While production of the first 300,000 units took 26 months, the last 300,000 units have been manufactured in just 19 months, reflecting the increased demand for Tata Motors’ compact SUV which was launched with only a petrol engine and went on to get CNG and electric powertrains. The Punch is popular in both town and country, with the ownership split comprising 24% from Tier 1 cities, 42% from Tier 2, and 34% from Tier 3 towns.
18 Jul 2025 | 613 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
Launched on October 21, 2021, the Tata Punch compact SUV has registered its latest production landmark. On July 17, 2025, the 600,000thPunch rolled out of the company’s Pune plant – 44 months and 27 days – after the company had first produced its second compact SUV after the ...
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Launched on October 21, 2021, the Tata Punch compact SUV has registered its latest production landmark. On July 17, 2025, the 600,000th Punch rolled out of the company’s Pune plant – 44 months and 27 days – after the company had first produced its second compact SUV after the Nexon.
Tata Motors had rolled out the 300,000th Punch on January 4, 2024 – 26 months after launch – which means the last 300,000 Punch SUVs have been produced in just 19 months, making the Tata Punch the fastest amongst made-in-India SUVs to hit the 600,000-units mark in less than 4 years after production began.
Before the Tata Punch, the closest to the 600,000-units production mark has been the Hyundai Creta which took 48 months or 4 years to achieve the milestone. Between launch in July 2015 and July 2019, Hyundai Motor India produced a total of 601,357 units. The Hyundai Creta, which now has an electric sibling in the form of the Creta EV, has sold a total of 1.26 million units till end-June 2025.
The Maruti Brezza, the model which kicked-started the compact SUV market way back in March 2016 and has sold 1.29 million units to date in India, had taken a few months less than 5 years (57 months) to achieve 600,000-unit production.
And the Tata Nexon, the Punch’s own sibling, launched in September 2017 and with sales of 860,779 units till end-June 2025, had taken a little over 6 years (around 74 months) to manufacture 600,000 units.
TATA PUNCH SET TO PUNCH PAST 600,000 SALES VERY SOON
Having identified a ‘white space’ in the Indian PV market, Tata Motors had launched the Punch with an aggressive pricing strategy starting at Rs 549,000 (ex-showroom) in October 2021. The compact SUV is currently available in 33 variants – 18 petrol (Rs 725,000 to Rs 11.73 lakh), 7 CNG (Rs 823,000 to Rs 11.21 lakh) and 8 electric (Rs 11.99 lakh to Rs 15.80 lakh, all pricing on-road Mumbai)
The Punch mini-SUV was positioned as a compelling and affordable model – an entry level SUV that could challenge even premium hatchbacks, tall-boy hatchbacks and also compact sedans in the value-conscious Indian passenger vehicle market. The Punch’s USP has been its compelling SUV attributes such as a high unladen ground clearance, high seating for a commanding view of the road and also a tall stance for easy ingress and egress. Clearly, the strategy seems to have paid off in spades.
The sharp focus on vehicle safety has also paid dividends in a market which was becoming aware of the need to buy high-on-safety passenger cars, SUVs and MPVs. On October 18, 2021, four days before its launch, the Tata Punch aced the Global NCAP crash test with a top five-star rating. In June 2024, the Tata Punch EV has also scored a 5-star rating in the Bharat NCAP crash test.
As per SIAM’s wholesales data for the passenger vehicle industry, the Tata Punch has clocked cumulative sales of 589,253 units in the domestic market which leaves it just 10,747 units shy of the 600,000 milestone and one that it should surpass at the end of July 2025.
As the data table above depicts, FY2025 with 196,567 units and 16% YoY growth was the Tata Punch’s best fiscal and gave it India’s No. 1 SUV title for the first time since its launch, narrowing beating the Hyundai Creta, which remains India’s best-selling midsize SUV. The Punch was also the No. 1 SUV in CY2024 when it sold 202,031 units.
The Punch has raised the sales bar with every 100,000 units. In August 2022, it became the first SUV in India to achieve the 100,000 wholesales milestone in just 10 months, crossed the 150,000 mark in 15 months after launch, 200,000 in 20 months, 300,000 in 28 months, and 400,000 in June 2024, just 32 months after launch. The run from 400,000 to 500,000 wholesales took a scant six months or 38 months after launch, reflecting the continuing demand for the compact SUV. However, in the first three months of FY2026, sales are down 36% YoY (April-June 2024: 56,345 units). This translates into 20,270 fewer units YoY and the estimated 10,446 units sold in June 2025 are the lowest monthly sales for the Punch since July 2023 (12,019 units).
PUNCH: POPULAR IN BOTH TOWN AND COUNTRY
The Punch, which accounts for 36% of Tata Motors’ overall passenger vehicle sales, is a top choice for first-time car buyers and nearly 70% of Punch ICE (petrol and CNG) owners are first-time car buyers. Interestingly, the compact SUV gained strong traction amongst women drivers, which is reflected in the fact that 25% of Punch EV owners are women.
As per the company, the Punch’s appeal cuts across India’s urban and rural landscapes, proving its versatility in diverse terrains and lifestyles. The ownership split for this Tata SUV comprise 24% from Tier 1 cities, 42% from Tier 2, and 34% from Tier 3 towns.