Tata Motors’ popular compact SUV sold with petrol, CNG and electric powertrains, which sold 202,031 units in CY2024 to be India’s best-selling passenger vehicle and SUV, has zipped past half-a-million wholesales in just 38 months since launch. With 148,000 units sold in the first nine months of the current fiscal, it is set to further raise the sales bar in FY2025 albeit there’s new competition in the new year.
13 Jan 2025 | 7474 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
The Tata Punch has just punched in yet another sales milestone in the domestic market. The popular compact SUV, sold with petrol, CNG and electric powertrains, has raced past cumulative sales of half-a-million or 500,000 units since its launch in October 2021.
The Tata Punch, which ended CY2024 on ...
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The Tata Punch has just punched in yet another sales milestone in the domestic market. The popular compact SUV, sold with petrol, CNG and electric powertrains, has raced past cumulative sales of half-a-million or 500,000 units since its launch in October 2021.
The Tata Punch, which ended CY2024 on a high note with best-ever annual sales of 202,031 units, up 34% YoY (CY2023: 150,182 units) to be both the best-selling passenger vehicle as well as SUV last year, has clocked cumulative sales estimated at 504,447 units since its launch just over three years ago.
The Punch has, since its launch, contributed to 29% of Tata Motors’ total passenger vehicle sales of 1.73 million (17,39,646) passenger vehicles – CY2024: 562,468 PVs, CY2023: 551,378 PVs, CY2022: 526,798 PVs and October-December 2021: 99,002 PVs.
The Punch has raised the sales bar with every 100,000 units. In August 2022, it became the first SUV in India to achieve the 100,000 wholesales milestone in just 10 months, crossed the 150,000 mark in 15 months after launch, 200,000 in 20 months, 300,000 in 28 months, and 400,000 in June 2024, just 32 months after launch. The run from 400,000 to 500,000 wholesales has taken a scant six months, reflecting the strong demand for the compact SUV.
As per wholesales data for the past 38 months (see data table above), the Tata Punch’s best fiscal year performance was in FY2024 with 169,844 units or average monthly sales of 14,153 units. With three months left in FY2025, the best-selling SUV has already achieved 87% of its FY2024 sales and with average monthly sales of 16,452 units in the past nine months (up 27% YoY), it is well set to notch a new record this fiscal.
Given its current growth trajectory, it should achieve the 200,000 milestone in FY2025 and could even, at a stretch, go past the record 202,031 units it sold in CY2024. However, it just might face some challenges in the form of a spate of new product launches in the first few months of CY2025.
INDIA'S BEST-SELLING PV AND SUV IN FIRST 9 MONTHS OF FY2025
Having identified a ‘white space’ in the Indian PV market, Tata Motors launched the Punch with an aggressive pricing strategy starting at Rs 549,000 (ex-showroom) in October 2021. The compact SUV is currently available in 33 variants – 18 petrol (Rs 725,000 to Rs 11.73 lakh), 7 CNG (Rs 822,000 to Rs 11.21 lakh) and 8 electric (Rs 11.99 lakh to Rs 15.80 lakh, all pricing on-road Mumbai)
The Punch mini-SUV was positioned as a compelling and affordable model – an entry level SUV that could challenge even premium hatchbacks, tall-boy hatchbacks and also compact sedans in the value-conscious Indian passenger vehicle market.
The Punch’s USP has been its compelling SUV attributes such as a high unladen ground clearance, high seating for a commanding view of the road and also a tall stance for easy ingress and egress. Clearly, the strategy seems to have paid off in spades.
The sharp focus on vehicle safety has also paid dividends in a market which was becoming aware of the need to buy high-on-safety passenger cars, SUVs and MPVs. On October 18, 2021, four days before its launch, the Tata Punch aced the Global NCAP crash test with a top five-star rating. In June 2024, the Tata Punch EV has also scored a 5-star rating in the Bharat NCAP crash test.
As it did in CY2024, the Punch continues to punch above its weight and also draws buyers from other vehicle segments. In the first nine months of the current fiscal, the Punch has clocked total dispatches of 148,068 units and is heading the Top 10 PV table, ahead of the Maruti Ertiga (145,052 units), Maruti Brezza (142,478 units), Hyundai Creta (141,973 units), Maruti Wagon R (137,319 units), Maruti Swift (128,545 units), Mahindra Scorpio (121,869 units), Maruti Dzire (119,484 units), Maruti Baleno (119,359 units) and Tata Nexon (115,974 units). The Punch has outsold its sibling Nexon, which was India’s best-selling SUV in FY2024, FY2023 and FY2022, consistently each month since January 2024.
The Tata Punch continues to also top the Top 10 utility vehicle charts. In the April-December 2024 period, it is 3,016 units ahead of the current No. 2 Maruti Ertiga (145,052 units). The Maruti Brezza (142,478 units) is ranked third, and is followed by the Mahindra Scorpio (121,869 units), Tata Nexon (115,974 units), Maruti Fronx (115,894 units), Hyundai Venue (87,441 units), Maruti Grand Vitara (87,075 units), Toyota Innova Crysta / Hycross (79,119 units), Kia Sonet (77,308 units) and Mahindra 3XO (74,719 units).
With three months left for FY2025 to come to a close, will the Tata Punch hold onto its current slender lead of 3,016 units a(as of end-December 2024) or will the flurry of new models including new EVs from rivals result in slower demand and result in a change of rank on the Top 10 table? Stay tuned in as we bring you regular PV and SUV sales reports.
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