Top 5 Best Selling Utility Vehicles in India

• Published On: 28 March 2020
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The utility vehicle segment recorded positive growth even during the tough times.

The Coronavirus outbreak has affected the Indian automotive industry. Between April 2019-February 2020, a total of 2,04,98,128 units were sold. However, in February 2020, a total of 16,46,332 vehicles were retailed. The 21-day lockdown has had an adverse effect on the sale of vehicles and it is expected to witness even worse numbers in the coming months.

With passenger vehicle (PV) segment accounting to -7.16 per cent decline in February 2020 and -14.68 per cent decline in the time period between April 2019 to February 2020, respectively, the UVs, on the other hand, managed to make 33.13 per cent growth in February 2020 and 34 per cent growth in the time period between April 2019 to February 2020 respectively. If there is a glimmer of hope for PVs, then it emanates from the utility vehicle (UV) segment.

Check out the article to find out the top 5 best selling utility vehicles in India that are enabling the sales performance.

Kia Seltos

The Kia Seltos, launched in the second half of 2019 has climbed its way to the top and set a new benchmark for compact SUVs in India. It retailed 14,024 units in February thus bagging the top position in monthly sales performance. However, it sold 15,000 units in January 2020. Since its launch on August 22, 2019, through to end-February 2020, the Kia Seltos has sold a total of 74,250 units. These comprise of 35,902 diesel and 38,348 petrol units. 

In its seven-month innings, the Seltos has managed to bag the country’s No. 1 UV position for four months in a row– February 2020, January 2020, October and November 2019. Kia Seltos is currently priced in the range of Rs 9.89-17.34 lakhs (Ex-Showroom) as in January 2020, Kia hiked Seltos prices by up to Rs 35,000.

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga is a comfortable, versatile and user-friendly car. Last year, the Ertiga sold a total of 56,308 units, which means the MPV has recorded a 53 per cent year-on-year growth. In the first 11 months of FY2020, Ertiga sold a total of 86,574 units, comprising of 39,731 diesel variants and 46,843 petrol variants. The best month between April 2019 and February 2020 was June as It had sold 9218 units. 

Maruti is all set to move out of the diesel segment in April 2020. With this, Maruti has been keenly trying to make gains in the marketplace with its petrol-powered Ertiga. With this, only nine units of diesel Ertiga was sold last month. 

Hyundai Venue

Hyundai's first-ever sub-compact SUV, the Venue, bags the third position in the top 5 best selling UVs list. It sold 10,321 units in the month of February, substantially more than its 6,733-unit sales in January. In the month of April 2019-February 2020, the Hyundai Venue sold a total of 87,497 units, comprising 32,516 diesel variants and 54,981 petrol units. 

Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza

The lack of petrol engine and the entry of the Hyundai Venue and Kia Seltos has removed the wind from the Maruti Vitara Brezza’s sails. The exit of the carmaker from the diesel vehicles some time ago also dampened its sales number. 

Maruti launched petrol-only Brezza last month which led to the sale of 6866 units in the month of February with 6,848 of them being petrol, and only 18 being diesel. Suzuki’s K15B 1.5-litre petrol engine takes the place of the original Vitara Brezza’s 1.3-litre diesel, as part of Maruti’s larger plan to withdraw diesel from its line-up by April 1, 2020.

The game-changing SUV, first launched on March 8, 2016, sold a total of 5,18,807 units till January 2020. Recently, the Maruti Vitara Brezza drove past the half-a-million (5,00,000) units sales milestone in the domestic market.

Toyota Innova Crysta

In 2020, Toyota India introduced the BS6-compliant Innova Crysta, which saw the 2.7-litre petrol engine and 2.4-litre diesel engine upgraded to meet the new BS6 emission norms. This led to the discontinuation of 2.8-litre diesel from the MPV’s line-up. This update also led to an increase in the price of Innova by about Rs 11000- Rs 12000. Shortly after, the brand also introduced a limited-run Toyota Innova Crysta Leadership Edition, priced at Rs 21.21 lakhs.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor retailed 9,00,000 units of the Innova since the first-gen model was launched, back in 2005. Its sales have regularly contributed to over 40 per cent of the segment’s total sales. In February 2020, Toyota Innova Crysta sold 5459 units comprising of 5383 diesel variants and 76 petrol variants. This led to the downfall in the sale by 21.52 per cent.

In the period between April 2019-February 2020, Toyota Innova managed to retail 49,876 units with 48,980 of them being diesel and 896 being petrol. This too led to a downfall of sale by 30 per cent.