Compact Sedan Segment Sales Down By 41% As Dzire, Amaze, Xcent, Tigor Falter

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The compact sedan segment has been another victim of the sales crisis faced by the auto sector as the overall decline stood at 41 per cent in September 2019

Just as every other segment in the Indian auto industry, the compact sedan space is enduring troubled times for more than a year. The challenging market scenario was evident last month as well as the sub-four-metre sedan segment registered a massive 41 per cent negative growth. All the popular models posted huge sales slumps leading to the decline.

The segment has always been led by Maruti Suzuki Dzire which had been outperforming its older version. Ever since Maruti Suzuki decided to remove the Swift brand moniker from Dzire, the separate identity and less-than-conservative persona did help it to reach wider audience.

However, from recording a regular average of 20,000 units, the Dzire’s sales were down to just 15,662 units in September 2019. Compared to the same month in 2018 when 21,296 units were sold, the Dzire met with 26 per cent YoY drop. Last month, other sedans in the segment encountered more severe hits as the Honda Amaze posted just 4,823 units as against 8,401 units with YoY de-growth of 43 per cent.

Compact Sedans September 2019 Sales September 2018 Sales
Maruti Suzuki Dzire 15,662 21,296
Honda Amaze 4,823 8,401
Hyundai Xcent 1,164 4,105
Tata Tigor 737 1,843
Ford Aspire 483 1,640
Volkswagen Ameo 344 1,034
Tata Zest 277 1,722

The Xcent stood third with 1,164 units with 72 per cent sales slump as 4,105 units were retailed in September 2018. The replacement of the Xcent had already been spotted running trials on Indian roads and it could arrive sometime next year to revive the fortunes of the sedan.

Tata Motors’ Tigor is priced aggressively in the space and it had a good run since entering showrooms. But the popularity has certainly faded in recent times as only 737 units were sold against 1,843 units with YoY drop of 63 per cent. Despite receiving a major update earlier this year, the Aspire could not get back on level terms with other models in the compact sedan segment.

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In September 2019, only 483 units were registered against 1,640 units with 71 per cent volume decline. The Volkswagen Ameo and Tata Zest are the other two sedans competing in the segment with less flare as they ended up sixth and seventh with 344 and 270 units respectively.