The compact hatchback segment has been ruled by the Maruti Suzuki Wagon R for 20 years now and the August sales data is no different
India is the biggest market globally for the hatchbacks as they single-handedly contribute to almost 50 percent share in the passenger car market. From the entry-level hatchbacks to compact hatchbacks and even the premium hatchbacks, there’s always a vehicle from these categories in the top 5 selling cars on monthly basis, revealing how important hatchbacks are in India.
Small size and affordable price is what makes the hatchbacks so popular. However, the sales of the hatchbacks have been impacted hard and we decode the compact hatchback segment performance here. The compact hatchback is ruled by the segment leader for 20 years now – the Maruti Suzuki Wagon R, who competes against the Hyundai Santro.
| Model | No. Of Units Sold In August 2019 |
| Maruti Suzuki Wagon-R | 11,402 |
| Maruti Suzuki Celerio | 4,765 |
| Hyundai Santro | 3,288 |
| Tata Tiago | 3,037 |
| Renault Kwid | 2,191 |
Maruti Suzuki sold 11,402 units of Wagon R in August 2019, which is a 17 percent dip as against the same month last year when 13,658 units were sold. On a month-on-month basis, a 24 percent decline is reported, with Maruti selling 15,062 units in July 2019.
Next in the segment is another Maruti Suzuki product, the Celerio which recorded a 50 percent dip in sales, getting 4,765 buyers in August this year as compared to 9,503 buyers last year. Even though Hyundai discontinued the Santro for few years, it has been launched again in an all-new avatar.
This time around, though, Hyundai Santro couldn’t keep it up to the Maruti Suzuki Wagon R. Hyundai sold 3,288 units in August 2019, which is barely one-fourth the sales of Wagon R. Since the car was introduced this year, there’s no Y-o-Y data. However, when compared to July 2019, there’s a 38 percent dip, as Hyundai sold 5,309 units then.
Lastly, the Tata Tiago recorded a massive 67 percent dip with 3,037 unit sales in August 2019 as compared to 9,277 units last year. Tiago has been hit the worst with the industry slump and also the fact that it has not been updated in a while has worked against the popular car. If the whole segment is considered, a 31 percent decline was recorded among compact hatchbacks as whole.