The executive or the mid-size sedan segment in India has seen many ups and downs in the past 5 years or so. Prior to that, it was the go-to option for someone looking to upgrade from the hatchback segment to something more luxurious. But things have changed a lot now. Sedans are struggling to grow their market share after the concept of compact SUVs. Now people are able to get a much bigger car at an even lower price point than an executive sedan. The focus of the customers has shifted to SUVs globally. Following this, it is getting more and more difficult for sedans to stay in the numbers game anymore. No one can predict what each month might bring for the sedan segment in general and the executive sedan segment in particular. In the month of March, the executive sedan segment saw a decline in sales of 5% from February. Let us take a look at how the individual sedans performed.
Also read: Car Sales Report For March 2021 – Brief Overview!
Hyundai Verna – 2,778 Units
The very popular, Hyundai Verna is back in the game after a period of total domination from Honda City. In the month of March, people chose the Korean over the Japanese product by a huge margin. Hyundai sold a whopping 2,778 units of the Verna, compared to just over 2,000 units in the month before. This marks a significant 36% rise in sales in just one month. Hyundai Verna comes equipped with a ton of features and that could be the reason for its popularity again.
Also read: Mid-size SUV sales report for March – Creta, Seltos, Hector, Harrier and more!
Maruti Suzuki Ciaz – 1,628 Units
Another popular sedan, that features on the list of most popular sedans in the country, the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, has also observed an 8% increase in sales on an MoM basis. In March, Maruti sold over 1,600 units of its executive sedan compared to just over 1,500 units in February. This indicates a stable growth trajectory for the sedan.
Skoda Rapid – 903 Units
The Czech carmaker has been in the news lately because of its new project, India 2,0 with the German Volkswagen and it has unveiled its first product under that initiative in Kushaq and Taigun. There is also the news of the next-gen Rapid launching in India in 2021. In March, though, Skoda managed to sell 903 units of the Rapid compared to a mere 180 units in February. This is a significant rise in sales for the carmaker on an MoM basis.
Also read: Compact SUV sales report for March 2021 – Brezza, Venue, Sonet, Nexon and more!
Toyota Yaris – 871 Units
Although Toyota Yaris has not been particularly successful since its inception, it has managed to bring in low numbers consistently. March 2021 was no different with the brand selling 871 units of the Yaris compared to February 2021, where it managed to sell only 424 units.
Also read: Tata Motors eyeing 10% market share soon – All products sold over 2,000 units in March!
Honda City – 815 Units
This comes as a shock to one and all that City has slipped down to 5th place on the list which it used to top for almost entire last year. In fact, Honda City was the highest-selling executive sedan of 2020. In March, the performance was actually disappointing with just 815 units being sold to the customers compared to February, when it sold over 2,500 units. It is not clear what caused this steep decline in sales for Honda.
Updated received on 7th April 2021: Honda car India’s official PR team reached out and informed us that they are facing some supply chain issues because of semi-conductor shortage, hence the production is affected. They cited it as the reason for decline in sales numbers.
Also read: Renault grows over 12% in March – Kwid, Kiger, Triber are the sales-drivers!
VW Vento – 137 Units
VW Vento has already seen struggling days in this particular segment for a long time. That is also the reason why the sales have always been low. VW is planning to launch the next-gen Vento, which might be inspired by the VW Virtus sold in international markets. In March, VW managed to sell a mere 137 units of the sedan compared to just 19 units the month before.
