Honda Civic finished on top of the sales charts in October 2020 as 230 units were sold; Elantra ended up second
Honda Cars India brought back the Civic nameplate in March 2019 after more than six years and it proved to be a game-changer in the executive sedan segment. The tenth generation Honda Civic debuted with many segment-first features and fuel efficient powertrain options and the CVT in petrol has also been well received.
While the volume sales in the sedan segments are not up to the level it used to be, the Civic continues to sit at the top of the sales charts. It garnered a total of 230 units as against 436 units during the same period in 2019 with 47 per cent Year-on-Year sales de-growth. The Elantra finished second in October 2020 as 46 units were registered.
Compared to the previous month of September 2020, the Civic recorded a health Month-on-Month volume growth of 27 per cent as 181 units were sold during that period. The same can be said for the Elantra as well as it endured 92 per cent MoM sales increase as only 24 units were sold in September 2020.
| Models (YoY) | October 2020 Sales | October 2019 Sales |
| 1. Honda Civic (-47%) | 230 | 436 |
| 2. Hyundai Elantra (-22%) | 46 | 59 |
| 3. Skoda Octavia (-87%) | 31 | 231 |
The Octavia and Civic used to exchange top positions in the segment but last month, the Czech sedan managed to post only 31 units as against 231 units during the corresponding period in 2019 with a massive volume drop of 87 per cent. It endured 82 per cent growth as only 17 units were recorded in September 2020.
The premium sedan segment’s sales fortunes as a whole may not improve in the near future. The Octavia was the only model in Skoda’s domestic portfolio to record negative sales growth last month. The fourth generation Skoda Octavia made its global debut late last year and it has been spied testing many times in India since July 2020.
It will come with a host of exterior and interior changes and is expected to be powered by a new 1.5-litre TSI petrol developing around 150 hp and a 190 hp making 2.0-litre engine. Both six-speed manual and a seven-speed DSG will likely be in the offering. Toyota might consider the reentry of the Corolla with a brand new generation next year.