India witnessed 36 SUV launches in half a decade, higher demands fuelling growth

SUVs are finding an increasing footprint in India just like the rest of the world. A skyrocketing demand fuelling the growth of the SUVs in the country like never before. This has prompted various automakers to launch 36 SUVs in the country over the last five years, claims a report by PTI. Such is the craze for SUVs at present that waiting periods for some of the most popular models are stretching to more than two years. Despite that, fresh orders are still flowing in, claims the report.

Fuelled by the pandemic-related disruptions, consumers across the country are focusing on their private mode of travel. This is fuelling the growth of personal vehicle sales. On the other hand, large and tough cars like SUVs are gaining more attraction from buyers due to their practicality in Indian road conditions. Not only that, top-end variants with high-end features are gaining the most traction. The features like a sunroof and connected technologies are especially witnessing more demand from buyers. The rise of SUVs is crushing the market share of hatchbacks and sedans.

Maruti Suzuki India Senior Executive Director (Sales and Marketing) Shashank Srivastava said that the SUV segment has seen major growth in the last few years. "The SUV segment's contribution, which was around 19 per cent of the industry, has now gone up to 40 per cent in 2021-22 and we see it growing further," he said.

The report also claims that compact SUVs or entry-level SUVs are witnessing the highest demand in the entire segment. The report claims that out of 30.68 lakh units sold last year, the entry-level SUVs' share stood at 6.52 lakh units.