Diesel cars have been a popular choice in India, particularly in the compact SUV, mid-SUV and the premium SUV segments in FY18-19. It is interesting to witness more than 80 per cent demand for diesel cars in these segments, especially at a time when manufacturers have been planning on discontinuing production of diesel engines due to stringent upcoming BS-VI emission norms.
In the compact SUV space, Tata Nexon has witnessed 51 per cent diesel sales. Meanwhile, the Ford EcoSport and the Honda WRV have witnessed 65 per cent and 55 per cent demand, respectively for the diesel option. Diesel has been a popular choice in Mahindra XUV300 as well with 71 per cent of the sales coming from the diesel unit. Overall, the compact SUV segment has reported 81 per cent sales for the diesel and 19 per cent sales for the petrol option in FY18-19.
In the mid-SUV segment, popular models like the Hyundai Creta and the Renault Duster have witnessed 68 per cent and 70 per cent, respective sales for the diesel option. Apart from these, the other popular selling car models in this segment with a diesel engine option have been – Jeep Compass (67 per cent), Renault Captur (85 per cent), Nissan Kicks (68 per cent) and Nissan Terrano (90 per cent). Overall, the mid-SUV segment has reported 82 per cent sales for diesel, while petrol sales stood at a mere 18 per cent in the last fiscal.
In the premium SUV space, 97 per cent of overall sales in FY18-19 have come from diesel variants, while petrol sales have been a mere 3 per cent. The popular selling diesel models in the premium SUV segment have been – Hyundai Tucson (67 per cent), Toyota Fortuner (99 per cent) and Honda CRV (53 per cent).
Interestingly, diesel trim sales in the luxury sedan segment and the compact sedan segment in the last fiscal has been 48 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively. Apart from these, petrol cars have been a popular choice in the premium sedan, executive sedan, premium hatchback and compact hatchback segments.
