Tata and Mahindra rule the Indian SUV market, with a whopping 45-50% CAGR and 87% market share. As to the superiority of either car, the potential SUV buyer has several factors to consider, including price, performance, and sales trends.
Mahindra can attribute its amazing success story to its top-notch research and development, powerful engine design, and vehicle innovation. Though Mahindra’s XUV500 saw declining sales, its 2021 XUV700 brought them back up, averaging 6000 monthly for the last two years. Mahindra replaced the older Scorpio with the Scorpio-N in 2022, which increased sales for the car company to over 10,000 in 2023 and over 14,000 in 2024. Overall, Mahindra’s car sales have averaged a whopping 36,000 in 2023 and climbed to 42,000 in the first five months of 2024.
While Mahindra SUVs show fewer dips below 0% CAGR than the Tata SUVs, which indicates stronger demand growth for the former, Tata sparked the SUV rebirth in India when it introduced the Harrier in 2019. Tata has enjoyed increased sales overall since it updated its 2019 Harrier and 2021 Safari. Originally outfitted with an underpowered 140 brake horsepower engine and manual transmission, The Harrier now has 170 BHP, comparable to the Jeep Compass, as well as an automatic transmission. This move increased sales of both the Harrier and the Safari to 2000 and 2100, respectively, per month.
Tata, however, lags behind the competition in terms of developing leading engines in-house, as illustrated by the fact that the Harrier and Safari use Fiat-sourced engines instead of the company’s 2.2-liter VARICOR, which it used in its Hexa model. In addition, the Harrier and Safari use a Hyundai-sourced automatic transmission. Because of Tata’s dependence on the technology produced by other car manufacturers, Mahindra can offer vehicles with more powerful engines, such as its 185 BHP XUV700, at similar prices.
Despite this seeming handicap in competition, Tata’s growth shows no signs of slowing down, though sales figures have leveled off since their initial surge. Mahindra’s sales remain on top, though the market shows less demand for the company’s vehicles.
Mahindra’s Scorpio-N competes with Tata’s Harrier, though the former costs less than the latter, and offers better features, such as four-wheel drive. The Harrier offers advanced driver assistance systems, however, and Tata invests in the globally relevant EV market.
The BCG Matrix rates Tata’s Punch and Nexon as “stars,” and the Altroz and Tiago as “Cash Cows.” The Harrier and Safari have not fared as well, and are in the “Question Mark” section of the matrix.
Similarly, Mahindra’s BCG Matrix puts the XUV300 and Thar in the Question Mark category, with the Bolero rating as a Cash Cow, and the XUV700 and Scorpio as stars.
Tata ought to take a leaf out of Mahindra’s book when it comes to designing SUVs with features such as All-Wheel Drive and Four-Wheel Drive. Though not all car drivers use these features, consumers have come to expect them in modern cars. As the saying goes, “Give the people what they want.”