About 15 sedans are currently on sale in India – Dec 2020 saw a little over 30k sedans sold
The Sedan segment in India is currently under stress, majorly due to the growing liking of Indian customers towards SUV and cross-over body styles. In terms of sales numbers, while Dec’20 was a good month for most OEMs, the sedan segment recorded an almost flat month.
Top-sellers register slowdown
Maruti Dzire has consistently been the best selling sedan in India since past few years. In Dec’20 too, Dzire managed to hold on to its No.1 spot, however registered a 9% decline in sales when compared with Dec’19. Sales went down from 15,286 units to 13,870 units.
Even with the decline, overall market share of Dzire stood at an enviable 45.86%. The drop in sales numbers can also be attributed to lack of diesel engine option on the Dzire, as in the pre-BS6 era, diesel contributed significantly to sales of the Dzire.
Honda’s Amaze didn’t have an amazing Dec as its sales contracted by 13.6%. Sales numbers went down from 5,077 units in Dec’19 to 4,385 units in Dec’20. The slowdown in sales for Honda should be a concern as Amaze happens to be its best-selling model. It has become way more critical for Honda, especially after the discontinuation of its models like CR-V and Civic.
Aura registers Growth
Hyundai’s Aura recorded a strong Dec’20 with overall sales increase of 1,974 units. Dealer dispatch numbers went up from 1,139 units in Dec’19 to 3,113 units in Dec’20. Also, it should be a moment of pride for Hyundai as the Aura managed to earn the title of being the third best selling sedan in the country in the month of Dec’20.
City Dominates its Segment
Thanks to the introduction of the 5th generation model, Honda has been able to improve upon sales of its current flagship, the City. City recorded sales of 2,720 units, an increment of 170% over last year, same month. However, when compared with Nov’20, sales recorded a decline of around 22%. City and Amaze are the two main number churners for Honda now and the future of the Japanese OEM majorly rests on their performance.
Ciaz, Verna, Rapid and Vento, all of which happen to be direct competitors of the City, all recorded de-growths in their sales numbers. Decline in sales figures ranged between 12% to 26%. Looking at the sales figures, it seems like City has been able to eat into the sales of its competitors and hence has been able to record a170% growth.
Three other cars which did well in terms of sales numbers are the Superb from Skoda, Tigor from Tata and Yaris from Toyota. Superb’s sales went up by 64%, Tigor’s sales went up by 22% while sales of Yaris rose by 202%, over last year. Sedans which couldn’t hold on to their Dec’19 sales numbers included the Elantra, Octavia, Camry and Aspire.
