[TusharK]

The Tata Punch has become India’s top-selling car with over 1.26 lakh units sold between January and July 2024.



The Maruti Suzuki WagonR, which has been the top-selling car in India for a long time, slipped to second place with 1.16 lakh units sold. The Hyundai Creta was the third best-selling car during this period with 1.09 lakh units sold, followed by the Maruti Brezza and Ertiga with 1.05 lakh and 1.04 lakh units, respectively.

Tata Motors has registered a massive growth in the sales of the Punch compared to the same period last year when just over 79,000 units were sold. However, in July 2024, Punch sales slipped to fourth position with the Hyundai Creta taking the top spot.

According to media reports, electric and CNG variants make up 47% of Punch’s total sales, whereas CNG contributes to 45% of WagonR’s sales. CNG variants of the Brezza and Ertiga make up 27% and 58% of their respective sales.

Source: TOI

Link to Team-BHP News

[sumeethaldankar]

Nice for Tata. A wake up call for Maruti to give safety a priority to their cars. I think the mini SUV with safety combination works for the people who chose the Punch against the various Marutis. MS is always known to feel the pulse of the market and if they read the market right they can sense the people are giving safety a big tick in their have to list of features. Hope Maruti gets their act right. Kudos to Tata for this achievement.

[Emvi]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Nice for Tata. A wake up call for Maruti to give safety a priority to their cars. I think the mini SUV with safety combination works for the people who chose the Punch against the various Marutis. MS is always known to feel the pulse of the market and if they read the market right they can sense the people are giving safety a big tick in their have to list of features. Hope Maruti gets their act right. Kudos to Tata for this achievement.

You certainly have a point here. However, I don't think safety is the sole driving force behind the Punch's sales. For instance, I didn't even consider it as a factor when buying the car, nor did the other three Punch owners I know well. But again, I do agree that for quite a few buyers, it is a significant factor.

In my opinion, what works for the Punch is the overall package. The mini-Harrier-like looks are definitely a big draw. Ground clearance, ride quality, cabin space, seating position, ease of maneuverability, and the feature-list follow later.

[Buzzard_storme]

MS needs to rework their strategy and plan, else they are another Nokia in the making! Who would've thought that Hyundai Creta would become the 3rd best selling car - that's some progress!

[DivyanshuDiv]

Punch and other Tata products are getting success because of their popularity on social media. Buyers look for reviews on youtube and seek suggestions on facebook forums, and mostly gets trapped into this nexus(Mostly first time buyers). These so called influencers, mostly with ridiculous reviews and suggestions, praises these cars but focuses mostly on 5 star safety. On the other hand, Maruti, having sensible products(engine, transmission and easy of owning) is always associated with 'tin ka dabba' criticism. I know, the latter has compromised a lot on build quality but it offers much better car than Tata. For me, a Maruti any day is better than Tata.

[jetsetgo08]

Congratulations to TML, best selling car for a few months now, it is a great achievement.

The 2 points that are tipping in favour are it's 5-star safety rating and the price of entry variants. However, the car is far from perfect and has too many basic flaws which one realizes during ownership. Owning one for about 2 years and ~24k km's, I would not consider it an overall well engineered car as against a Baleno/Swift/Wagon-R/Ignis/Grand i10 etc.

[shortbread]

In all honesty the Punch represents a modern improved evolution of Suzuki Wagon R's success formula, featuring a compact footprint, easy controls, and a spacious interior that benefits elderly passengers with its upright seating. Built on the Alfa-Arc platform, the Punch delivers superior dynamics, structural rigidity, and enhanced safety while addressing the old X1's primary drawback—weight. With a versatile range of powertrain options, including petrol, EV, and efficiently packaged CNG, the WagonR on the other hand is severely lacking in alternatives. Furthermore, I think integrating the 90ps Altroz diesel engine into the Punch could further improve its volumes. The cherry on top for the Punch is the more appealing butch SUV design that sets it apart.

[chiefpk]

Great achievement for TML. This is a big deal I think dethroning the market leader in terms of sales number. Maruti has only been constantly giving off their market share since COVID. Swift did a bit of help to them. Maybe the new Dzire will do as well. But hopefully they have more competency left in them. TML is on a roll but the SC's are taking the toll of all this hyper selling. Hopefully they do better in that aspect as well.

[TorquePull]

More than safety, I think it’s about the change in customer’s buying pattern. The demand for compact SUVs is more than small hatchbacks, especially among first time buyers. Everyone wants something bigger at lowest price possible. Even the Swift isn’t selling, probably because of its overlap with compact SUVs. Why buy a hatch when you can buy a SUV?

[guptad42]

Suzuki is missing a trick. They can refresh the WagonR in a way that it can handily beat the Punch (and grab sales from a segment above).

• Reskin the 1.2L version of WagonR to look like a mini-Brezza, with roofrails Call it WagonR Sport or something like that.
• Raise the tyre size from 14" to 15".
• Use the new 3cylinder 1.2L engine from the Swift, reducing costs.
• Leave the cabin as-is to differentiate from Baleno and Fronx above it, with 1 change - add detachable headrests.
• Start around the same price as current 1.2 AGS ~7.5-7.7L on road. Add LED headlamps to the top end 1.2 ZXi AGS.

Most people buy Tata Punch for the SUV looks and the pricing. The WagonR 'Sport' is likely to be more efficient and with a far better service and ownership experience.

[ruzbehxyz]

One of the few things that beats the Maruti by Tata, is the safety. A Tata car is far stronger than a Maruti. Wake up Maruti Suzuki. Tata needs to now concentrate on providing better service and service network, their products will automatically shine more.

[Nithesh_M]

I think Maruti has too many products in this entry level segment to bother about any one of their products being a sales topper. Fronx/Baleno, Swift, Wagon R, S Presso, Celerio, Ignis and the Toyota equivalents are all keeping Maruti Suzuki executives happy. I don't think they need any wake up calls. The reduced price difference between an Alto and a sub 4m suv isn't a lot today and people are flocking towards the latter leaving cars like Alto/Wagon R/Celerio in no man's territory. Eventually our entry level cars will start from these sub 4m micro "suvs" once newer emission norms kick prices even higher and manufacturers deem that manufacturing entry level cars to meet emission norms is just as expensive as manufacturing sub 4m cars.

[myavu]

Kudos Tata I hope Curvv can also take a decent bite from Creta sales. But the following numbers are flabbergasting.

Originally Posted by TusharK

The Hyundai Creta was the third best-selling car during this period with 1.09 lakh units sold

[Beastyerza]

It's not about safety alone ,
Punch looks much better than wagon r , exter,ignis and other products of similar price range.

It feels well put together, interiors are nice much better than maruti cars even ergonomics are sorted, proper dead pedal and all.

So all those customers who don't want to spend much but want a car that does not look bad even when parked with much costlier cars end up buying punch .

If only they had offered that altroz's diesel engine ,I would have surely bought one as well ..

[thomahawk]

Do we have anything on the kind of margin a Punch has? The Creta is a money minting machine for Hyundai and they are keeping it fresh; I wish they made the designs a bit more timeless - they age fast.

Do we also have some data on demand and depreciation on used car models of these manufacturers. Maruti seems to be the preferred choice here.