DEATH OF THE SEDAN

As customers take to SUVs and EV transition picks up speed, the good-old sedan sees a drastic dip in sales.

- PAVAN LALL

ASHISH RAZDAN, a corporate lawyer and partner at Khaitan & Co. in Mumbai, had all along driven a German sedan. Recently, he switched to a Volkswagen SUV. “The most important consideration for buying an SUV was the versatility it offered—comfort and space without compromising on the ride quality,” says Razdan. “The space is handy if you want to take the family and the pets out together, or if you want to load a bunch of cricket kits at the back along with a few buddies.” An SUV also offers high road clearance, especially useful during the monsoon, he adds.

In 2012, the mid-size sedan segment offered over two dozen products that included the Ford Ikon, the HM-Mitsubishi Lancer, Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Maruti SX4, Renault Scala, Skoda Rapid, Tata Manza and the VW Vento among others according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Cut to 2023. There are just seven sedan models, with the SUV category seeing an almost inverse ratio of growth. Today, there are 46 cars in the SUV segment. The sheer magnitude of cars available in the SUV segment is a telling indicator.

Sedans, which had peaked at a volume of 6.5 lakh a year (in a total market of 19 lakh cars), now sell less than 4 lakh annually in a market that has expanded to 38.9 lakh cars a year, according to SIAM. A bulk of the sedans being sold are in the entry-level category where Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Hyundai Aura and Honda Amaze account for 3 lakh of the 4 lakh sedans sold.

The SUV segment that has taken over the sedan’s volumes comprises smaller compact SUVs, mid-size SUVs and large SUVs. While the smaller SUV segment saw market leader Maruti jump in with the Brezza, which drove sales, other categories are growing as well. Maruti now has the all-wheel drive Jimny, apart from Vitara and the Brezza.