Utility vehicles (UVs) have once again saved the blushes for India Passenger Vehicle Inc. In the first quarter of FY2025 (April-June 2024), a total of 1.02 million PVs were dispatched to showrooms, up by just 3% – hatchback and sedan sales were down by 18% to 341,293 units and vans up by 9% to 38,919 units. Had it not been for the strong 18% growth in the UV segment (645,794 units), overall PV segment sales would have been in the red. In Q1 FY2025, UVs accounted for 63% of total PV sales, compared to 55% in Q1 FY2024.
The Top 10 best-selling models are always the movers and shakers in a vehicle segment, which is reason why it’s worth taking a look at the UV ladder-board in the first three months of FY2025.
Tata Punch, available with petrol, CNG and electric powerplants, has taken the lead in FY2025, followed by the new Hyundai Creta and Maruti Brezza.
The Tata Punch compact SUV, which has been firing on all cylinders since the beginning of this year, is currently the No. 1 SUV in India with 56,345 units in April-June 2024. The Punch, available with petrol, CNG and electric powerplants, has outsold its sibling the Tata Nexon – India’s best-selling SUV in FY2024, FY2023 and FY2022 – for the past six months, and recently aced the Bharat NCAP crash test with a top five-star rating. The Punch’s Q1 FY2025 sales give it a 56% share of Tata Motors’ total UV dispatches of 100,526 units.
The Hyundai Creta, India’s best-selling midsize SUV, has jumped to No. 2 position in Q1 FY2025 with 46,402 units, which is 46% of Hyundai Motor India’s total UV sales of 100,745 units in the first quarter. The Creta got a booster shot on January 16 this year with the launch of the MY2024 facelifted Creta, which has helped further accelerate demand for the model. The Creta was the fourth best-selling SUV in FY2024.
At No. 3 is the Maruti Brezza compact SUV with 44,471 units. The Brezza had missed out on the No. 1 SUV title in FY2024 by just 2,032 units to the Tata Nexon. Total sales since launch of the Brezza, which drove past the million-units milestone in December 2023, are nearing the 1.1 million mark.
India’s best-selling MPV, the Maruti Ertiga with 43,339 units, is ranked No. 4. Like the Brezza, the Ertiga too recently turned a ‘millionaire’, having surpassed the million-units sales milestone in February 2024. Combined sales of the Brezza and Ertiga, at 87,810 units comprise 54% of Maruti Suzuki’s total UV sales of 163,130 units in Q1 FY2025, up 29% YoY.
Mahindra’s best-selling UV continues to be the Scorpio in the form of the popular Scorpio N and the Scorpio Classic. The Scorpio – No. 6 in FY2024 – is currently ranked fifth on the Q1 FY2025 UV ladder-board with 40,831 units.
Next up is the Maruti Fronx compact SUV with 36,655 units. FY2024 saw Maruti Suzuki launch three all-new Nexa models – Fronx, Jimny and the Invicto. Of these three, the Fronx has been the most successful – not only was it the fastest Indian passenger vehicle to hit the 100,000 sales mark in just 10 months, but it also surpassed the 150,000 unit milestone in just 14 months after launch in April 2023. Since April 2023 through to end-June 2024, the Fronx has sold a total of 171,390 units.
Sales have been slowing down for the Tata Nexon and the result is seen in its Q1 FY2025 numbers. The game-changing compact SUV, which has been India’s No. 1 SUV for three straight fiscals, is currently down six ranks at No. 7 position with 34,691 units. The Nexon, sold in petrol, diesel and electric avatars, is slated to get CNG power later this fiscal. Will the Nexon numbers stage a recovery in Q2 and beyond? We’ll have to wait and see.
The Hyundai Venue, which was Hyundai’s first-ever compact SUV in India, continues to bring home the chips. In Q1 FY2025, the Venue has sold 28,337 units and takes eighth position in the Top 10 UV rankings, the same as it did in FY2024. The Venue has recently been joined by its Exter sibling, which with 22,361 units in April-June 2024, is ranked No. 14. The Exter, which completed a year n the marketplace on July 10, has sold a total of 93,662 units till end-June 2024.
With 27,066 units, the Maruti Grand Vitara is placed ninth on the UV rankings table, maintaining the same rank as it did in FY2024.
Wrapping up the Top 10 UV table is the Kia Sonet with 25,150 units, taking away sibling Seltos’ No. 10 ranking in FY2024. Launched in January 2024, the new Sonet compact SUV, which is equipped with plenty of features and also ADAS, has emerged as Kia India’s highest-selling model. In Q1 FY2025, the Sonet accounts for a 41% share to the Seltos’ 32% share (19,776 units).
