India car sales analysed - March 2020

In times when the Indian automotive industry has been affected with poor sales, the nationwide lockdown in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic has further dented sales for all car manufacturers in the country. As most of the car dealerships and production facilities have temporarily halted production, the car sales have dropped across segments. The premium sedan segment has been the worst affected with 94 per cent drop in sales, while the entry-level segment has taken the least hit of 27 per cent drop in sales. 

The entry-level segment saw the lowest downfall due to the recently launched Maruti Suzuki S-Presso which has witnessed a sale of 5,159 units last month. Another popular seller from Maruti Suzuki, the Alto has witnessed a 36 per cent drop in sales with 10, 829 units sold last month as against 16,826 units sold in the country last year. The sales for Renault Kwid has dropped by a massive 75 per cent with 1,475 units sold in India last month as against 5,853 units sold in same period last year. The Datsun redi-GO has been the worst affected with a mere sale of 139 units in March 2020 as against 1,374 units sold in same period last year, thereby reporting a loss of 90 per cent last month. 

The compact hatchback segment has registered a 55 per cent drop in sales last month. The Wagon R has been the bestselling car in this segment. However, like the rest, the sales for the Wagon R has dropped by 43 per cent with 9,151 units sold in the country last month as against 16,152 units sold in the country in the same period last year. The other cars on this list which has witnessed a steep decline in sales, include – Maruti Suzuki Swift (40 per cent), Hyundai Grand i10 (41 per cent), Maruti Suzuki Celerio (66 per cent), Hyundai Santro (74 per cent), Maruti Suzuki Ignis (40 per cent), Tata Tiago (84 per cent), Ford Figo (75 per cent), Nissan Micra (65 per cent) and Datsun GO (99 per cent). 

The premium hatchback segment has witnessed a 46 per cent drop in sales last month. The Maruti Suzuki Baleno has emerged as the bestseller in the premium hatchback segment with 11, 406 unit sales in the country. Interestingly, the Baleno is also the bestselling car in the country in March 2020. However, the Baleno sales have dropped by 34 per cent last month as against 17,264 unit sales in March 2019. Other cars in this segment which have witnessed drop in sales, include - Hyundai i20 (72 per cent), Ford Freestyle (77 per cent) and Volkswagen Polo (92 per cent). The new entrants in the segment, Toyota Glanza and Tata Altroz, have reduced the damage with 1,533 units and 1,147 units sold, respectively. 

The compact sedan segment has witnessed 66 per cent drop in sales in March. Maruti Suzuki Dzire is the bestselling model in this segment with 5,476 units sold last month. This figure is however 73 per cent lower that the same period last year, when the company sold 19,935 units of the Dzire in India. Other cars in this segment include, Honda Amaze (63 per cent), Ford Aspire (66 per cent) and Tata Tigor (90 per cent). The Hyundai Xcent is replaced with the recently launched Hyundai Aura, therefore its combined sales numbers has witnessed a 46 per cent growth in sales with 2,615 units sold last month as against 1,792 units sold in March 2019. 

The executive sedan segment has witnessed a 64 per cent drop in sales. Even with a decline of 49 per cent sales, the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz has been a popular seller in this segment with 1,863 units sold last month. The other cars which has witnessed a drop in sales, include - Hyundai Verna (72 per cent), Honda City (77 per cent), Skoda Rapid (75 per cent) and Volkswagen Vento (96 per cent). The Nissan Sunny and the Toyota Yaris have witnessed 38 per cent (87 units sold) and 25 per cent (424 units sold) growth in sales last month. 

The premium sedan and the luxury sedan segment has witnessed 94 per cent and 45 per cent drop in sales, respectively, in India in March 2020. Hyundai’s newest compact SUV, the Venue is the bestseller in the compact SUV segment. Hyundai sold 6,127 units of the Venue in India last month. The other cars in this segment which have witnessed a drop in sales, include – the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza (61 per cent), Tata Nexon (53 per cent), Ford EcoSport (48 per cent), Mahindra XUV300 (83 per cent), Mahindra TUV300 (91 per cent) and the Honda WR-V (97 per cent).                    

The SUV segment has witnessed 37 per cent drop in sales in March 2020. The Kia Seltos has emerged as the bestselling SUV in India with 7,466 unit sales, while the Hyundai Creta has sold 6,706 units in India in March. The Hyundai Creta has witnessed a 41 per cent drop in sales last month as against 11,448 units sold in same period last year. The other cars in this segment which have witnessed a drop in sales, include – Tata Harrier (75 per cent), Nissan Kicks (26 per cent), Jeep Compass (89 per cent) and Renault Duster (83 per cent). The premium SUV segment has witnessed a 55 percent drop in sales. This includes the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour, Skoda Kodiaq and more.

The MUV Segment has witnessed a 47 per cent drop in sales last month. The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga has witnessed a 56 per cent drop in sales, yet it is the bestselling vehicle in the segment with 3,969 units sold last month. The Innova Crysta has witnessed 45 per cent drop in sales with 3,810 units sold last month as against 6,984 units sold in the same period last year.

Overall the car sales are likely to be affected in this month as well, due to the nationwide lockdown till 14 April, 2020.