India's "Top 20" Best-selling Cars in 2020

From my previous post, it was clear the CoVID-19 pandemic had a lasting impact on automobile sales for more than a quarter last year with the industry hitting the rock-bottom in April with zero units sold. With Maruti-Suzuki and Hyundai holding their positions, the rest of the car-makers fought hard for the one-third of the market that was left out.

Of course, India's best-selling car in 2020 was a Maruti-Suzuki. But which of the many cars wearing the 'S' badge finished on top? Where did the Hyundais end up in the pecking order? Did cars from any other brand apart from these two manage to break into the top ten? 

Here's the answer for all those questions:

• The top six best-selling cars are from Maruti-Suzuki
• Seven of the top ten and ten of the top twenty best-selling cars are from Maruti-Suzuki too
• Two cars from Hyundai and a Kia are the only other brands to feature in the "Top 10"
• Mahindra's Bolero, a trio of Tatas and Renault's Triber round out the "Top 20"
• With the exception of new launches, none of the models reported growth over 2019; Creta, Wagon-R and Nexon did a brilliant job of minimizing the fall compared to the previous year

Swift was India's best-selling car in 2020

• At India's largest car-maker, the fight for supremacy is not with cars from rival brands. Cars within the brand slug it out and trade positions. In 2020, the Swift came out on top trumping the smaller Alto and bigger Baleno by a few thousand units. 
• As a first car for a young couple or the daily runabout for urban dwellers, the Swift is just perfect. That the car is capable of doing it keeping the person behind the wheel 'smiling' makes this little Suzuki a big winner.
• While the Alto came runner-up in the race, Baleno and Wagon-R aren't far behind. Remarkably, the Wagon-R lost just 5% of its sales compared to 2019. 
• Dzire bore the brunt of Maruti-Suzuki moving to a petrol-only line-up post BS6 implementation with a steep fall of 37%. Vitara Brezza suffered a similar fate for the same reason.

Hyundai and Kia SUVs take the market by storm

• From being a fringe player in the segment in 2014 to India's leading seller of SUVs/Crossovers, Hyundai (and now Kia!) has come a long way.
• Creta continues its dream run in its second generation, reporting just a 3% drop over 2019.
• Sibling Kia Seltos finished close behind more than doubling its 2019 sales tally.
• Add the numbers of Venue and Sonet (launched in the second half of 2020) and the two Korean brands have decimated competition in this 'hot and happening' segment.
• All's not well with Hyundai though with the i20's 40% drop despite the launch of a new generation model sure to ruffle feathers internally.

Tata makes quite an impression

• Despite it's age and boxy nature, Mahindra's Bolero continues its incredible run outselling all other newer models in the brand's line-up.
• Tata Motors had a stellar year with the Tiago, Nexon and Altroz bringing in consistent numbers through the year. With eye-catching styling and an impeccable safety record across the line-up, Tata's success is very satisfying to watch.
• Renault Triber sneaked in at number twenty, becoming yet another success story for the French brand in the country.

Just outside the "Top 20", Kia's Sonet is waiting to break into the list while the Kwid was a casualty of the success of Renault's own Triber.

Watch this space. 2021 is going to be very interesting!

India's "Top 10" Best-selling Car Brands in 2020

Any which way you look at it, the Indian automotive landscape is one of a kind. There's no other market in the world I'm aware of that sells more than a couple of million cars every year but still dominated by one brand.

Did the COViD-19 pandemic that gripped the country (and the whole world!) in 2020 change any of that? Apparently not, looking at the sales figures. One thing that did change though is the industry reported 'zero' sales in April 2020 when the whole country went into a lockdown in a bid to curb the spread of the virus. This had never happened before and hopefully, never happens again.

As we look forward for a better year, here's the list of "Top 10" best-selling car brands that survived 2020 in India:

There's no stopping the Maruti-Suzuki juggernaut

• 2020 threw everything at India's largest car-maker. From shutting down their plants during the lockdown to bringing them back upto scale within a few weeks, from having to discontinue their strong-selling diesel line-up when BS6 emission norms were implemented to multiple attempts by rivals to snatch their lead in many lucrative segments, the Japanese brand prevailed and came out stronger.
• As a result, Maruti-Suzuki still sells one in every two cars sold in India, the 18% drop from 2019's numbers notwithstanding.
• Add the cars sold to Toyota to retail through their outlets and the number goes even higher!
• If the 'S' badge can pull in so many customers with a petrol-only line-up, imagine what would happen if the 1.5-liter diesel engine makes a comeback as widely reported. Competitors should be a worried bunch.
• Despite the love we Indians shower on them, Suzuki's desirable models like the Swift Sport and Jimmy aren't in India. Sad! They're also lagging behind in the EV race. Hyundai, Mahindra, Tata and even MG have electric cars on sale in India.

Tata storms to third behind Hyundai

• Hyundai continues to be all alone in the race, having reported sales of 423,642 units. That's a 17% drop over 2019. While the Creta and Venue are big-sellers raking in the profits, hatchbacks like the Grand i10 and i20 continue their strong run.
• Tata has been the shining star in the Indian market over the last 12 months, managing a growth of 11% in what was an extremely tough year. Their product-led transformation has been amazing to witness. From nailing the design to acing the safety tests, the Indian car-maker has focused on all the right aspects so far. Altroz has now joined the Nexon and Tiago in bringing in the volumes while the Harrier is playing the role of a flagship to perfection. Tata, on its part, isn't resting on the laurels and is having its kitty full. Next up is the Safari debuting later this month.

Kia and MG make inroads

• Kia's entry - and subsequent rise - in India has been almost flawless. Seltos and Sonet have been smash hits and the Carnival is doing pretty well as an image-builder. I was right in predicting Kia's rise in our market after all! Is there no chink in the brand's armour then? Oh no, there's one and that's a big one. I'm referring to Seltos' modest showing in the Global NCAP tests. A 3-star rating is unacceptable for a model that retails for 20 million rupees in its top spec.
• Mahindra had a tough year. It's domestic sales slid 38% pulling the brand down to fifth. With the XUV5OO's magic starting to fizzle out, Mahindra is now dependent on its old workhorses Bolero and Scorpio for volumes. The rest of the line-up, barring the XUV3OO, have fallen flat. After the stupendous success of the new Thar, Mahindra would be pinning its hopes on the all-new XUV5OO and Scorpio to turn the tide around. Elsewhere, Mahindra has other problems to contend with. SsangYong is a bit of a headache now and discussions with Ford on the proposed joint-venture has come to a screeching halt as well. 
• Renault, in sixth position, did a good job of arresting the fall, helped by the launch of the Triber and the timely facelift of its bread-and-butter Kwid. The French car-maker learnt pretty early that it needed market-specific models to survive in India and the Kiger is the next in line.
• Next up is Toyota, the world's largest car-maker. That they deemed it fit to tie up with Suzuki to bolster their 'affordable' model range in India shows how tough our market is for global brands to figure. Innova Crysta and upwards, Toyota is doing just fine.
• Honda is on a free fall right now. With sales almost half of what it was in 2019, the Japanese brand has clearly seen better days. The City, with all it's might, is doing what it can but needs help from a high-riding sibling that's nowhere to be seen. Come on Honda, get your damn SUVs and crossovers here!
• With the proposed joint-venture with Mahindra that was going to bring in new models not happening now, Ford has hit a roadblock. What the American car-maker has in store for India remains to be seen. Seven years after launch, EcoSport is still the model that keeps Ford going.
• MG, the erstwhile British brand now owned by China's SAIC, makes an entry into the Top 10 pushing Volkswagen out. From bringing in three new models in just 18 months, equipping and positioning them well to putting in a lot of efforts towards brand building, MG has done a lot of things right.

Outside the top ten, Volkswagen, Skoda and Nissan are trying to get their respective houses in order. While the two European brands are lining up new launches in a renewed bid to make it big here, Nissan has just struck gold with its Magnite. Let's see if these brands manage to shake things up in the top ten list this year.

BMW pips Mercedes-Benz in the luxury race *

• While Mercedes-Benz has not announced its 2020 sales figures yet, BMW was leading the luxury race by a healthy margin until the end of November.
• Assuming December threw no major surprises, BMW should have easily finished ahead with a total of 6,092 units sold last year.
• That's a massive drop from the 9,000 and 13,786 cars BMW and Mercedes-Benz managed to sell in 2019. Clearly, India's rich tightened their wallets to let the pandemic pass.
• The rest of the luxury brigade are too far off to threaten this duo.

Source: Official manufacturer press releases and monthly sales charts published in Team-BHP & Auto Punditz

* Mercedes-Benz hasn't released its 2020 sales figures

America's "Top 20" Best-selling Cars in 2020

It was clear from the previous post that Ford was the most popular brand in the United States last year. Toyota and Chevrolet, placed next in the pecking order, were not far off though. Is the same trend observed in sales of individual models too? Let's find out.

Before we get into the details, here's the list of America's 'Top 20' best-selling cars in 2020:

F-Series tops the charts

Alright, this has become an annual affair, pandemic or not. 

• Ford's F-Series ended 2020 as the most popular vehicle in the United States of America. 
• This marks an incredible 39th year at the top of the sales chart for this behemoth.
• This is also the 44th year in a row the F-Series has finished as America's favourite pick-up truck.
• Remarkably, the F-Series managed this feat despite being in the last year of its life cycle and the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

With the next-generation F-Series - including the electrified 'PowerBoost' variants - already in the dealerships, the stars are aligned for Ford to mark four decades of leadership with this truck by the end of 2021. Watch this space.

Chevrolet and Ram trade places

• Finishing runner-up to the F-Series was its arch-rival from Chevrolet, the Silverado.
• After losing out to Ram's stylish new Pick-Up in 2019, the Silverado was back on top in its own little duel.
• That the Silverado managed to improve its numbers by 3% over 2019 despite the pandemic goes to show how good an outing the Chevy had in 2020.
• Ram was relegated to its usual third spot in the list and would be itching to get back ahead.   

SUVs, Crossovers and Trucks gain at the expense of sedans

• With over 430,000 units sold, Toyota's RAV4 was America's best-selling vehicle that wasn't a pick-up truck. Honda's CR-V came in next but the gap between the two is too big to make Toyota worry. In fact, with three models in the Top 10 and five in the Top 15, Toyota is sitting pretty. It's the competition that has to worry. 
• Toyota Camry - America's erstwhile favourite - is holding its own so far, managing to keep the Chevrolet Equinox and the other fast-rising SUVs and trucks behind. It's buddies from Japan - the Civic, Corolla and Accord - have all lost positions with each reporting declines of over 20%.
• GMC Sierra and Ford Explorer had an amazing run, growing their sales by 9% and an astonishing 21% respectively last year. Add the Sierra's numbers to the Silverado's and GM wins the great American pick-up war. Explorer's lead in the mid-size SUV segment gave Ford reasons to cheer though.
• Anything that wasn't a SUV, crossover or truck lost positions and reported a bigger drop in sales compared to those high-riding body-styles. Notable exceptions were Nissan's Rogue and Ford's Escape which should be a great cause of concern for the two brands.
• Two models each from Jeep and Subaru complete the Top 20 line-up with the latter's Forester ousting the former's Cherokee off the list.

While the trends are clearly visible, we shouldn't be reading much into 2020's sales figures as stated in the previous post. After all, it was an abnormal year. Let's wait and watch how the American market unfolds this year!

America's "Top 10" Best-selling Car Brands in 2020

None of us have to be reminded of the absolute havoc caused by the COViD-19 pandemic in 2020, taking millions of lives away and collapsing hordes of businesses. Now that the automotive industry has survived the trough and the car-makers are looking forward with cautious optimism, it's time to reconcile the numbers and see who shed the least blood in the year gone by.

As always, it’s the United States of America we’re going to start our analysis with. After a phenomenal run of five consecutive years when the number of new cars and trucks sold topped 17 million units, 2020 was quite a blow. Cumulative sales of 14.5 million units represented a drop of close to 15% compared to 2019. Given the circumstances though, there's not much to read into it. 2020, by all means, was an abnormal year and it would be prudent to wait and watch how the industry fares this year.

Based on the numbers reported, here's America's ‘Top 10’ best-selling brands:

Ford remains America’s favourite brand

• For a 11th consecutive year, Ford was America’s most popular brand. 
• With total sales of 1.94 million units, Ford was helped massively by the continuing popularity of the F-Series that’s now been America’s best-selling pick-up for 44 straight years. 
• Also boosting its numbers were the Explorer and Escape with the former ending 2020 as America’s best-selling midsize SUV. That should be a massive relief for the folks at the helm, given the much-publicized launch troubles the model went through in 2019. 
• With the Bronco Sport starting off well, the Mustang Mach-E garnering praise from everyone and the Bronco sitting on a pile of orders, 2021 should be a good year for the ‘Blue Oval’. It better be as Toyota and Chevrolet aren't very far away! 
• Spare a thought for the Fusion and Fiesta that are fading into the sunset as part of the brand’s strategy to exit cars and focus on SUVs and crossovers. The former, especially, will be missed in the United States.

Toyota and Chevrolet close in

• With 1.84 million cars and trucks sold in 2020, Toyota came in second with just 100,000 units separating it from the top spot. That’s a number that can easily be overhauled with just one very successful new model. With the RAV-4 going all guns blazing, the Camry holding fort amidst an onslaught of crossovers, SUVs and trucks and the Tacoma, Corolla and Highlander pitching in with significant sales of their own, Toyota is sitting pretty. That they are the runaway leaders when it comes to 'hybrids' also helps. 
• Going into 2021, the folks at Chevrolet would be a happy bunch. Though the 1.74 million units sold in 2020 and the 11% drop over 2019 might indicate otherwise, the new-generation Silverado family - in their first full year in the market - had a successful run and was one of the few nameplates that grew vis-à-vis 2019. Yes, the Silverado (and it’s sibling, the GMC Sierra) posted growth over 2019! Equinox and Traverse did well too with the former leapfrogging popular Japanese sedans like the Civic, Corolla and Accord. 

Nissan falters, Kia put up a strong fight

• Honda, in fourth is all alone, with Chevrolet far ahead and Nissan dropping off quite significantly behind. CR-V is the brand’s best-seller but unable to mount a challenge to the ever-popular RAV-4. Civic and Accord are the other big-sellers with both experiencing sharp drops as SUVs and crossovers continue to run rings around sedans. 
• Clinging onto fifth position behind Honda is Nissan. The Japanese brand has been grappling with a myriad of issues and this 33% drop in one of its biggest markets would’ve already set the alarm bells ringing in Japan. Something has to be done, soon. The recent redesign of the Rogue, Nissan’s best-seller, is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately for them, their once-strong sedans are in freefall mode right now! 
• Not far behind is Jeep, FCA’s crown jewel. After a few years of unprecedented growth when the brand could do no wrong, Jeep saw its sales drop 14% to under 800,000 units. With the exception of Gladiator, the drop was seen across the line-up with everything from the Renegade all the way up to the Grand Cherokee ending up in red. 
• Ram came in seventh with almost the entire sales coming from the brilliant new Pick-up. While the flagship 1500 TRX has mesmerized truck-lovers with its insane power and torque in a bid to woo the Raptor-loving crowd, the fact that the Ram Pick-up fell behind its arch-rival Chevrolet Silverado within a year of getting ahead would be of great concern to the brand.
• Hyundai had a better year compared to the other brands in this list, with sales dropping just a shade under 10% compared to the prior year. The Korean brand’s efforts on getting one crossover after another to the market seems to be paying off with the Tucson, Santa Fe, Palisade, Kona and Venue more than making up for the fall in sales of the Elantra, Sonata and Accent sedans. 
• Subaru’s dream run came to a screeching halt in 2020 with the Japanese brand reporting a 13% decline in sales compared to their all-time high figures achieved in 2019. As always, the Forester and Outback led the charge for Subaru in what has now become the Japanese car-maker’s most important and possibly most profitable market. 
• Rounding off the Top 10 is Kia, capping a remarkable year in which it saw its sales slip in just lower single digits. Of course, it’s still worse than brands that grew in 2020 – like Mazda, for instance – but those brands don’t sell as much as Kia. Shining bright in Kia’s line-up was the Telluride. The last I heard, the Korean car-maker wasn’t able to produce as many as they could sell. Also helping matters are their stylish new launches like the Sorento and K5.

Mercedes-Benz pips BMW in the luxury race

• From the very beginning of 2020, Mercedes-Benz has been leading the luxury race from BMW. While the former is yet to report its full year sales, only a very poor showing in the fourth quarter would be able to dislodge Mercedes-Benz from the top. The GLC, GLA and GLE raked in good numbers apparently while the E-Class continue to be a popular choice amongst sedans. 
• With sales of 278,732 units in 2020, BMW reported a 18% decline compared to the previous year. That resulted in the brand losing its lead from 2019. Within the lineup, the X series of SUVs have been very popular and fast displacing sedans as the mainstay of the brand. 
• Lexus proved its resilience and reported 275,041 units sold last year, placing it just a few thousand units behind BMW. The RX was the undisputed best-seller for the Japanese brand with the NX and ES sedan also adding considerable numbers.

Now that we've seen the Top 10 best-selling brands in the United States, the list of Top 20 best-selling cars would follow in the next post. 

Toyota RAV4 sales cross 10 million units globally

After a couple of failed attempts by other car-makers to blur the difference between traditional SUVs built on frames and wannabe SUVs built on car-based monocoques, it was Toyota that popularized the 'crossover' with the RAV4. For those who aren't aware, RAV4 stands for Recreational Activity Vehicle: 4-wheel drive. In what is a sign of things to come, sales of the RAV4 zoomed past 10 million units this February.

Toyota's successful compact crossover is rapidly closing in on Ford Model T that sold over 15 million units globally. Volkswagen's iconic Beetle is not that far either, having sold over 20 million units in a life cycle that spawned several decades.

When it debuted in 1994, the RAV4 was one of a kind. It was built on a platform that borrowed heavily from the Corolla sedan but with its high ground clearance and 4-wheel drive hardware, the RAV4 could go where Corollas couldn't.

In the first year, just over 53,000 of these found homes. But the RAV4 was well-placed to ride the SUV boom and saw it's annual sales go up to about 240,000 units in 2004 and over 640,000 units in 2014. In 2019, Toyota sold over 965,000 RAV4s with almost half of them in the United States of America. Remarkably, the RAV4 took 17 years to cross the first 5 million mark and just 7 years to replicate it.

Having cemented its legacy over 25 years and four generations, the fifth-generation RAV4 took over the mantle and is now selling better than ever. From the rugged and off-road-friendly RAV4 Adventure to the chic-looking and powerful RAV4 Prime, Toyota has made sure there is one to suit most buyers and their lifestyles.

RAV4's initial success prompted a host of other car-makers like Honda, Nissan and Ford to follow suit with crossovers of their own. Guess what, every one of them tasted success albeit to varying degrees.

Toyota hasn't made much noise on achieving this milestone. After all, they are the makers of the world's best-selling car of all time - the venerable Corolla - that's closing in on sales of 50 million units globally. The RAV4 is nowhere near. 

But this is a big deal. Here's why. Though the RAV4 is the first crossover to find a place in the list of best-selling cars of all time, it is not going to be the last. With demand for these high-riding vehicles showing no signs of slowing down, it's just a matter of time before the clan take over.

India's "Top 20" Best-selling Cars in 2019

Our previous post on India's best-selling car brands in 2019 showed that a damp market did nothing to change the fact one in every two cars sold in the country is a Maruti-Suzuki. It's quite natural then the Japanese brand and it's models are going to dominate the list of best-selling cars in India. 

But the Top 20 list isn't just a Maruti-Suzuki show. Hyundai and a handful of models from other brands also had their say. Here is how the cars that shaped the Indian automotive landscape last year stack up.

Highlights

• The top six best-selling cars are from Maruti-Suzuki
• Seven of the top ten and nine of the top twenty best-selling cars are from - you said it - Maruti-Suzuki
• Hyundai is the only brand other than Maruti-Suzuki to have it's cars in the Top 10
• The best-selling car that's not a Maruti-Suzuki or Hyundai is the Mahindra Bolero (#14)
• Fourteen of the top twenty best-selling cars are either a Maruti-Suzuki or Hyundai
• Tata is the only brand apart from the two leaders to have more than one model in the Top 20
• Mahindra, Honda, Toyota and Renault have one model each in the Top 20

Alto is back as India's best-selling car

Despite being at the end of its life cycle and seeing a substantial 19% drop in sales, Alto's bullet-proof reliability and affordable price tag together with aggressive financing options were just what customers wanted in a weakening economy. The net result was this diminutive hatchback ending 2019 as India's best-selling car. With an all-new Alto sporting a high-riding Kwid-like design reportedly in the works, things are looking very good for the Alto.

Dzire, Swift and Baleno hold their ground

In the Dzire, Swift and Wagon-R, Maruti-Suzuki has three very strong brands that are selling by themselves. All the car-maker has to do is to produce and have the cars sent to dealerships ready for delivery when customers walk in. Joining this trio are Baleno and Vitara Brezza. The latter's sales run, despite the advent of competent newer compact SUVs like the Venue and XUV3OO, is mind-boggling. It just goes to show how strong the 'S' badge is in India. With the venerable Omni off the production lines, customers looking for a cheap people-mover had no choice other than the Eeco, which explains its 35% jump over 2018.

Venue rescues Hyundai

From the looks of it, Hyundai's perennial best-sellers - i20, Grand i10 and Creta - continued their good run in 2019 and made it to the Top 10. But, keen observers would have noted the trio starting to lose their sheen with 13%, 24% and 18% drops respectively and the Venue coming to Hyundai's rescue adding over 70,000 units to the Korean car-maker's tally since its launch middle of last year. Santro had a decent run but couldn't match up to Maruti-Suzuki's older Celerio, let alone the big-selling all-new Wagon-R. The Koreans won't be pleased!

Ertiga shines, Bolero continues to surprise

Maruti-Suzuki Ertiga, at number eleven, had a stellar 2019 with an incredible 65% increase in sales over 2018. The first-generation model was a success itself but, with the launch of the all-new Ertiga towards the end of 2018, India's largest car-maker hit the ball out of the park. The new Ertiga does almost everything an Innova Crysta does at half the price. If that isn't value, what is? No wonder then the new Ertiga is a smash hit.

Tea table discussions on India's auto industry often see people wondering why Mahindra is still bothering with the age-old Bolero. One look at the list is all that's needed to silence them. Bolero's tough build and strong brand pull in semi-urban and rural markets have helped Mahindra for years and 2019 was no different. But the Indian car-maker has lots to ponder over. None of it's newer models - including the impressive Marazzo and XUV3OO - are anywhere close to making it to the list.

Tata had a dismal year overall and that reflected in Tiago's sales that dropped a massive 32% year-over-year. Nexon held its own though amidst a flurry of compact SUVs storming the market! Honda's Amaze, Toyota's Innova Crysta and Renault's Kwid are the other cars to make it to the Top 20. 

2020 is going to be an interesting year with the upcoming Bharat Stage-6 emission norms and the resulting change in price tags and engine options promising to shake things up quite a bit.

India's "Top 10" Best-selling Car Brands in 2019

As we saw earlier this week, 2019 wasn't a bad year for the automotive industry in the United States of America. Here in India though, things weren't as hunky dory. A combination of new regulatory norms, liquidity crunch and deficit monsoon ensured customer sentiments across urban and rural India remained weak all through the year. Passenger vehicle sales suffered as a result, dropping to 2,936,839 units in 2019. That's a significant 12.3% drop over the 3,349,386 units sold in 2018. 

To put those numbers in perspective, 2019 saw the biggest drop in automobile sales in India in over two decades. It was also just the second time since the dawn of the new century new car sales in India failed to grow. Yes, ours was a market that grew even during the 2007-08 global economic recession, which says an awful lot about the current state of affairs!

Amidst the doom and gloom, let's take a look at 2019's Top 10 Car Brands in India.

Maruti-Suzuki's dream run continues

There is some magic hidden in the 'S' badge that words quite can't describe. What else would explain the fact that, despite every other major car-maker stepping up their presence in segments currently dominated by them, 1 in every 2 new cars sold is still a Maruti-Suzuki? Even the softening market conditions could not help Hyundai, Mahindra and the rest of the chasing pack to gain big on the leader. That said, even the King couldn't buck the trend and ended up losing over 14% in sales and 1% in market share vis-a-vis 2018.

Almost every model in Maruti-Suzuki's line-up - Alto, S-Presso, Wagon-R, Swift, Baleno, Dzire, Ciaz, Vitara Brezza, Eeco - ended the year as segment best-sellers or were close to being the best. Even the so-called duds like the Ignis and S-Cross sell more than what most brands sell collectively. 

To add to it's competitors' woes, Maruti-Suzuki has now started selling the same cars with different badges through different channels. The Ertiga got a nose job and became the XL6 to be sold via Nexa while the Baleno swapped logos with Toyota to morph in to Glanza. The partnership with Toyota - a global leader in hybrids - in particular has all but ensured Maruti-Suzuki is here to rule the market. The competition should be worried!

Hyundai and Mahindra gain on shaky ground

Maruti-Suzuki's loss was Hyundai's gain with the Korean car-maker gaining a percentage point in market share. However, the bosses in Seoul won't be too happy with how things panned out in 2019. Perennial best-sellers Grand i10, i20 and Creta couldn't maintain their record 2018 sales figures while the new Santro failed to live up to their internal expectations. Helping Hyundai big-time was the newly-launched Venue, the demand for which stemmed the drop at 7%. But, the Korean camp had some good news too and that's coming in the form of Kia.

Interestingly, Mahindra's issues were very similar to Hyundai's. Market share went up slightly but the Indian brand sold 5% fewer cars in 2019 compared to 2018. Keeping the cash registers ringing were the old workhorses - Bolero, Scorpio and XUV5OO. Despite a strong start, both the Marazzo and XUV3OO have started seeing significant month-on-month decline in sales already. Something has to be done. Quickly. And the folks at Mahindra know it. Are the upcoming new Scorpio and XUV5OO the solution? May be. Let's wait and watch.

With the three leading brands controlling a whopping 75% of the market, a dozen or so brands are left to fight it out for the remaining one-fourths. 

Renault enjoys a stellar year

Edging ahead of its rivals, Tata finished 2019 as the fourth-largest car-maker in the country. Coming on the back of an excellent 2018, the 28% drop would have been a rude shock for the Pune-based brand though. Even the much-hyped, newly-launched Harrier couldn't help with only the Nexon and Tiago bringing in decent numbers. Honda and Toyota are paying the price for not having proper crossovers in their lineup at a time when customers are moving away from sedans and hatchbacks. Still, the Amaze helped Honda's cause while the big T's bills were paid by the high-priced Innova Crysta and Fortuner.

That gets us to Renault, one of the two bright spots in the industry at the moment! The French brand has always been a cut above the rest when it comes to identifying niches in the market. They did that with the Duster and Kwid in the past and have repeated the act with the Triber. Indians duly rewarded with their wallets. With no direct rival in sight, Renault should be able to ride the Triber wave for some time. 

There was no such good news for Ford that's still hinging on the EcoSport for survival. The Endeavour is doing great though and shows 'Brand Ford' isn't as weak as one might think!

Kia was the other bright spot in the Top 10 list. The Korean brand's launch in India has been incredibly successful with the Seltos decimating its rivals including the erstwhile best-seller Creta. From setting up the factory in record time to launching the Seltos in a multitude of variants to suit every buyer and price point to planning and executing the ramp up to perfection, Kia's Indian launch deserves to be a case study in itself. Expect the brand to move up the ladder in 2020 and beyond!

With the decade old Polo and Vento, Volkswagen should be happy that it found a place in the Top 10.

Outside the list, MG had a good start to their Indian innings with the Hector and the future does look promising for the Chinese-owned British brand. Skoda is another brand to watch out for.

Mercedes-Benz leads BMW in the luxury race

At the premium end of the market, the sentiments were pretty similar. Mercedes-Benz is still India's favourite luxury car brand with 13,786 units sold in 2019. That's a 10% drop compared to the record 2018 sales but enough to steer well clear of BMW that reported sales of 9,000 units. E-Class, the first model launched by Mercedes-Benz in India, turned out to be the brand's best-seller with the C-Class, CLA and GLC also contributing well. The trio of SUVs - X1,X3 and X5 - led BMW's charge.

There's lots in store for 2020 starting with the implementation of Bharat Stage-6 emission norms from April. Let's have our fingers crossed!

America's "Top 20" Best-selling Cars in 2019

Now that we know Ford, Toyota and Chevrolet dominated the sales charts last year in the United States of America, let’s delve deeper to find out the models that helped these brands and the rest of the gang reach there. So, here they come, America’s ‘Top 20’ best-selling cars of 2019. 

Ford F-Series reigns supreme

Now, this is getting tough. What do we write about Ford’s all-conquering F-Series that we haven’t written over the past several years? Except for the fact that 2019 was the 38th year in a row this behemoth topped the sales charts in the United States. And 2019 was also the 43rd year on the trot this money-spinner from Ford ended up as America’s best-selling pick-up truck. Incredibly, the current F-Series is on the last legs of its life cycle and achieved this feat in a year that saw it’s two crosstown rivals come out in all-new avatars - refreshed and brimming with vigor.

We can’t wait to see what Ford has in store for the next-generation F-Series that’s slated to debut sometime next year with hybrid and electric variants joining the parade. 

Ram Pick-Up leapfrogs Chevrolet Silverado

Despite the Silverado being an all-new model, Chevrolet couldn’t do what Ford did and lost its second position to the similarly-new Ram Pick-Up. The new Silverado range ended 2019 with a 2% drop over the prior year. Surely, the controversial grille treatment didn’t help with the underwhelming interiors not helping matters. The all-new Ram scored big on both these aspects and, with a 48-volt mild hybrid system standard across the line-up, could boast of ‘green’ credentials too! Truck-loving Americans, unsurprisingly, lapped them up as quickly as FCA could manufacture them.

Japanese crossovers are the new Japanese sedans

Not long ago, the three pick-up trucks would have sedans from Toyota, Honda and Nissan behind them in the sales charts. The bad news is that’s been changing over the last few years, thanks to the shift in customer preferences towards SUVs and crossovers. The good news is those positions are still occupied by Toyota, Honda and Nissan with the RAV4, CR-V and Rogue pushing their low-riding stablemates down the order. The RAV4, in particular, is going strong while Nissan has a task at hand to ponder over the 15% decline in Rogue’s sales. 

Joining the Japanese trio in the crossover party is Chevrolet with the Equinox enjoying a good run with a 4% increase in sales vis-à-vis 2018. Toyota Camry, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla round off the Top 10 doing a great job of maintaining their sales figures in what was a tough year for sedans. The Accord, though, couldn’t do the same and ended the year with a 8% drop. 

The rest of the Top 20

With the Tacoma and Highlander enjoying a decent run, Toyota had five of its models in the Top 20 list - the highest for any car-maker. Ford, Honda and Jeep had three entries each while Chevrolet and Nissan had a pair of them each. Ram and GMC are the two other brands to have a model featuring in the Top 20.

Jeep slips, Ford falls

Just last year, it appeared Jeep could do no wrong. But, 2019 proved to be a mixed bag for FCA's flagship brand. The bigger and more profitable Grand Cherokee put up a solid show but, with the Wrangler and Cherokee in the red at a time when SUVs are hot properties, Jeep has to watch out. The Gladiator, though, has received rave reviews and enjoyed a solid start! 

Bigger headaches are in store for Ford with both the Escape and Explorer reporting significant declines. Crucially, both these crossovers had their next-generation models debuting in 2019 with some teething issues restricting production and supplies. 2020 would be a litmus test for these two as well as the recently-launched Ranger and upcoming Bronco.

GMC Sierra, Silverado’s posh cousin, did well compared to the Chevy and grew 6% over the previous year. Boosted by fleet sales, Nissan’s Altima sold as much as it did in 2018 and made it to the list doing so.

Will 2020 throw in more surprises? Will this year see the formidable Camry, Corolla, Civic and Accord dropping off further in favour of other crossovers? Can Subaru, Hyundai and Kia break in to the Top 20? There are too many questions that 2020 promises to answer. Let’s wait and watch!

America's "Top 10" Best-selling Car Brands in 2019

With 2020 bringing with it not just a new year but also a new decade, there is lots to look forward to. On the same note, it is also time to retrospect the year that just went by and see how the car-makers fared. 

China might have stolen the limelight as the single largest market for automobiles but the money-minting potential offered by the United States of America - a country that loves its big and burly trucks and SUVs - can just not be overlooked. 

2019 was a good year as Americans bought a little over 17 million cars, a marginal 1.3% drop from the prior year. Low unemployment rate and easy financing have led to positive consumer sentiments, reports claim.

With over 30 brands competing for a share of the lucrative American market, here's the list of brands that made the Top 10.

Ford marks a decade of leadership

With over 2.31 million cars sold in 2019, it's a decade of standing atop the podium for Ford Motor Company. If you're after year-over-year stats, the Blue Oval saw a 3.5% drop over 2018. As always, more than a third of Ford's sales are from the F-Series alone with the truck notching up 896,526 units through the year. Believe it or not, that's now 38 years in a row the F-Series has ended up as America's best-selling vehicle and 43 years on the trot as the country's best-selling pick-up.

Transit grew sales and ended the year as America's best-selling van with the full-size Expedition and the pint-sized EcoSport also pitching in with handsome gains over the prior year. Mustang led the muscle-car race for the fifth straight year, finishing 2019 as America's most-popular sports car.

These bright spots aside, Ford lost volumes on the big-selling Escape and Explorer with launch issues while the entire car portfolio comprising of the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion and Taurus are either off the showrooms or are on the way out.

Toyota and Chevrolet round off the podium spots

The status quo remains unchanged as far as the podium spots are concerned with Toyota finishing runner-up with close to 2.1 million customers opting for it. The newly-refreshed RAV4 was a star and the Japanese brand's best-seller but the Camry and Corolla went one step ahead and did well in a market that's unforgiving for anything that's not a SUV or crossover.

Chevrolet is hot on Toyota's heels selling 1.96 million vehicles through the year. GM's best-selling brand had a good year with the Equinox, Traverse, Trax and Tahoe having a good run on the sales charts. Like Ford though, cars wearing the bow-tie are being sent to the gutters one after the other with the Malibu, Cruze, Impala and Sonic suffering from the decision. 

Ram had a stellar year while Subaru, Hyundai and Kia gain

Honda, Nissan and Jeep finished fourth, fifth and sixth on the sales charts like they did in 2018. While Honda improved its figures marginally over the prior year, Nissan and Jeep posted declines with the Japanese brand ending up as the biggest loser in the Top 10. Jeep's loss is a bit of a surprise as the market is moving big-time towards SUVs and high-riding vehicles that the American brand is synonymous with. The Renegade, Compass and Cherokee lost big chunks that the Grand Cherokee and the all-new Gladiator couldn't make-up.

The real star of 2019 though was Ram with the all-new Pick-Up range proving to be a smash hit amongst the truck-loving Americans. This was the FCA brand's best performance since being spun off as a standalone brand towards the end of the last decade and quite deservedly so. The new Ram range looks stylish and the interiors are miles ahead of what the competiton offers at the moment. 

Rounding off the Top 10 are Subaru, Hyundai and Kia with each of the three brands posting gains over 2018. While the Outback and Forester led to Subaru's best-ever showing in America, the Korean brands were boosted by their all-new three-row SUV twins, the Palisade and Telluride.

BMW trumps Mercedes-Benz & Lexus in the luxury race

Moving onto the premium echelons of the automotive ecosystem, BMW led the standings selling 324,826 cars and SUVs in 2019. The X3 and X5 were big contributors to that number with the 3-Series also chipping in handsomely. Hot on BMW's heels was Mercedes-Benz (316,094) with the GLC emerging the top-seller. Lexus (298,114) finished the year in third position not that far off the leading Germans.

India's "Top 20" Best-selling Cars in 2018

Our last post on India’s “Top 10” Best-selling Car Brands showed that yet another year had passed by with no big changes in car-buying patterns in the country. It’s hard to believe but Maruti-Suzuki, India’s largest car-maker by a country mile, actually improved its market share in 2018. Yes, Suzuki’s Indian subsidiary now holds a massive 52% share of the market. 

With more than 3.34 million units sold in 2018, India is the only large automotive market where such a monopoly exists. Add this to the 16% held by Hyundai and the two car-makers have effectively locked 70% of the 3.34 million units out of reach of the remaining players. It’s no surprise then India’s “Top 20” Best-selling Cars comprise almost the entire Maruti-Suzuki portfolio, a slew of Hyundais and a few other brands making a guest appearance here and there.

So, here are the cars that topped the charts in India last year.

Highlights

• The top six best-selling cars are all from Maruti-Suzuki
• Seven of the top ten best-selling cars are from Maruti-Suzuki
• Ten out of the top twenty best-selling cars are from – you guessed it right – Maruti-Suzuki
• Hyundai is the only brand apart from Maruti-Suzuki that features in the top ten
• Tata is the only car-maker apart from Maruti-Suzuki and Hyundai to have more than one car in the top twenty
• Mahindra, Toyota, Honda, Renault and Ford have one model each in the top twenty

Dzire is India's Best-selling Car 

'Back with a bang' is what comes to mind looking at Dzire’s sales performance last year. Thanks to a cohesive design (finally!), feature-rich interiors and a proven, frugal engine line-up, the third-generation Dzire that debuted early last year blazed the charts and ended 2018 as India’s best-selling car. While doing so, Maruti-Suzuki's compact sedan decimated its rivals selling more than all of them combined. Competitors are trying their best with constant refreshes and facelifts but the public hardly seem to care. This segment is all about the Dzire and a little bit about the Amaze. ‘Brand Dzire’ is so strong now the fact it started life as a suffix to the Swift tag seems a distant memory now. 

Swift, Baleno and Vitara Brezza shine

The ever-dependable Alto finished runner-up but sales remained flat vis-à-vis 2017. With Swift and Baleno right behind on steep growth trajectories and an improving economy boosting affordability and pushing first-time car buyers towards premium hatchbacks, there is a fact chance the Alto might go down further in the coming years. This is new territory for Maruti-Suzuki's entry level car as it's been leading the sales charts for more than a decade now. Maruti-Suzuki won’t be worried though. After all, the Swift, Baleno and the Vitara Brezza and Wagon-R that are right behind the Alto in terms of sales fetch more revenues and profits. 

Along with the Celerio that rounds up the top ten, Maruti-Suzuki's turf is heavily guarded and it would take something extraordinary from Hyundai or one of the other brands to breach it. Outside the top ten, three further models from Suzuki's Indian portfolio - Omni, Eeco and Ertiga - emerge best-sellers of 2018.

Hyundai's trio continue to take the fight to the leader

Hyundai's dependable trio of i20, Grand i10 and Creta did well in 2018 and are the only cars that aren't Maruti-Suzukis to feature in the top ten. The Creta, especially, has been doing a phenomenal job raking in volumes despite being priced higher. That the i20 and Grand i10 are keeping the Baleno and Swift honest respectively for years now is a commendable feat in itself. Having said that, it's high time the South Korean car-maker gets another car or two in the top twenty. 

The all-new Santro has started off well and Hyundai's upcoming Vitara Brezza rival looks promising. Question is, will they do what the Eon could never do?

Tiago, Nexon and Amaze put on an impressive show

Tata Motors had an impressive year with the Tiago and Nexon both gaining sales and share in their segments. While the former finished just 8,000 units short of the Celerio, the latter ended up beating the well-established EcoSport to become the second best-selling compact SUV in the country. 

Honda did a stellar job with the second-generation Amaze and Indians responded with their wallets. The Japanese compact sedan more than doubled its sales from 2017 with the improved, feature-rich interiors, the awesome diesel-CVT combo and Civic-inspired design winning hearts. 

Bolero's dominance in the rural and semi-urban markets continues unabated while Toyota's Innova Crysta found more homes in 2018, it's expensive positioning be damned. Ford's refreshed EcoSport started off well but went on a downward spiral towards the second half of the year. Renault's Kwid castle is crashing fast and the car-maker has got to do something quick to stem this free fall.