SUVs accelerating: Not only sedans, compact sedans also lose speed

The five sub-4 metre sedan models available in India may be the last of such ICE cars globally; sub-4 metre sedan sales have halved since 2015

Sub-4 metre sedan is a segment unique to India—it was born out of a 2006 legislation that allowed cars under 4 metres in length to qualify for lower excise duty. Quick to exploit Indians’ craze for sedans at the time, Tata Motors chopped some inches off the Indigo, and thus was born the Indigo CS (Compact Sedan)—India’s first sub-4 metre sedan. Soon, Maruti Suzuki made the segment popular with the Swift Dzire, and global carmakers jumped in—from Hyundai (Xcent, Aura) to Honda (Amaze) and from Ford (Aspire) to Volkswagen (Ameo).

However, from the peak of 4,56,551 units sold in CY2015, sub-4 metre sedan sales dropped to just 2,13,874 units in CY2020—according to SIAM data and company reports—with VW discontinuing the Ameo (2016-20) and Hyundai replacing the Xcent with the Aura (in the PV segment)*.

The full article was originally published on Financial Express