New Delhi:
Maruti Suzuki, which has been ruling the Indian automobile market for four decades, has finally been left behind by Tata Motors by giving tough competition. In the year 2024, Tata Punch performed well and recorded sales of 202,030 units and took the crown of India’s best-selling car. Let us tell you that for the first time after four decades, any other car manufacturer has overtaken Maruti Suzuki.

This achievement is not only a big win for Tata Motors, but also an indication of the changing trends in the Indian auto sector.

Growing popularity of SUV

The main reason behind this success of Tata Punch is the changing preferences of Indian consumers. Now customers are getting attracted towards cars with premium features, due to which there has been a huge increase in the demand for SUVs. The share of SUVs in the Indian passenger vehicle market is expected to increase from 32 percent in 2021 to more than 50 percent in 2024.

List of best selling cars in 2024

In the year 2024, Tata Punch took the first place in the list of best-selling cars, with 202,030 units sold. After this, Maruti cars remained prominent in the list. Maruti Wagon R stood second with sales of 190,855 units and Maruti Ertiga stood third with sales of 190,091 units. Maruti Brezza stood at fourth place, whose 188,160 units were sold. At the same time, Hyundai Creta stood at fifth place, which recorded sales of 186,919 units.

Maruti’s dominance of four decades broken

Maruti Suzuki ruled the Indian car market for four decades. In the mid-1980s, the Maruti 800 overtook the Hyundai Ambassador to become the best-selling car. After this, cars like Maruti 800, Alto, Wagon R, Swift, Dezire continued to dominate the market. But now Tata Punch has broken this dominance.

Demand for premium features

Today’s consumers are giving preference to cars with premium features like sunroof, automatic transmission. For many carmakers, SUVs account for up to 68 percent of sales, which is more than the average of 54 percent.

success of tata motors

Shailesh Chandra, MD, Tata Motors, said, “2024 has been a record sales year for Tata Motors. We have sold 565,000 units. Our SUV portfolio has registered a growth of 19 per cent and the Punch has crossed 200,000 units. With sales achieved the title of best selling car in India.”

Experts believe that the demand for cars with premium features will continue in the coming times. With this, a new era has started in the Indian car market.