Hatchbacks hold on to SUV boom but sedans lose big time: Maruti Suzuki Celerio CNG to launch in January 2022 – Times of India

Four of India’s best-selling cars are currently hatchbacks, but with significant changes in the definition of SUV over the years, the availability of SUV body styles has increased across all price segments. Today an SUV vehicle can be found for less than Rs 10 lakh. It is a well known fact that hatchbacks along with sedans have traditionally been the best selling segment in the country. However, with SUVs growing at a rapid pace, it is clear that this growth has to come at the expense of other segments. We spoke to Shashank to find out the true dynamics of vehicle sales in the country Srivastava, Executive Director, Marketing and Sales, maruti suzuki India Limited.
Initiating the conversation, Srivastava said that SUVs are growing at a good pace and they accounted for about 15 per cent of the total sales about five years ago. Fast to render and grew to 32% of the SUV market in FY20-21 and 38% in CY 2021. SUVs grew faster than any other segment in India at an impressive CAGR of over 13% over the years, he added. That said, this growth has not come at the expense of the hatchback as Srivastava told us that their market share has remained consistent since FY14-15. In the said year, hatchbacks accounted for around 47% of the market and their share remained almost unchanged at 46.3% in FY20-21.

Speaking about the growth, Srivastava admitted that the segment has not been able to grow but has captured its share of the pie despite the onslaught of SUVs with 50% customers being first time buyers and around 60% of them prefer hatchbacks. have done it.
Within the hatchback space, however, a similar division has been made between the entry-level and premium hatchbacks. Interestingly, this segmentation has remained consistent since 2010-11, when premium hatchbacks accounted for half of this segment. He added that going forward a higher potential can be seen in the car segment such as baleno Since customers are now demanding more features in their first car.
With the growing SUV segment and rock-steady hatchbacks, the focus of the discussion shifted to the sedans and this is where Srivastava highlights the major downside. Sedan commanding 24% of the market in 2014-15 has now fallen from 9.5%, which translates into a major drop.
Speaking about the future trends, Srivastava said that SUVs will continue to grow till they reach around 45% market share, where we can see them plateau. Responding to the future of the hatchback, he said that while the segment is expected to enjoy strong consumer demand, stringent regulations may lead to a disproportionate increase in the cost of these cars. This in turn could lead to contraction of the segment in the long run as first time buyers are more sensitive to the purchase price of a vehicle.
Srivastava concluded the conversation by saying that Maruti Suzuki is betting heavily on the hatchback segment as it is still the largest in the country and will continue to hold the leading position for some time. He added that the reception for the new Celerio has been positive as the company registered 8,000+ retail deliveries for the new model in the first full month of sales in December 2021. In contrast, the previous Celerio’s peak sales were around 8,000 units per month. Its lifecycle. He revealed that one should also consider that the current model does not have a CNG variant, which is set to launch this month and will further add to the numbers.