Five Least Popular Cars in India – Why Aren’t They Selling?
Here are the slowest-selling cars across five segments in the Indian market. What makes them poor performers?
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There is no such thing as a bad car. Every car that’s sold has a purpose. It’s just that some have a greater purpose than others. In every race, there’s a loser. While the best-selling cars have often been spoken about, let’s turn the spotlight on the laggards for a change.
Across segments, here is a look at cars whose sales have been dropping in the past six months.
Premium Mid-Size Sedans
Chevrolet Cruze
Total sales in six months: 780
The premium mid-size sedan segment in India is anyway a small segment – one that has shrunk in size ever since 2012, when SUVs in the same price range of between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 20 lakh began to go on sale. The Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Elantra have managed to hold out, while some like the Renault Fluence have thrown in the towel.
The slowest-selling car in this segment is the Chevrolet Cruze, which at one point was a hot-selling car in the segment. It was an enthusiast’s delight and was even referred to as a diesel-powered rocket. Why isn’t it selling? Buyers want more features and space.
Mid-Size Sedans
Renault Scala
Total sales in six months: 105
Mid-size sedans are a popular segment with the Maruti Ciaz leading the segment, followed closely by the Honda City. These cars each sell about 5,000 odd-units every month. Cars in this segment are now feature rich and spacious, offering a good blend of performance and comfort.
The Renault Scala is one of the most spacious cars in the segment. However, it does seem bland in terms of features and interior design when compared to the others. That’s probably one of the reasons buyers don’t see value in it. The Fiat Linea too, despite being a car that is adored by enthusiasts, is quickly seeing sales tapering off, with just 305 cars sold in six months.
Compact SUVs
Mahindra NuvoSport
Total sales in six months: 400
The compact SUV segment has been growing nearly 30% year on year, but not all compact SUVs in the segment have been able to keep pace.
The Maruti Vitara Brezza and the Hyundai Creta have been chalking up big numbers. Buyers are looking for good ground clearance and ruggedness to handle bad roads. Over 58,000 Brezzas were sold in six months. And more than 49,500 Cretas were scooped up in the same period.
But the Mahindra NuvoSport hasn’t managed to excite buyers. Being a chopped-short Xylo, it just does not have the right proportions, despite getting a huge cosmetic upgrade and being loaded with features.
Also see: SUVs Under Rs 10 lakh: Spoilt for Choice
Premium Hatchbacks
Chevrolet Sail U-VA
Total sales in six months: 277
The premium hatchback segment is one with a lot of interest and showing growth of nearly 28% over the previous year. The most popular premium hatchbacks are the Maruti Swift and the Hyundai i20. This segment also has some niche hot hatchbacks, such as the Volkswagen Polo GT TSI and Fiat Punto Abarth. The Fiat Punto Abarth is a niche performance car, selling only 54 units in the past six months, so we are not considering it.
Among the mass market cars, the Chevrolet Sail U-VA showed dismal performance. There’s nothing wrong with the car, but buyers prefer more stylish vehicles. Incidentally, it was the largest-selling hatchback in China a couple of years ago.
Entry-Level Hatchback
Tata Nano
Total sales in six months: 2,756
The entry-level hatchback segment is the largest passenger vehicle segment in India. The leader in the segment by a huge margin is the Maruti Alto, India’s largest-selling car, selling 1,24,610 units in the past six months.
When the Tata Nano came about, it was touted as being an inexpensive car and one that Tata hoped would become a people’s car. It looks quite fresh after its facelift and Tata has been pushing it towards a younger audience. However, buyers seem to be preferring the Maruti Alto, which does have a bit more power and luggage space compared to the Nano, even though the Alto is about Rs 40,000 more expensive.
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