker and contributes a sizeable chunk of its overall sales in India. The SUV, which recently completed three years in India, has already hit three lakh sales milestone. In August, Kia sold 8,652 units of Seltos, up from 8,619 units it sold during the same period last year.
Despite Mahindra’s focus on new design language for its SUVs with more features, Bolero remains its best-selling model across India thanks to its popularity in rural and hilly regions. It is considered as a practical, versatile people’s mover with no frills. In August, Mahindra sold 8,246 units, more than double of 3,218 units sold a year ago.
When Kia launched the Sonet sub-compact SUV, it had aimed to disrupt the segment multiple choices of variants. But eventually, has failed to emulate the success of Seltos in the compact segment. With 7,838 units sold last month, Sonet is placed at number eight on the list, and fourth among sub-compact SUVs.
Mahindra’s second best-seller is another veteran that recently got a new version in . However, Mahindra’s decision to continue selling the old generation model as Classic may pay reach dividends soon. An overall sales of 7,056 units last month shows how Scorpio has not lost much of its charm. In fact its sales has grown by more than double from 2,606 units in August last year.
In Mahindra’s own words, the waiting period for some of its cars are almost long enough to be embarrassing for the carmaker. The , with waiting period running into nearly a couple of years, continues to hold on to its bookings. It is still the best-selling three-row SUV in the country with 6,010 units sold last month. It rivals the likes of Tata , Hyundai Alcazar and MG Plus among others.
