Top 10 cars series; India’s top selling cars UPDATE 2012 & 2013

With over one billion residents, India has the second highest population. With so many people and such a large country (the seventh largest by area), it is hardly surprising that they also have one of the largest automotive sectors in the world. India car sales reached a new high in 2012, up a whopping 14% year-on-year compared to 2011.

With the Indian car market growing so rapidly, how do the 2013 sales to July and full 2012 sales compare with previous year’s figures? We did a comparison to find out.

2012 Car Sales

When looking at the above figures, it is clear that there are two major players in the Indian car market – Maturi, the Indian arm of Suzuki, and Hyundai. The Maturi Alto has held the top spot for eight years, although the models sales were down 8% on 2011. Maturi has completely dominated the top sellers, with the top four sellers all being manufactured by Maturi for the first time ever.

Following on from our comments in 2011, India is still very much a small car nation. Seven micro and small cars feature in the top ten, with only three cars in larger categories. The fact that more larger cars are now being featured (three compared to two in 2011), shows a gradual shift in Indian drivers habits and preferences. 

2013 Car Sales – January to July

While the top ten has remained largely unchanged from 2013, it is interesting to see some shifts in sales patterns over the first half of 2013. The world’s smallest and cheapest car, the Tata Nano has tumbled out of the top 10, only coming in at 35th for the year so far. What’s also interesting to note is that four larger cars now feature in the top ten, compared with three in 2012 and two in 2011. These figures solidify the shift towards larger cars in India, indicating their improving economy and desire to drive larger and more expensive vehicles.

What does this all mean?

These figures and year on year comparisons show some clear trends starting to emerge in the Indian car market, both in terms of car size and brand preferences. It will be interesting to see whether these continue, and where India’s emerging economy takes the car market in future months and years.

What do you think about the Indian car market?

Take a look at India’s top selling cars of 2011

Have a look at the entries in the series:

Indonesia top ten cars
China top ten cars
Brazil top ten cars
Australia top ten cars

Tags:

2012, 2013, car sales results, top tens

Categories: Automotive Industry News, Toyota, Hyundai

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