Central government's landmark tax regime Goods and Services Tax (GST) came into effect from July 1. The new tax slab is low compared to the pre-GST era on most of the vehicle segments and that favoured spike in sales last month. The overall passenger vehicle segment saw a strong double digit growth of 15.12 percent in the month of July.
The SUV segment in particular saw massive jump in sales. Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, the best selling SUV in India, has not only broken into top five selling passenger vehicles list but also recorded its highest ever monthly sales of 15,243 units in July 2017, reports ET Auto.
Maruti Suzuki sold an additional 5,000 units of Vitara Brezza in July this year when compared to 10,232 units sold in the same month last year. In the run, Maruti SUV pushed aside traditional best selling PVs like its Swift and Hyundai Grand i10 to fifth and sixth position respectively.
Vitara Brezza, the Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) 2017 also crossed 1.5 lakh domestic sales earlier this month. Previous best sales figure of the Vitara Brezza was in May 2017 at 12,375 units.
Another top selling SUV that improved sales post GST implementation is the Hyundai Creta. The SUV has been consistent in finding between 6,000-7,000 takers every month and has bounced back into the top selling PV list with 10,556 units dispatched in the last month.
"Price reduction due to GST implementation and change in customer preferences has resulted in the growth of overall UV segment. The customers now prefer to buy UVs which lie in the price range of compact cars," said Abdul Majeed, Automotive Industry expert at Pricewaterhouse.
The SUV segment is a high-growth segment, especially after the implementation of GST as the demand is steadily increasing. SUVs currently contribute about 19-20 percent to total passenger vehicles and it is expected to go up to 25 percent by 2019.
