We analyse sales of each and every mass-market hatchback that is sold in the Indian market, right from the entry-level offerings to the premium products.
The entry-level hatchback segment in India has five competitors. The Maruti Alto has built a name for itself in the past 15 years and right now it is the highest selling car in India, apart from leading the entry-level segment of course. The Hyundai Eon comes in at second position in this segment and its sales are 1/3rd of what the Alto manages. The Kwid is the newest kid on the block and looking at the demand it is seeing, we think it is going to overtake the Eon pretty soon. The Tata Nano continues to sell in 2000-odd units a month while the Datsun GO is a dismal performer.
Maruti is again leading the pack in the regular hatchback segment with the Wagon R. Hyundai is also doing pretty well with the Grand i10 while the Swift is following it closely. Another product from Maruti’s stable, the Celerio is also fetching in very good numbers. Then we have the new Ford Figo which again seems to be an average performer, at least looking at the numbers it is generating. The old Tata Indica continues fetching good numbers considering how old it is. Then we have the regular i10 too which is becoming a popular car among taxi drivers now.
The Maruti Ritz is on its way out and most of these numbers are from cabbies again. The Tata Bolt fetches sales below 1000 units every month and this month is no different. The Chevrolet Beat is again on its way out in the near future while the Nissan Micra is also a low-selling car. Then we have the Honda Brio which doesn’t sell even a fraction of what the Amaze achieves. The Renault Pulse, Chevrolet Sail U-VA and Mahindra Vibe have also maintained their consistency as sales duds.
Moving to the premium side of the hatchback segment, we have the Hyundai Elite i20 which is leading the pack (when the i20 Active is considered) but the Maruti Baleno has overtaken it when only sales of the Elite i20 are factored (8264 units). The Honda Jazz isn’t selling as much as its Japanese and Korean rivals but these are decent numbers nonetheless. The Volkswagen Polo has always managed sales between 1000-2000 units in recent times while the Fiat Punto loses out in this segment.
