Lot more women take the driver's seat in SUVs now
women are taking the wheel of sport-utility vehicles, once considered the domain of men, contributing to the segment's sales surge. The share of women SUV buyers has climbed 4.5 times from five years ago amid a growing preference for vehicles with high ground clearance and higher seating. It jumped from only 29,000 units in 2018 to 125,000 units in 2023, showed data from industry sources.
Meet Sonal Deshmukh, 40, a Mumbai-based banker. A fortnight ago, when she was in the market to replace her 15-year-old midsize sedan with another vehicle, she was very clear — she didn't want just another sedan and her next vehicle had to be an SUV. Last month, Deshmukh drove home the top-end variant of a midsize SUV.
«I needed a car which gives me enough headroom and legroom, offers high seating without compromising on the finesse of a sedan but manoeuvres through the traffic and potholes with ease. Also, something which can be used for the weekend getaways with family. The mid-size SUV we finally chose ticked all the boxes,» said Deshmukh.
Interestingly, the shift is more pronounced in electric SUVs, say company executives. Women currently comprise about 22% of sales of the electric version of Tata Motors' Nexon compact SUV compared to 15% for the internal combustion engine-powered model.
MG Motor India, the second largest EV maker by sales after Tata Motors, is seeing a similar trend. Over the years, MG has witnessed a gradual but steady increase in the percentage of women buyers. Currently, women buyers contribute up to
