With FY2026 soon to draw to a close, all eyes are on the top-selling models which are the movers and shakers in a standout year for the Indian passenger vehicle industry. While the Tata Nexon is set to wrest back the title of India’s No. 1 SUV and utility vehicle (UV), the overall passenger vehicle (PV) segment will witness the Maruti Dzire sedan wear the PV crown for the first time in a fiscal year. In CY2025, the Dzire (214,488 units) won the accolade by outselling a raft of SUVs to the PV No. 1 title.

Eleven months into FY2026, the Maruti Dzire (207,906 units) has a 11,662-unit lead over the Tata Nexon (196,244 units). The utility vehicle segment continues to be dominated by compact SUVs.

With an ex-showroom price of Rs 625,000, the Dzire turned 8.5% cheaper than its pre-GST price and has seen sales soar with demand from value-seeking buyers like families and fleet operators.

A Streetcar Named Dzire Wil Top Passenger Vehicle Sales in FY2026

With 207,906 units (up 39% YoY) sold between April 2025 and February 2026, up 39% YoY, the Maruti Dzire is well set to be India’s best-selling passenger car as well as passenger vehicle in a fiscal year, beating the Wagon R which has been the chart-topper for four years in a row since FY2022. In nine of the past 11 months, the Dzire has been Maruti Suzuki’s best-selling product from its 17-model portfolio as well as India’s best-selling PV for three months (May-June-July 2025). It is also the country’s best-selling sedan.

As a result of GST 2.0, the nine-variant 1.2-litre engined Dzire, available with petrol and CNG powertrains, received price reductions ranging from Rs 58,399 for the base LXi through to Rs 87,700 for the top-end ZXI Plus petrol AMT. As a result, with an ex-showroom price of Rs 625,000, the Dzire turned 8.5% cheaper than its pre-GST price . . . just what aggressive value-seeking buyers like families and fleet operators sought.

As a result of the sharp price cut, demand soared and popular sedan sold over 20,000 units in September, October and November 2025 and should end FY2026 with estimated wholesales of around 225,000 units. However, this will still be less than the sales in FY2019 (253,859 units) but was India’s No. 2 PV after sibling Alto (259,401 units). In FY2026 YTD, within its segment, the Dzire is well ahead of its siblings Swift (170,804 units), Wagon R (163,109 units) and Baleno (156,168 units).

The Nexon, India’s best-selling SUV in FY2022, FY2023 and FY2024, lost the title in FY2025 to sibling Punch. It is now set to wrest the SUV crown back in FY2026 with a new high of around 220,000 units. 

Making the Con-Nexon With the SUV Buyer Again

The model closest in terms of sale to the Dzire after FY2026’s first 11 months is the Tata Nexon compact SUV with 196,244 units, up 34% YoY. In February, with wholesales of 19,430 units, the Tata Nexon achieved cumulative sales of a million units (10,16,868 units) since launch in September 2017. Tata Motors’ first compact SUV, sold with petrol, diesel, electric and CNG powertrains, accounts for a 35% share of Tata Motors’ 11-month sales of 565,195 PVs, ahead of the sibling Punch (163,003 units, down 9% YoY, 29% model-wise share in FY2026 YTD).

With this robust performance, the Nexon which was India’s best-selling SUV for three fiscals in a row – FY2022, FY2023 and FY2024 – is set to regain the No. 1 SUV and UV title it lost to sibling Tata Punch in FY2025. The Nexon has been India’s best-selling UV and PV in five of the past 11 months – September (22,573 units), October (22,083 units) November (22,434 units), January (23,365 units) and February (19,430 units). Expect the Nexon to wrap up FY2026 with estimated wholesales between 215,000 to 220,000 units.

This performance will see the Nexon extract sweet revenge on the Hyundai Creta, which outsold the Nexon in CY2025 by a whisker – just 563 units! The Creta has sold 184,083 units in the past 11 months of FY2026, which puts it 12,161 units behind the Nexon. And FY2025’s winner, the Punch is currently ranked sixth amongst the Top 15 UVs.

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