CKD and CBU products like Skoda Karoq and Volkswagen T-Roc registered single-digit sales in December 2020
SUVs have been the blue-eyed boys for Indian consumers in recent past. With an increased number of choices in compact and mid-size SUVs, competition in these segments has risen exponentially northwards in the last couple of years. However, sales of mid-size SUVs were surprisingly down by a fair margin in December 2020.
In the last month of the year, a total of 28,190 mid-size SUVs were sold all over the country. In comparison, in the previous month, a total of 35,652 units were dispatched to showrooms whereas 32,398 units were retailed in December 2019. This meant an MoM decline of 20.93 percent and a YoY decline of 12.99 percent.
Creta, Seltos Lead Sales
Hyundai Creta, as usual, led the charts with 10,592 units sold in December 2020. In December 2019, Hyundai dispatched 6,719 units of Creta to dealerships across the country whereas this number stood at 12,017 units in November 2020. This led to a growth in YoY sales by 57.78 percent and a decline in MoM sales by 11.86 percent.
Creta was followed by its Korean cousin Kia Seltos which recorded sales of 5,608 units last month. The company sold 4,645 units of the SUV in December 2019 and 9,205 units in November 2020. This translates to a YoY growth of 20.73 percent and an MoM decline of 39.08 percent.
It was followed by MG Hector which registered sales of 3,430 units in December 2020. In comparison, the British brand sold 3,021 units in December 2019 and 3,426 units in November 2020. This meant a YoY growth of 13.53 percent and a marginal MoM growth of 0.12 percent.
Scorpio, Harrier backed by strong numbers
Fourth and fifth spots were taken by Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Harrier. Scorpio raked in sales of 3,430 units for Mahindra last month. This figure stood at 3,656 units in December 2019 and 3,725 units in November 2020. Therefore, it witnessed a respective YoY and MoM decline of 6.46 percent and 8.19 percent. Harrier, on the other hand, recorded 2,225 units last month.
In comparison, Tata Motors sold 1,458 units in December 2019 and 2,210 units in November 2020 which translates to a YoY and MoM growth of 52.61 percent and 0.68 percent. Maruti sold 1,185 units of its crossover S-Cross in December 2020 and took sixth place. It witnessed a YoY growth of 21.04 percent and a decline in MoM sales by 58.81 percent.
Others show poor sales volume
Rest of the SUVs in this segment registered sales below 1000 units each. Mahindra XUV500 (755 units) Renault Duster (490 units), Jeep Compass (385 units), Nissan Kicks (95 units), Skoda Karoq (4 units) and Volkswagen T-Roc (1 unit) all recorded below-par sales volume. Offerings in this segment are going to increase in the coming months with the launch of Skoda Kushaq and Volkswagen Taigun. There are also the new-gen models of Mahindra XUV500 and Scorpio which are expected to be launched this year.
