Even as small car sales are declining due to inflationary pressures, demand for larger sports utility and multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) is increasing. In the first five months of this year, MPVs were the fastest growing segment in India's passenger vehicle (PV) industry. Approximately 138,136 MPVs were sold in the local market from January to May 2022, a 54 percent increase from the previous year. SUV sales increased 21 percent to 565,384 units during the same time period.

Kia Carens gained 17 percent market share in MPVs within months of launch, at the expense of incumbents. Only Tata Nexon managed to increase segment share in the first five months of the year among the top five best-sellers in SUVs. Following the pandemic, vehicle purchase trends show an increasing preference for larger vehicles. SUVs and MPVs now account for 47 percent of PV sales in India. Overall, passenger vehicle sales in the local market increased by 14% to 1,506,765 units from January to May.