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Car buying trend in India – UV, premium hatchback, sedan sales on the rise

Utility vehicle sales and overall share in the car sales in India is on the rise. So, it is like India has grown from small is beautiful Maruti 800 to big is desirable Mahindra Bolero or Maruti Ertiga? This seems to be true as the figure vociferously say so. When only 1 lakh units of utility cars were sold in year 2000, the number has become to almost fourfold to 3.5 lakh this year. On the other hand, there has also been a shift from small cars to premium hatchbacks and sedans. Where an average car buyer preferred Maruti 800 or Maruti Alto as its first car, he likes to spend something extra and get a Maruti Swift, Chevrolet Beat Diesel or Nissan Micra instead. Meanwhile, the increase in disposable income and changing lifestyle people prefer to have UVs in their stable along with lush cars. Car without an air conditioning seems to have become a thing of the past.

Car makers in India too seemed to have sensed this changed and thus the utility segment is about to get a treat soon where it had with the launch of Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and new Mercedes Benz M Class. The Mahindra XUV 500 launch is worth mentioning as it has in fact changed the face of Indian SUV. In India we have BMW X6 xDrive50i at Rs 93 lakh to Mahindra's Scorpio at Rs 7.7 lakh. Or, if someone wants to garage a small SUV at the price of a sedan he can choose Premier Rio. Whereas there are some SUVs that are upcoming but have set their takers beforehand who are anxiously keeping track of every development about the SUVs. These include, Renault Duster, Ford Ecosport and Maruti XA Alpha arranged in order of their launch time from July to early next year.

In India people confuse SUVs with MUVs and consider both as UVs. If a popularity chart of UVs in India is to be drawn Mahindra Bolero will be at the tip with over 9580 unit sales in May this year. Next to it will be Ertiga with 6800 units. See the void of over 2780 units between Bolero and Ertiga. Next is Toyota Innova with 6710 units and then comes Mahindra Scorpio with 4270 units. Meanwhile, Tata Safari that was the heartthrob of SUV lovers is at the base with only 552 units in May 2012.