Maruti Suzuki led sales charts with 5 of its hatchbacks in the top 10 list – Baleno heading the segment
Changing consumer preferences in India have led to lower hatchback sales. Buyers are showing more affinity towards SUVs than ever before which has caused hatchback sales to dip considerably in recent months. In December 2022, hatchback sales fell as much as 12.80 percent YoY while MoM sales were lower by 21.25 percent. Sales in the hatchback segment in Dec 2022 stood at 85,622 units, down 12.80 percent over 98,193 units sold in Dec 2021 leading to a 12,571 unit volume de-growth. It was also a MoM de-growth of 21.25 percent from 1,08,731 units sold in Nov 2022.
Maruti Suzuki India Limited commanded this segment with 7 of its models in the top 10 positions while it had 9 hatchbacks on the top 15 list. It was the Baleno hatchback that commanded most sales at 16,932 units in Dec 2022, up 17.11 percent YoY from 14,458 units sold in Dec 2021. MoM sales however dipped 19.16 percent from 20,945 units sold in Nov 2022. Market share increased to 19.78 percent from 19.26 percent.
Top 10 Hatchbacks Dec 2022
There was the Maruti Swift at No. 2 with 12,061 units sold in Dec 2022. This was a YoY de-growth of 22.99 percent from 15,661 units sold in Dec 2021 while MoM sales also fell 20.41 percent from 15,153 units sold in Nov 2022.
YoY and MoM de-growth was also seen in the case of the Maruti WagonR and Alto. Sales of the WagonR fell 48.39 percent YoY and 30.84 percent MoM to 10,181 units. Alto sales were down 22.58 percent YoY to 8,648 units from 11,170 units sold in Dec 2021. MoM sales dipped 44.79 percent from 15,663 units sold in Nov 2022. This took market share down to 10.10 percent in the past month from 14.41 percent held in Nov 2022.
Breaking the Maruti Suzuki stronghold was the Hyundai i10 NIOS. Sales increased YoY by 35.59 percent to 8,340 units from 6,151 units sold in Dec 2021. MoM sales were also higher by 4.76 percent as the company had sold 7,961 units in Nov 2022. There was also a YoY and MoM growth seen in the case of Tata Tiago sales. Sales were higher by 29.45 percent in Dec 2022 to 6,052 units from 4,675 units sold in the same month of the previous year. MoM sales improved by 18.74 percent over 5,097 units sold in Nov 2022.
Once again Maruti Suzuki entered the list with the Ignis hatchback. Sales were higher by 63.32 percent YoY to 5,241 units from 3,209 units sold in Dec 2021 while MoM sales improved by 3.03 percent from 5,087 units sold in Nov 2022. Hyundai i20 sales increased by 49.11 percent YoY to 4,697 units from 3,150 units sold in Dec 2021. However, MoM sales dipped by 35.09 percent from 7,236 units sold in Nov 2022.
Bottom Half
There has been added demand for the Toyota Glanza in recent months. Sales stood at 4,465 units last month, up 69.51 percent from 2,634 units sold in Dec 2021 and 4,393 units sold in Nov 2022. Lower down the list at No. 10 was the Altroz hatchback with YoY and MoM decline in sales by 19.05 percent and 20.24 percent respectively. The company sold 4,055 units in Dec 2022.
Renault Kwid has seen increased demand in recent months with a 73.01 percent YoY growth to 1,827 units from 1,056 units sold in Dec 2021. MoM sales also improved by 22.04 percent over 1,497 units sold in Nov 2022. Sales de-growth was seen for both Maruti S-Presso and Celerio on YoY and MoM basis to 1,117 units and 1,090 units respectively in Dec 2022. The Citroen C3 entered the list and has seen a 13.56 percent MoM growth from 80 units sold in Nov 2022 to 913 units in Dec 2022. While Honda Jazz trailed the list with just 3 units sold in Dec 2022 down from 486 units sold in Dec 2021. MoM sales also suffered an 85 percent de-growth over 20 units sold in Nov 2022.