India’s crush on SUVs is intensifying ever so fast and carmakers are pushing the issue even further, launching 36 such models in the last five years.
Such is the rage for SUVs today that waiting periods for some of the most popular models extend to more than two years, and fresh orders continue to flow.
Car buyers are now willing to spend more for their personal travel style and prefer high-end variants that are loaded with features like sunroof and connected technologies.
In a market where vans used to dominate the counters, it is the entry-level and medium-sized sports utility vehicles (SUVs) that are growing in popularity, leading to more and more product launches in the segment.
“The SUV segment has seen significant growth in the last few years. The contribution of the SUV segment, which was about 19 percent from the industry, has now gone up to 40 percent in 2021-22 and we see it growing further.”
Chief Executive Officer (Sales and Marketing) Shashank Srivastava told PTI.
One of the reasons for the growth of this segment was the liking of customers for vehicles with high attitude and road visibility, he added.
With increasing demand, the entry-level SUV segment became the largest in the domestic passenger vehicle market last fiscal, surpassing the high-quality van vertical that has dominated the market since 2011.
Out of 30.68 lakh volumes last year, the share of the entry-level SUVs stood at 6.52 lakh units.
It’s also no surprise that the top models launched in the last five years in the entire passenger vehicle segment have been in the compact and mid-range SUV space.
“Also, the new age millennials prefer to buy high-end variants that are equipped with several comfortable and convenient features. Preference for fully loaded cars has risen from 17% in 2016-17 to 24% in 2021-22. In some of our models, like the recent one presented Breeza, the main variants occupy 70 percent of reserves, “Srivastava noted.
Studies show that spending will continue to rise now and people are willing to spend more, he said.
Managing Director of Passenger Vehicles Shailesh Chandra said that differentiated design, evolving lifestyles, change from public to personal transport as a result of the pandemic, growing awareness of safety and convenience features, among others, are some of the factors driving growth in the passenger vehicles. market.
“Customers today know exactly what they want and we are constantly striving to provide them with the same with our range, which is refreshed at short intervals, whether it’s features, variants or completely new products,” he stated.
Chandra said the company’s strong return in FY21, regaining third position in terms of volumes and being a controversial brand, was as it unleashes the full potential of a new range of cars and SUVs that were developed after studying the market in depth. and understanding evolving customer needs.
Kia India Chief Sales Officer Myung-sik Sohn said the growing demand for SUVs among Indian customers clearly shows a strong preference for bold, elegant vehicles with a high attitude.
“We launched the Carens earlier this year and have already sold more than 30,000 units in less than five months,” he added.
Another trend the company is observing is that more and more customers are buying the most advanced variants of cars, Sohn noted. “In fact, 47 percent of the total Kias sold in India are best publications and that shows that customers today demand nothing but the best.”
Connected features are something customers want in their cars today, and Kia now has more than two thousand connected cars on Indian roads with an activation rate of 97 percent, Sohn said.
Furthermore, the modern digital savvy customer is increasingly looking for the whole experience of owning a car with minimal physical contact, he added.
Motor Associate Vice President (Sales and Strategic Marketing) Atul Sood said the rapid pace of urbanization and economic development contributes to the demand for SUVs.
There are quite a few models already available in the segment in response to the demand, thus making SUVs one of the strongest ranks in the car market today, he pointed out.
Sood noted that new launches and product refreshments always bring excitement and additional interest among customers.
“We at Toyota have received an overwhelming response to all of our new offerings, including the new Camry Hybrid and the new Glanza,” he said.
