Never before did the Indian consumer have so many options as far as SUVs were concerned. A year before that, in 2007, 3.5 Lakh SUVs were sold in India. That was indeed astounding and the SUV market has only grown since then.
The Indian roads have welcomed not just entry-level utility vehicles like the Mahindra Bolero and Tata Sumo Grande but also classy SUVs like the VW Tiguan and BMW X5. As the Indian economy takes a turn for the better, the lifestyle is also changing and traveling and weekend getaways have become common. What better vehicle can one have than an SUV for such family trips?
The city crowd that had been wanting something different than the usual sedans has been very happy since the coming in of the Honda CR-V. With its chic looks and cozy interiors the big monstrous car has attracted almost every Indian. In India, the SUV is available with two engines, a 2.0-litre i-VTEC that delivers 141 bhp and a 2.4-litre i-VTEC that stirs up 161 bhp. Then we also have other SUV cars in India like the Nissan X-Trail and Mitsubishi Pajero. But these haven’t been strong contenders for the Honda CR-V. The Chevrolet Captiva, though, looks full of promises for the SUV fanatics in India.
When it comes to SUV cars, there cannot be anything like Mahindra and Tata. The two auto makers are leaders in the segment with an entire array of SUVs just right for the Indian crowd and the humpy bumpy roads in India. Last month when Ford USA witnessed record 60% less what is usually does Toyota SUV sales declined by 38% . But OEMs in India have different ballgame to play to boost their sales. Instead of pushing their smaller car segment Indian players put their weight on pushing sales of premium SUV cars with price range of above 13 Lakhs. The SUV manufacturers came up newer model each better than the previous one, marketed themselves at among right audience and managed to bring home envious sales figure.
What made the SUV sales in India possible? Dilip Chenoy, director general of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), an agency that tracks auto sales, feels the SUVs sold here are very different from the ones being shunned abroad. He says, the SUVs in India are not Gas Guzzlers. Here SUVs are manufactured to make it inexpensive, very small and low capacity vehicles, mainly crossovers. Manufacturers even keep the fuel efficiency factor in mind while making the sales pitch.
The recent trend in the sales of SUV are actually promoting dealers to get dealership of SUVs of leading players like Tata, Mahindra & Mahidra, Honda, etc. The increasing number of dealership is also giving boost to SUV sales as this dealers are good channel of promotion of Sports Utility Vehicles in India. The tough driving conditions and large space are making these SUVs popular as big Family Utility Vehicle in India.
Seeing the positive growth in demand of SUVs in India, even at this time when the global market is showing huge drop down in sales figure, Indian OEMs are launching new SUV models in India. Some of the most awaited upcoming models in Indian market are Mahindra Xylo, Toyata Fortuner, New Nissan X-Trail and Tata Indicruz.
It would be interesting to watch the competition between these new models.