Seating capacity matters when Indians choose their sport or multi-utility vehicle.
Whether it’s for accommodating visiting grandparents, planning weekend getaways with the extended family, or simply enjoying extra comfort during long commutes, Indians are increasingly looking for space and flexibility in their personal vehicles. And seven-seaters are often the default choice when they are shopping for a large SUV or an MPV.
In the segment for SUVs that are 4.5 meters or longer, seven-seaters now account for 78per cent of sales, up from 58per cent in 2022, even as the share of five-seater SUVs shrank to 18per cent from 43%, show data from auto-motive analytics and intelligence firm Jato Dynamics.
In MPVS longer than 4.0 meters, seven-seaters command 86per cent of the market. It’s not just the big joint families that are buying these vehicles that can accommodate more people. Even smaller, nuclear families are now choosing seven-seaters for their flexibility, whether it’s accommodating guests or embarking on long road journeys, said Nalinikanth Gollagunta, chief executive of the Automotive Division at M&M, the manufacturer of the Scorpio and XUV 700 SUVs.
Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer at Maruti Suzuki, said young buyers are increasingly choosing MPVs for evolving family needs and versatility.
“The average age for one of our highest selling MPVs, Ertiga (a seven-seater), has fallen from 40 years to 37 years as per internal data in the last five years,” he said.
The seven-seater models make up nearly the entire MPV portfolio for Maruti Suzuki with Ertiga leading the segment. The seven-seater trend reflects a deeper lifestyle evolution, said Ravi Bhatia, president Jato Dynamics. “This shift in configuration demand is not cyclical, it’s structural.”
While SUVs continue to dominate sales, consumers, especially families, are also increasingly considering the space and flexibility that MPVs offer. They now account for 11per cent of the auto industry sales volume compared with 8per cent in FY22.
MPVs are also becoming more feature-rich, attracting younger buyers too.
Hardeep Singh Brar, senior vice president and national head of sales and marketing at Kia India, said its MPV Carens offers features typically reserved for SUVs, like connected car technology, ventilated seats and a sunroof. MPVs now account for 25-27per cent of Kia’s sales in India, he said.
