2015's Best-Selling Cars & Utility Vehicles - India

Well, 2016 is here and the hype and hoopla surrounding the new year has settled down. This is the perfect time to look back at 2015 and retrospect the annual sales figures to find out what's hot and what's not in the Indian automotive industry. And that's precisely what we did. 

Here's the list of 2015's top selling 'Passenger Vehicles' (Cars & Utility Vehicles belong to this category) in India.

Six out of ten best-selling cars are from Maruti-Suzuki

It's business as usual for Maruti-Suzuki, India's largest car manufacturer. While its true the competition in the Indian market is getting tougher year after year, it is also true that Maruti-Suzuki is getting stronger and stronger. While five out of the top ten cars were from Maruti-Suzuki last year, the number has gone up to six in 2015. When we look at the top twenty, a whopping nine models wear the 'S' badge. They have mastered the art of understanding the needs and preferences of car-buyers in India and are going out of the way to ensure those needs are met. Maruti-Suzuki's new-found fondness on AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) and safety features (ABS & Airbags) are perfect examples of that. Overall, its an incredible feat and one that should send shivers to the rest of the industry!

Like 2014, the Alto, Swift Dzire and Swift made it an all Suzuki podium in 2015 too. The fact they are successfully fending off competition from better alternatives in their respective segments just goes to show the faith and trust that these three Suzuki cars enjoy. Wagon-R emerged a distant fourth while Celerio and Omni also featured within the top ten. Let's not forget the Celerio was used as a launch pad to gauge customer responses for the AMT technology as well as Suzuki's new 2-cylinder diesel engine and it turned out to be successful. As for the Omni, it just doesn't deserve to be in this list for reasons we all know. Moving further down, the Eeco, Ertiga and Ciaz have also joined the party, bringing in good numbers for Maruti-Suzuki.

The newer Hyundais put on a good show

Ever since it set shop in India, Hyundai has been in a no man's land. The Korean brand has clearly established itself as Maruti-Suzuki's closest challenger but there has always been a huge gap both above and below it in the sales charts. While it was the Santro, Accent and i10 that established Hyundai as a strong player in India, the next-generation Hyundai cars are putting up an equally impressive show. Occupying fifth and sixth positions, the i20 and Grand i10 have found a whopping 254,139 customers between them. Outside the top ten, Eon and Xcent have managed respectable sales figures as well but a star in the making is Creta, Hyundai's new compact SUV. Since its launch in August last year, Creta has decimated competition in its segment and 2016 will see this SUV fighting for a position in the top ten.

Honda and Mahindra have reasons to cheer too

Mahindra Bolero has been India's best-selling Utility Vehicle for a long time now and 2015 was no different. With sales of 88,047 units, Bolero continues to be a strong revenue proposition for Mahindra. Will it defend its turf from the seemingly all-conquering Creta in 2016? Let's wait and watch. Outside the top ten, Scorpio continues its success story with a little over 51,000 units sold in 2015. Amongst the mid-size sedans, the dominance of Honda City in India is legendary and 2015 did little to change that perception. With the sole exception of Ciaz, none of the City's competitors made life tough for Honda. The Amaze's performance just outside the top ten helped add critical volumes for Honda in its fight with Mahindra to become India's third largest car manufacturer.

After nine Maruti-Suzukis, five Hyundais, two Mahindras and two Hondas, Toyota and Ford have one model each in the top twenty list. It's continuously-increasing prices and more-than-a-decade-old design notwithstanding, the Toyota Innova continues to be a popular choice in India. With the all-new Innova expected to debut in 2016, things are looking brighter than ever for this Japanese MPV. The Ford Ecosport made hay when the sun shone bright and the competition was light. Things have changed now and Ford had to contend with a significant drop in Ecosport's sales compared to 2015. Will the Ecosport's funky styling and extensive feature list help in sustaining sales amidst fresh competition? We'll see this time next year.

Brand Toyota prevails

Stepping away from these top-sellers, Toyota continued its bull run in the premium segments of the industry. Be it in MPVs, SUVs or entry luxury sedans, the Innova, Fortuner and Corolla went for a killing giving no chance to their competitors. Would you believe us if we tell you that sales of each of these three Toyotas were higher than the cumulative sales of all their competitors combined? Yes, you read that right! Its no wonder then that Toyota isn't really contemplating on bringing in mass market models. Why would they when all their premium models are bringing in loads of profits in relatively lesser volumes?

Source for Sales Figures: Official Press Releases & www.team-bhp.com