MG created quite a buzz in the segment when it launched their first vehicle – the Hector SUV – a couple of months ago and since then the SUV has been so famous in the Indian market that the company had to close the bookings for the vehicle for this entire year. The latest sales figures for the mid-size SUV segment are out and they show the gains and losses that the SUVs in the segment have made for the month of July. The figures show that the Chinese-owned British brand MG’s Hector has dominated the segment to get the best selling tag and has outsold rivals like the Tata Harrier and the Mahindra XUV500 in the segment. Right up to June 2019, it was Tata Harrier that had been occupying the top spot at sales charts but July has seen the SUV slide to the third spot.
Coming to straight numbers, the sales for MG hector for July stood at 1,508 units and in the same time Tata Harrier managed to sell only 740 units in the market. This shows a sharp decline in the sales of Harrier as the sales for Tata Harrier for month of June stood at 1,216 units. Mahindra XUV500 managed to sell 1,116 units in July which is a relatively steady number as the sales for June for the XUV500 stood at 1,129 units, a minor decline nonetheless. This is a depreciation of 1.15% compared to the XUV500’s sales in June and a depreciation of around 39% for the Tata Harrier.
It seems like the market slowdown has caught up with the Tata Harrier and this could be a major reason behind the SUV seeing major decline in sales. The advent of MG Hector could also be a reason as not only is the Hector a new SUV in the market, it is also feature loaded. Although the MG Hector, Tata Harrier and Jeep Compass share the same engine, their overall package distinguishes them in the market.
Talking about MG Hector, the Chinese-owned British brand’s SUV comes equipped with two engine options. The first is a 1.5L litre turbocharged petrol and the other a 2L Fiat Multijet turbocharged diesel, the latter being the same one found on Compass and Harrier. The outputs for petrol engine are 140 Bhp-250 Nm whereas the diesel engine is supposed to produce 170 Bhp of power and 350 Nm. MG is also offering a 48V hybrid system as an optional feature with the petrol variants. Also, the petrol variants also get 6-speed Dual Clutch Transmission as an option while a 6 speed manual is standard with all other engine options.