Almost three million passenger vehicles were bought in India in 2017, making it the fifth largest car market in the world with sixteen car manufacturers. They produced roughly 105 different cars and SUVs. Nepal was a big market for most of these vehicles.

Maruti–Suzuki was India’s biggest car and SUV maker with a portfolio of fifteen vehicles. They dominated the small car segment with popular models like the Alto, Celerio, Baleno, Wagon-R and Swift. Their DZire and Ciaz saloons were hits while the Brezza mini SUV was also a great success. Less dramatic was the success of their Ertiga 7-seater, small utility vehicle built with the Swift platform and engines.

Hyundai, the second biggest auto maker, recently celebrated the production of 10 million cars. Their stylish i10 and i20 hatchbacks continued to be popular while their restyled Xcent and Verna saloons also did well. The Creta was a big hit as a compact and affordable SUV.

While the older models of Tata Motors like the Indica and Sumo continued to sell, they successfully launched much more refined and stylish new models like the Tiago and

Bolt hatchbacks and the Zest and Tigor small saloons. Their Hexa SUV was a big improvement on the old Sumo and Safari while their new compact SUV the Nexon was a big hit.

Honda, who had been slow to introduce new models, suddenly launched a number of new cars. They moved beyond their popular saloons like the City and Amaze to introduce a number of SUVs like the new CR-V and the very popular new BR-V and WR-V. With the Mobilio they introduced a car between a car and a utility vehicle segments.

Toyota virtually commands the UV segment with their spacious Innova Crysta and the larger SUV segment with their Fortuner and their Corolla Altis commands the larger saloon segment. They also sell the Etios compact saloon.

Renault did very well and their Kwid, stylish and inexpensive mini SUV, continued to be very successful. Their affordable Duster also continued to be so popular that Renault

introduced a slightly bigger and a lot more stylish model called the Captur. Their Pulse hatchback and the Opera saloon built on Nissan platforms however slipped off the portfolio. Nissan, who share production facilities with their strategic partner Renault, did well with their Micra, a large hatchback, and their Terrano SUV based on the Renault platform.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) widened their command of the SUV and UV segments with boldly styled new vehicles. Unlike the older models like the Bolero, Thar, Scorpio, Xylo and XUV they introduced tough small vehicles like the KUV100 and TUV300. M&M also made the e20, a small electric car.

The author is the region’s most celebrated automobile columnist