There seems to be no change in the passenger vehicle market in India in April 2022 as Maruti Suzuki has continued to dominate the market, with eight out of 10 top-selling PVs coming from its stable. Hero, similarly, has been able to continue its top spot run in the motorcycles market in the country. On the other hand, Honda has also managed to stick to its number one position in the scooter market in India.
Atul Chandel, Director, Autobei Consulting Group, told Mobility Outlook, 'Be it Maruti Suzuki WagonR, Hero Splendor or Honda Activa, the common thing between them is that these products resonate extremely well with the Indian audience. If you closely analyse the three machines, you will find out that these have been present in India for over a decade. Their OEMs have time and again updated them with features and cashed in on the product image they have been creating since their first launch.'
One Clear Winner
The car sales numbers for April 2022 showcase that the competition is not between many brands, but it seems more like Maruti Suzuki versus the rest of the brands. The top 10 selling PVs for April 2022 sold 118,327 units. Car models belonging to Maruti Suzuki accounted for 96,553 units. This simply means that Maruti Suzuki dominated over 75% of the PV market during April 2022.
'Maruti has been able to understand the Indian consumer like no other brand. If you walk into a Maruti Suzuki Showroom with an intent to buy a new car there is hardly any possibility that you would walk out without buying one. They offer so many choices to the consumers under one roof that almost everyone finds a match. In addition the brand image of Maruti Suzuki is something that needs no introduction,' explained Chandel.
A close look reveals that the top two selling PVs in this list are the ones available in CNG options as well. Maruti Suzuki offers both WagonR and Ertiga in CNG options. That is one of the possible reasons that many transport companies prefer to buy these two. However, it must also be noted that Maruti Suzuki Ertiga hasn't had a direct competitor in the country for a very long time. It would be interesting to see how Kia Carens perform in this segment. Kia has also not launched the CNG version of Carens.
The other two cars in the top 10 selling passenger vehicles in India in 2022 came from Hyundai Motor India. Hyundai Creta was able to grab the second spot with 12,651 units, whereas a total of 10 Hyundai Grand i10 units were sold in the same month.
Utility Vehicles
In the utility vehicle (UV) segment, the fight between OEMs seems more intense as OEMs, including Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Hyundai, are present there. It is interesting to see that Tata, despite its aggressive marketing, has not been able to make it to the list of top five selling UVs in the country during April 2022.
These three brands sold a total of 56,269 UV units. Maruti Suzuki scored big here as well, as it was able to capture approximately 49% of the UV market share in India during April 2022. Maruti Suzuki's Ertiga, with 14,889 sales, grabbed the top spot, while Hyundai's Creta, with 12,651 unit sales, made it to the second spot.
'Ertiga is not just preferred by the commercial channel but also by private buyers because it delivers the complete package. Be it mileage, maintenance, looks, finish or price, Ertiga scores way higher than its competitors. It would be interesting to see and follow the market now as Kia seems to have introduced a worthy competitor to Ertiga in the form of Carens,' shared Chandel.
Vitara Brezza from the stables of Maruti Suzuki was at the third spot with total sales of 11,764 units. Hyundai Venue clocked 8,392 unit sales and was able to grab the fourth spot in the most selling UVs during April 2022. With 7,686 unit sales, Mahindra Bolero came in at the fifth spot on this list.
Hero & Honda in 2W
Hero & Honda may have split up a long ago, but the two continue to maintain their bull run in the two-wheeler market in India. A total of 793,099 ICE two-wheelers were sold in India during April 2022. Hero, selling 234,085 Splendor units in April 2022, grabbed the top spot in the two-wheeler market. The OEM, as a matter of fact, grabbed two spots in the top 10 list. It's HF Deluxe landed at the fourth spot with 100,601 sales. Hero, in total, sold 334,686 two-wheelers grabbing close to 32% of the two-wheeler market in India.
On the other hand, Honda grabbed the second and third spots with 263,958 two-wheeler unit sales. Honda Activa grabbed the second spot with a total sales of 163,357 units. Honda Activa was also the number one selling scooter in India in April 2022. Honda's CB Shine grabbed the third spot in India's most selling two-wheelers list with 100,601 units.
'Hero Splendor and Honda Activa are known as mileage munchers in their respective verticals. Moreover, both these models have a legacy in the country. The price point they are available at make them the toughest competition out there. Competitors will have to launch new products in order to conquer these two,' highlighted Chandel.
Chandel further expressed that Hero might feel a little under the weather once Honda launches a 100cc motorcycle in the country. It is worth noting that Honda has already shared its plans to enter the mass motorcycle segment. Bajaj managed to grab the sixth and seventh position on the podium by selling 46,040 units of Pulsar and 39,316 units of Platina, respectively. TVS, selling 60,957 units of Jupiter, stood at the fifth position. With 32,375 sales of RE 350 Classic, Royal Enfield was tenth on the list of top-selling two-wheelers in India in April 2022.
