What scooters are to the
overall two-wheeler market is what utility vehicles (UVs) are to the passenger
vehicle market. And like poor sales of scooters (-0.27 percent) pulled down the
two-wheeler market in FY2019, UVs too (+2 percent) impacted overall PV numbers
which ended in single-digit growth of 2.7 percent. Scarcely a year ago, growth
for both scooters and UVs was accelerating hard at 20 percent but got upended
by the sharp slowdown in the second half of FY2019. Although the growth might
have varied substantially, the sales performance of some of the key UV models
offered by a few prominent OEMs in the country has still remained consistent.
Let’s take a closer look at these.
The car also achieved the
landmark milestone of surpassing sales of 4 lakh units in February this year –
less than three years into its launch in India. While strong competition was
felt from the Tata Nexon and Ford’s EcoSport, what helped the compact SUV’s
case is the introduction of a facelift along with an AMT transmission option in
May 2018. Interestingly, the sales gap between the Brezza and the Creta in
FY2018 was 41,326 units. In FY2019, the gap has reduced to 33,580. Still a
robust lead for the Brezza, but with the Creta holding on to a better growth
rate, there could a closer battle for the title in the year to come. At No. 3
the Mahindra Bolero maintained its position but faced a slight slump in
performance which could be attributed to the tough NBFC situation impacting the
rural markets. The Bolero sold 84,144 units (FY2018: 85,368 / -0.14 percent).
Given that the norm of
mandatory fitment of ABS in all cars sold in the country has come into effect
from April 1, the Bolero now comes with ABS as standard. Moreover, Mahindra has
been rumoured to be working on a major facelift of this rugged UV in order to
meet new mandatory crash regulations slated to get implemented by October 2019.
The model is expected to be rolled out around the same time. Interestingly both
the MPVs are the top choices in their respective price categories which remain
widely distinct.
While the Ertiga is a
more approachable offering by Maruti in the sub-Rs 10 lakh MPV segment, the
Innova caters to a more discerning buyer looking for a robust seven-seater, and
also is a huge hit among fleet operators for the same fact. Maruti brought in
the latest second-generation Ertiga in November 2018, and the new car has grown
in its appeal by leaps and bounds – in the very least winning Car of the Year
at the 2019 Autocar Awards. Most OEMs are plotting an assault on the market
with a slew of new products in the pipeline. The action is going to get even
hotter. At the beginning of FY2019, it was felt that this fiscal would play
witness to UV sales crossing the million-unit sales mark after having hit
9,22,322 unit sales in FY2018; but it was not to be
