Many carmakers introduced new vehicles in the compact and midsize SUV segments in 2021 while others had different priorities
The Indian automotive industry saw plenty of action throughout this calendar year and since we are at the very end of 2021, we are reflecting on the best launches in a new series of articles as the ‘Ten Best Cars Launched In 2021‘ can be seen on the website already and it is important to address that some of the mainstream carmakers went without introducing any passenger car.
Nissan’s India division only has two products being sold in the domestic market under its own badge. The Kicks midsize SUV has been available for nearly three years while the Magnite compact SUV debuted in December 2020. The five-seater has plenty in common with the Renault Kiger, which was launched in February 2021, and is underpinned by the heavily localised CMF-A+ platform.
It will be interesting to see what the Renault-Nissan alliance does next but in 2021, the brand did not bring in any new model. The same can be said for Honda Cars India as the Japanese manufacturer relies on City and Amaze primarily to garner volumes. The fifth-generation Honda City debuted back in July 2020 and this year, Honda introduced only the facelifted Amaze with minor updates.
Kia India currently has Sonet, Seltos and Carnival in its local portfolio and this year the trio received mild updates with the addition of new corporate logo and other minor changes. However, no new vehicle has been launched this CY. The Carens seven-seater is hitting the market in the early parts of 2022 though and it made its global premiere only a few days ago.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor introduced the facelifted Fortuner earlier this year and before that the Glanza (rebadged Baleno) and Urban Cruiser (rebadged Vitara Brezza) were brought in and they are performing decently in recording sales numbers. Jeep India relies on the Compass for registering volumes every month and no new product has seen the light today.
Jeep is working on a compact SUV for India and is expected to debut sometime towards the end of next year or in 2023.