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Competition in the 2 million rupee segment in India: A detailed report

20th April 2025, 11:34 by Kanad Kalasur

Over the years, Rs. 20 Lakh segment has become one of the most competitive car segments. This is a very important segment, and as of now, the 2nd most, behind the Rs. 10 Lakh one.

BHPian Xpresstrainfast recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hello team-bhp. This is my first ever car analysis. Please excuse the quality of the post, since this is my first attempt. Hope you enjoy!

Introduction

Over the years, Rs. 20 Lakh segment has become one of the most competitive car segments. Just look at Tata and Hyundai for example. They are bringing four different powertrain options, lots of variants, and special editions of their Curvv and Creta respectively. Honda just survives for their City and Elevate. Vast majority of VAG sales comes from the India 2.0 products. Obviously, this is a very important segment for the Indian car scene, and as of now, the second most, behind the Rs. 10 Lakh one (IMHO). So, why don't I analyze: How exactly has it been for the carmaker's.

Defining a '20 Lakh Rupee car

First of all, we must understand what do we really mean by a car defined by its price point. Do not get confused: A car has a fixed price, but there are some debates:

#1 Ex-showroom vs On-road pricing
#2 Variant-by-variant pricing
#3 Stock vs Add-ons + Modifications
#4 New vs Used
#5 Exactly Rs. 20 Lakhs?

Ex-showroom vs On-road pricing

Different cities have different pricings, and we BHPians do not live in a single city. Due to this, for the sake of this analysis, I will take in account the Ex-showroom pricing

Variant-by-variant pricing

The most basic Innova Hycross cost around Rs. 20 Lakhs ex-showroom. So Does the super-basic variants of the Jeep Compass. Whereas the Tata Safari pricing starts @15 Lakhs. Kia asks 18 Lakhs for the fully loaded Syros Diesel. I feel that not many people actually buy these entry-level trims, and that it is mostly a marketing stunt by the manufacturers. I am going to include only the cars whose top-end or mid-variant cost Rs. 20 Lakhs. Within the Mahindra Born Electrics, only the Be6 will be included though (being classified as a C2 by AutoPunditz)
Overall cars from the C2 segment, and Carens, Thar Roxx from the utility segment will be included

Stock vs Add-ons + Modifications:

Not many owners keep their car 100% stock till the final day of ownership. Also, there is the money spent on Tax, FasTag, Fuel payment, service, showroom fitments, etc. It creates lots of confusions when we think more about this
So the car will be included in its ex-showroom pricing with no additions whatsoever.

New vs Used

I will do a separate analysis for used cars.

Exactly Rs. 20 Lakhs?

Obviously, no car is priced at exactly Rs. 20 Lakhs. Some car may be @19.99, another @19.49. So what is the limit to be included in the analysis? Since we already decided what car to take in account, this must erase the problem altogether, right? No. The XL6 is also classified under utility, like the Carens. The most expensive XL6 cost around Rs. 15 Lakhs, if I am not wrong. Let's say we take 17.5 to 22.5 Lakhs(i.e 20 lakhs, plus and minus 2.5 lakhs)

Observation

#1 For the entire time between march of 2024 and 2025, Creta was the most selling '20 Lakh Car'.

#2 Out of 1.16 million cars sold since the start of the year, 270,000 or rather 23% of the market consisted of C2+Thar+Carens.

#3 Citroen Basalt, though it is considered a C2, is more of a C1, as indicated by pricing, quality, powertrain, and features. Not even 200 units of this car have been dispatched since the start of the year, so it does not significantly hamper my analysis.

#4 Only 18,562 C2 sedans were sold since the start of the year. The Creta alone sold 18, 522 units in January 2025! The era of sedans is indeed gone.
I predict that in a few years time, the C2 segment sedan will vanish just like the D1 sedan did. If you think the C2 icon (Honda City) will last for ever, well, the D1 icon (Skoda Octavia) didn't.

#5 As if to put shame on Honda, the City (a product last updated in 2024, and in an entirely new generation since 2020) sold 2798 units, not far from the 2541 units of the Ciaz (a product that is on its deathbed).

#6 The MG Astor only sold 640 units since the start of the year. Dividing the
monthly sales of the Creta (in January), we get nearly 600. Possibly the Creta outsold what the Astor sold in a year, in a single day.

#7 Point #6 is an unfair comparison for two reasons: The Astor is an outdated product (2nd gen launched globally) and second, these are dispatch numbers, not actual deliveries. Still, I believe that this car is much better than what its sale numbers indicate about it (for layman, not enthusiast).

#8 Dark editions are on the rise! I don't like it though: Some cars look deadly in black, but this posses a visibility problem at night. Also, I feel that something 'black' brings bad omen (no offense, simply personal opinion).

Let's not go too off-topic.

#9 The larger XEV9e outsold the Be6 by a M-A-S-S-I-V-E margin. I do not understand this logic. Want more knowledgeable BHPians to shed light on this.

#10 GTO once said that one must not buy a product from M&M, Tata or the 'Germans', as soon as it is launched, but rather wait for a few years, for the niggles to settle down. Still, the feeling of getting a totally brand new car, that too a very futuristic, technologically advanced, and the bragging rights. Not generalizing, but more than 7000 people decided to get these Born Electrics already.

#11 36K+ units of the Grand Vitara and nearly 15,000 units of the Urban Cruiser Hyryder. The recent upgrade (AWD AT, 6 airbags standard, e-brake, etc) should be very, very interesting.

#12 The Honda Elevate met its 2-3K a month sales target only in March of this year. This product is simply not enough.

#13 Somehow, both the Skoda 2.0 cars (Slavia and Kushaq) are negatively affected by the Kylaq while the Volkswagen 2.0 (Virtus and Taigun) appear unaffected.

#14 Obviously, the Skoda-VW 2.0 products have started ageing. I believe that the company could make history repeat (The Polo and Vento have been updated countless times in 13 years with no all-new product!). Not sustainable!

#15 Hyundai is milking the 'CRETA' brand. First, it was a mere cosmetic job with the N-Line (not even a different exhaust). Now it is with the Electric. The Electric is a lot more disadvantaged compared to the Curvv.ev, however, the after-sales quality, Hyundai-esque fit and finish, rear seat space, and potential reliability will make it sell better.

#16 The XUV400 EV is a joke. I bet it sells better as a fleet than as a private vehicle. The market has changed a lot.

#17 The ZS EV has definitely lost the 'wow factor'. Competitors have gotten more modern. Even the BaaS scheme hasn't helped. I do not have any data on customer preferences for the ZS or any MG EV in particular (Baas vs Own Battery).

#18 If the Windsor is the best selling EV, then it is for a good reason. This car gives a tough fight to all the ICE platform-based EVs. The only disadvantage I see with it is its rear seat ride quality.

#19 I see a perfect opportunity for Renault-Nissan in this segment. If the Duster is truly coming back, it has a chance to succeed, provided the alliance isn't as lethargic with the Indian market as it is right now.

#20 Tata Curvv sales are decreasing. This is my guess- A lot of sales came from the EV- The 1.2 Petrol isn't the segment benchmark, the 1.5 Diesel DCA, though fantastic, didn't sell much either due to overall lack of demand for diesel or late delivery of Curvv Diesels, The rear seat space is far behind competition, and the premium over the Nexon isn't fully worth it for many customers. People became scared to put their hard-earned money on a brand-new Tata ev and decided that it was better to buy a Mahindra Be6 Pack One or an inferior Creta Electric

#21 The Kia Carens- despite being due for a facelift, stills sells in healthy numbers. This is also the first Kia in India that became popular in the fleet segment.

#22 The Kia Seltos-the gamechanger, however has stagnated. It is due for a new generation altogether. The current model is still relevant though. -17.5% YOY growth.

#23 The MG Hector- yet another gamechanger-has also stagnated. Much more than Kia did. It is considered a D1 thought it is still priced somewhere around Rs. 20 Lakhs.

#24 The Hyundai Alcazar is still a very boring product. Suddenly from December 2024 onwards, Alcazar sales went from 2k range to the 1k range.

#25 few companies seems to have intentionally shipped excess cars to dealership as a part of a marketing stunt. Hyundai is one of them.

#26 This is the main point of the post: 20 Lakh rupee cars have gradually started proving luxury cars to be overpriced. While they may not offer the same amount of quality, prestige, fit and finish, handling, they are improving. They offer a feature set + style+ perfect dimensions + powertrains that keep the common man more than happy. While you still shouldn't be trading your C-Class or 3-series for a Creta, Seltos, Thar Roxx, or Kushaq, The C2 segment has certainly improved a lot.

History of the 20 Lakh rupee car

We have seen two threads on gamechangers-in 2010 by GTO https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...-changers.html and another in 2025 https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...5-edition.html.
But first, lets define what we mean by Rs. 20 Lakhs. As we trace the history of a car's pricing, we can observe the effect of the Indian Rupee's depreciation. See, 15 years ago, you could get a maharaja-size Skoda Superb MT for Rs. 20 Lakhs.

Now, the same Skoda sells you a 4.2 meter long Kushaq for the same money! And no, its quality is not a match to the erstwhile Superb either.
This graph should give you an idea of just how much the Rupee depreciated

To avoid confusion, let's assume that we are talking about cars that were worth what they were in their time, what is now Rs. 20 Lakhs. In simple, C2 and mid-level utility cars. The C2 segment can be divided into two parts: SUV and Sedan. Lets start with SUV

SUV

To start of, I will first mention the Renault Duster

This machine came out in 2011, and created a revolution in a few ways:
#1 It introduced a whole new segment of monocoque SUVs
#2 It introduced Indians to a brand that had been a complete flop before
#3 Its ride quality simply blew competitors away.
#4 An SUV that could be cross-shoped with sedans (a continuation to #1)
Not long after, an AWD variant was added and gave the Duster a massive appeal. However, as time passed, the Duster begun to age fast. Renault facelifted the Duster in 2016, and this was a good move. However, with the Duster itself, Renault made three mistakes:
#1 launching a Nissan Terrano (rebadged Duster at a price higher than the original car, that too with no AWD= flop)
#2 Bringing the Captur (suposedly a Duster replacement. No AT and No AWD meant less popularity. It also looked very crossover-ish, unlike the Duster. This is also the car that is infamous among BHPians for its misleading advertisement showing the global model's achievements on an Indian TVC.
#3 Removing the 1.5 Diesel and the AWD in the later years of the car. These two were reason many people bought the Duster in the first place. Now, replacing it with a turbo-petrol, something nobody really felt the need for, was not really the best thing to do. This ultimately led to the car's fate.

In both a segment below and a segment above the Duster, unique gamechangers came to life:
In the segment below, it was the Ford Ecosport

This car was an extremely smart package for its time: It had a futuristic design + SUV-ish looks + decent space inside + fantastic powertrain options + ahead-of-its-time equipment list + Ford-esque handling and build quality, yet it was not more than 4 meters long. It created a whole new segment altogether- The Urban SUV!

In the segment above, it was the Mahindra XUV500

This car was Mahindra's first monocoque SUV and a gamechanger on its own. Its USP? A contemporary 7-seater with AWD that had an insanely VFM pricing.

For a few years, India's major automakers, Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki did not jump into this party. But this could not be for long.
Hyundai brought in the Creta.

This car was not particularly impressive in any way, but it had a typical-Hyundai quality, Hyundai badge, a neutral styling and it was 'just the right size' for middle class Indians. A very contemporary one too. The 2nd gen Creta was launched in 2020, with its sole drawback being safety and polarizing exterior details. It was facelifted in 2024, which IMHO, makes it look so beautiful, more so in the N-Line variant. An EV based on the Creta platform was launched in 2025.

What did Maruti bring? another neutral car= the forgotten yet legendary S-Cross

This car was impressive because it felt very European (handling and build quality) and it carried two powertrain options- one for the ordinary fellow, i.e 1.3 MJD (This thing is not called the national engine of India for no reason) and the other for the enthusiast- The 1.6 (a driver-oriented Maruti). This car was so premium for a Maruti that it had to introduce a separate dealership network= NEXA. However, Maruti made a few mistakes that later turned out to be major blunders. The S-Cross only came with dual airbags (no side and curtain airbags), was FWD (AWD from Europe not carried over), no AT, and no Gasoline. Its sales fell so much that after a point, Maruti had to reduce prices significantly and didn't help much either. This car was a flop.
Trivia: The S-Cross is the second generation of another flop Maruti, i.e the SX4.
The S-Cross was facelifted in 2017, and with it the 1.6 was removed from the lineup. The S-Cross was facelifted again in 2020, and its diesel was replaced by a lethargic gasoline engine. The only good thing that came with the update were the new touchscreen infotainment system and finally, an AT, albeit an old 4-speed unit. The S-Cross continued to fall behind was replaced by the Grand Vitara in 2022.

Meanwhile, the XUV500's price increased significantly and it was a another segment altogether. The Ecosport also formed another segment, and Maruti responded with a another opponent for it= Vitara Brezza, a massive, massive success. Hyundai responded in 2019 with the Venue. So, the definition of a car segment became more and more clear with time.

One gamechanger that cannot be ignored at all, is the Kia Seltos

This one was clearly making all direct competition worried-It had all sorts of powertrain options, had every feature that you could think of, felt very premium, and its styling was very, very handsome. The unsorted Tata Harrier launched around the same time, was no match for the Seltos-despite being a size bigger and having bigger engines. Kia's 1.4 T-GDI was very rev-happy and so was the 1.5 CRDi. The only drawback for the Seltos was its ride quality, and brand trust at launch. Kia had so much advantage from parent company, Hyundai's experience with the Indian market, and this allowed to do excellent market research, resulting in excellent product. This was also the car on which the 2nd gen Creta is based on. Later, the Seltos would see an addition to its list of flaws- Safety.

In 2020, G-NCAP tested the Seltos (in its specification without the optional side and curtain airbag) and it was rated 3-stars (out of a total of 5) with an unstable bodyshell. Then, a viral photo of a Seltos split in two pieces took things even more heated. A German man thought it was his time to take an advantage. There came the Skoda Kushaq.

Previewed by the Vision IN Concept, it was a fresh breath of European air in a sea of Chinese, Korean, and Indian cars. It was compact yet premium. Its build quality, though certainly not matching the expectation from a German car, was better than its competitors. Its feature list, though not as lengthy as the Koreans, was decent. Then, Skoda did what Tata did to its car in a lower segment cars=get a good safety rating, then brag about it. To add to it, the car had amazing handling and the engines-1.0 TSi and 1.5 TSi, were both excellent. An enthusiast pick for its price point it is. A few months later, the mechanically identical Volkswagen Taigun reached the market.

Kia decided to capture the MPV market. It realized a gap- The Marazzo wasn't selling, the Ertiga was not premium enough, and the Innova-too large/expensive. There was a room for a more modern monocoque MPV-the Carens.

Remember, the Grand Vitara-The successor to the S-Cross that I mentioned earlier? This car did not much to the market except the strong hybrid tech. After so long of bragging their SHVS, Maruti finally had a Toyota-sourced 'real hybrid' that was truly worth bragging. To show that it wasn't just a crossover but a real SUV, Maruti even brought their AllGrip Select AWD system to the Grand Vitara, albeit in a single mild hybrid MT variant. A rebadged Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder followed suit.

Honda, not wanting to get lost, created a half-hearted attempt-The Elevate. Honda had the opportunity to include the hybrid system from the City, making a perfect opponent for the Grand Vitara. Purely because of its lethargy, they could not even do that. This is a product powered by a fun-to-drive yet slow 1.5 iVtec from the City and is simply a good product. I dare say the Elevate is a boomer uncle's car.

The 3-door Mahindra Thar, launched in 2020, was certainly not a car that could exchange your Creta or Seltos for. It had many flaws for an daily drive. Exactly, four years later, Mahindra launched the 5-door Thar, an even more S-E-X-Y car. This car had a number of controversial aspects about=No Gasoline AWD (A lifestyle off-roader without AWD!), funky name (I can think of a better name than 'Roxx'), poorly done-up styling, white interiors, no keyless entry, not riding 'like a monocoque'. Yet the demand for this car is so much than some people had to wait a year to get it. This car is the definition of middle class aspiration. Inteha Ho Gai Intezaar Ki!

This is the car that I feel is the #1 hottest looking car in its segment, but it would not be my choice because of its after-sales quality: The Tata Curvv. While not in this post, check out the Curvv's rear end. It looks so damn C-O-O-L. The powertrain, safety, handling, interior ambience, and build quality of the car simply makes you forget that Its a Tata. I am not sure about fit and finish though.

Sedan

The modern premium sedan segment in India began with the Maruti 1000 in 1990s. This car could beat the Ambasadors and Padminis in every way, except power. Maruti solved the problem with the Esteem. Esteem continued to be on sale for a long time. When its modern alternative, the Baleno was introduced, Maruti decided to continue selling the Esteem alongside the Baleno in a lower segment. Eventually, the Esteem left the market for the Dzire in 2008.

The Honda City was one of those cars that eventually led to the Esteem's downfall. With its Vtec engine, sheer amount of technology, beautiful mod scope, and Honda reliability, it was a revolution. Currently in its fifth generation

The Hyundai Accent was also yet another modern sedan for the Indian car market. This one currently lives in the market as the third generation Hyundai Verna.

So many cars came and left the C2 sedan segment (Ciaz/SX4, Sunny, Fiesta, Linea, etc), but none of them came to dethrone the Honda City until the Vento. It was simply too competent.