Tata Motors’ first compact SUV is also the first Tata SUV to surpass 800,000 sales in the domestic market. Launched in September 2017, the Nexon, which is sold with petrol, diesel, electric and CNG powertrains and was India’s best-selling SUV in FY2022, FY2023 and FY2024, remains a popular buy. However, demand has slowed down in FY2025 amidst growing competition and the advance of its sibling Punch.
13 Mar 2025 | 2001 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
The Tata Nexon, the stylish compact SUV that helped set off Tata Motors’ resurgence, has achieved the 800,000 wholesales milestone in the domestic market. As per SIAM and industry wholesales estimates, from launch 89 months ago through till end-February 2025, the Tata Nexon has clocked cumulative sales of 804,491 units. ...
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The Tata Nexon, the stylish compact SUV that helped set off Tata Motors’ resurgence, has achieved the 800,000 wholesales milestone in the domestic market. As per SIAM and industry wholesales estimates, from launch 89 months ago through till end-February 2025, the Tata Nexon has clocked cumulative sales of 804,491 units. And, in line with its new product development strategy, a next-generation Nexon is also in the works.
While the Nexon crossed 200,000 sales in June 2021, 45 months after launch, the next 200,000 units were sold in barely 16 months – October 2022 – when the 400,000 milestone was surpassed. The run from 400,000 units to 500,000 units took a scant six months, and from half-a-million to 600,000 units came in seven months. It took another seven months to hit the 700,000 sales mark in July 2024. The last 100,000 Nexons have been sold in a little over seven months, enabling the Tata Nexon to hit the 800,000 milestone in February 2025.
The Tata Nexon was crowned India’s best-selling SUV for three fiscals on the trot – FY2022, FY2023 and FY2024. The No. 1 Tata model delivered its best-ever fiscal year performance in FY2023 with dispatches of 172,138 units, up 39% YoY (FY2022: 124,130 units) and accounted for 32% of the company’s 373,138 passenger vehicle sales.
Since then, demand has slowed down for the Nexon, as can be seen from the wholesales data table above. FY2024’s 171,929 units made for flat sales but contributed 30% to Tata Motors’ highest-ever passenger vehicle wholesales of 570,955 units. In FY2025’s first 11 months, an estimated 146,723 Nexons have been sold and make for a 7% YoY sales decline. At present, the Nexon is ranked seventh in the Top 10 Utility Vehicles chart.
Along with sibling Tata Punch, the Nexon’s current key rivals in the ultra-competitive compact SUV segment are the Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, Mahindra 3XO and the recently launched Kia Syros and the Skoda Kylaq.
Over the years, the competition in the compact SUV segment, which currently accounts for the bulk of the sales in the utility segment which includes midsize SUVs and MPVs, has intensified. The Nexon also faces competition from sibling Punch, which has outsold it each month right since January 2024. In the current fiscal’s first 11 months, the Tata Nexon’s estimated 146,723 units give it the No. 7 position, six ranks down from its No. 1 position in FY2024.
In September 2024, Tata Motors expanded the Nexon portfolio of petrol, diesel and electric with the launch of the Nexon CNG. A month later, the Nexon ICE model aced the Bharat NCAP crash test with a top five-star rating. The festive month of November 2024 saw Nexon sales hit 15,000 units for the first time in FY2024, drop to 13,500 levels in December and have once again surpassed the 15,000-units mark in both January and February 2025.
VARIANTS APLENTY WITH MULTI-POWERTRAIN STRATEGY: A NEXON FOR EVERY BUDGET
One of the reasons for the Tata Nexon’s strong performance in India has been the company’s multi-powertrain strategy. As of February 2025, there are all of 85 variants available – 34 petrol, 28 diesel, 15 electric and 8 CNG. While the petrol Nexon’s pricing starts from Rs 910,000 (on-road Delhi), the entry level diesel variant costs Rs 11.52 lakh. Pricing for the Nexon CNG begins at Rs 10.14 lakh while that for the base Nexon EV model is Rs 15.80 lakh.
The current-generation Nexon has received two comprehensive facelifts since its launch over seven years ago. The first one was in January 2020 while the second one came about in September 2023.
In its buyer's guide commentary on the SUV's latest update, Autocar India states, "The Nexon always delivered on that tough SUV feel, and 2023's comprehensive styling, interior and tech updates make it more likeable. Top-spec models are big on features and the vast variant list means there's a Nexon for every budget. A roomy cabin only furthers its case. However, it still doesn't have the finesse of some rivals, and the petrol engine remains unexciting."
As regards the new Nexon EV, the commentary adds, "The redone interior, new tech and updated powertrain make the electric SUV feel like it's taken a half-generation leap. It is the benchmark amongst affordable EVs."
With the introduction of the Nexon in September 2017, Tata Motors’ PV fortunes began to look up. From 172,504 units in FY2017 (before the Nexon was introduced) to 210,200 units in FY2018, and 231,512 units in FY2019, Tata Motors saw demand come its way in spades. The Covid-impacted FY2020 saw sales decline for all OEMs but Tata bounced back in FY2022 with 373,138 units and 66% YoY growth, hit 544,391 units (up 46%) in FY2023 and went on to register best-ever fiscal sales of 582,915 units (up 7%) in FY2024.
The Nexon’s market performance is reflected in its growing contribution to Tata Motors’ overall passenger vehicle sales. From a 13% share in FY2018, the Nexon’s share rose to 24% in FY2019, crossed the 30% mark in FY2020, hit 33% in FY2022. However, since then, with the rollout of sibling Punch and continuing demand for the Altroz and Tiago hatchbacks, its share has reduced marginally. In FY2023, the Nexon (172,138 units) had a share of 31%, which dropped to 29% in FY2024 (171,929 units). In the first 11 months of FY2025, with 146,723 units (down 7% YoY), the Nexon’s share of Tata Motors’ total PV sales remains 29 percent.
NEXT-GEN NEXON IN THE WORKS, MARKET LAUNCH IN 2027
Tata Motors has begun work on the next-generation Nexon, internally codenamed ‘Garud’. Expected to be in showrooms only in 2027, the new Nexon will be based on a heavy modified version of the existing X1 platform. On the styling front, the next-gen model will likely sport a majorly overhauled exterior and interior design in line with newer Tata Motors models.
The next-generation Nexon is expected to continue with its current petrol and CNG powertrains, but it remains to be seen if the 1.5-litre diesel engine continues given its declining share in the compact SUV class. An update, in line with the combustion engine variants of the Nexon, can be expected for the Nexon EV albeit it remains to be seen if Tata Motors introduces them simultaneously or separately.
(Inputs on next-gen Tata Nexon by Saptarshi Mondal, Autocar India)