10 best selling cars of January 2021: Maruti, Hyundai continue to dominate

Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai are the two dominating forces in India. Like in the past, both automakers' individual vehicles have always stood in the top-10 list of cars sold in India.

In January 2021, auto sales are beginning to show signs of improvement. Demand for new vehicles is gaining traction as the Indian automotive industry is emerging from a tumultuous period. Maruti Suzuki has always been dominating the sales charts in India and January 2021 is no exception. Seven of the top 10 best selling cars in India are Maruti Suzuki products. The other three remaining spots are claimed by Hyundai. We list down the ten best selling cars in the month of January 2021. Additionally, compare how they well they sold a year ago in January 2020.

History has shown that the Maruti Suzuki Alto has been the best selling car in India for a very long time. But in recent times, it has been competing with its elder brother – Swift for the top spot. The Swift was the best selling car in India in 2020. But in January 2021, the Maruti Suzuki Alto was the best selling car in India. The Swift was the second best seller over the WagonR, Baleno and Dzire.

Then in the SUV fight, Hyundai takes over with two of its models, the Creta which is the best selling SUV in the country. The Creta is the sixth best selling car in India in January 2021 and the Hyundai Venue sits in the seventh spot.

The Maruti Suzuki Eeco van is the eighth bestseller in India followed by the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios in ninth. But, the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza is the 10th best selling model and third best selling SUV in India in the month.

Car sales comparison: January 2020 vs January 2021

Four of the top five cars (Maruti Suzuki models) saw their demand drop despite holding the top five positions. In January 2021, the Maruti Suzuki Alto saw its wholesale numbers stand at 18,260 units against 18,914 from January 2020. In January 2020, 19,981 people ordered a Maruti Suzuki Swift, but in 2021, only 17,180 units were sold.

The Maruti Suzuki WagonR in the third spot, however, saw its sales rise year-on-year. Sales for the WagonR rose from 15,232 units from January last year to 17,165 units in 2021. The WagonR is not too far behind the Swift in sales.

Baleno sales also dropped from 20,485 units in Jan 2020 to 16,648 units in Jan 2021. But the Dzire saw its sales drop most significantly. Sales for the Dzire which stood around 22,406 units, dropped all the way down to 15,125. This seems to be mostly down to the fact that most personal buyers are moving towards SUVs in the same segment.

Thus, we find models like the Hyundai Creta and Venue monthly unit sales nearly double. The current-generation Creta was launched in March 2020, so the comparison in unit sales is not apples to apples. But, the popularity of the Creta has seen a steep rise. In Jan 2020, Hyundai sold 6,900 units of the Creta and in Jan 2021, Hyundai sold 12,284 units. The Venue SUV’s popularity grew similarly with 11,779 units sold in Jan 2021, against 6,733 units in the same period last year.

Demand for the Maruti Suzuki Eeco saw a marginal drop from 12,324 units to 11,640 units. However, sales for Hyundai’s Grand i10 Nios hatchback picked up from 8,774 units to 10,865 units.

The tenth best selling car in India in January 2021 was the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. Demand for the Brezza picked up marginally in January 2021 with 10,623 units over 10,134 units last year. Maruti Suzuki in February 2020, updated the Brezza to BS6 as a petrol-only offering with a new facelift model. This suggests that the demand for the SUV has not changed between diesel and petrol model in this isolated time period.

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