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-   -   SIAM's new vehicle classification system (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/105442-siams-new-vehicle-classification-system.html)

Mini:Seats upto-5, Length Normally <3600 mm, Body Style-Hatchback, Engine Displacement Normally upto 1.0 Litre

Compact:Seats upto-5, Length Normally between 3600 - 4000 mm, Body Style-Sedan/Estate/Hatch/Notchback, Engine Displacement Normally upto 1.4 Litre

Super Compact:Seats upto-5, Length Normally between 4000 - 4250 mm, Body Style-Sedan/Estate/Hatch/Notchback, Engine Displacement Normally upto 1.6 Litre

Mid-Size:Seats upto-5, Length Normally between 4250 - 4500 mm, Body Style-Sedan/Estate/Hatch/Notchback, Engine Displacement Normally upto 1.6 Litre

Executive:Seats upto-5, Length Normally between 4500 - 4700 mm, Body Style-Sedan/Estate/Notchback, Engine Displacement Normally upto 2 Litre

Premium:Seats upto-5, Length Normally between 4700 - 5000 mm, Body Style-Sedan/Estates, Engine Displacement Normally upto 3 Litre

B: Utility Vehicles/ Sports Utility Vehicles; 2x4 or 4x4 offroad capability ; Generally ladder on frame ; 2 box ; 5 Seats or more but upto 10 Seats
UV1:Length <4400 mm, Price Upto Rs. 15 Lakh

UV4:Price Between Rs. 15 to 25 Lakh

C: Vans ; Generally 1 or 1.5 box; seats upto 5 to 10

V1:Hard tops mainly used for personal transport, Price Upto Rs. 10 Lakh

Source: [http://www.marutisuzuki.com/Maruti-S...uly-2011.aspx]

Thanks for the topic. Here's two files received from Maruti that illustrate:

- Current (top) versus new (bottom) classification:


- What car is where:

Good to know. But does SIAM classification, actually have any practical consequences???

Why is the Santro in the the Mini Section, it should have been in the Compact segment. Its a 1.1 ltr engine, isnt it?

It does. If you want to track the sales in a particular segment. Will tell you which segment is growing at a faster rate.

The new classification is more practical as it includes the engine-size as a parameter. And the increased number of segments can give you a more granular view of the market dynamics.

PS: The separated Micro segment makes a lot of sense.

Emission norms, Road tax and insurance slabs. Also for the competition - Which car is best for "the" segment.

I think the length of the Vehicle is the major classification criteria.
Ikon's petrol engine is 1.3litre(<1400cc) still it is in C1 category, may be because of the the overall length. Though, a discontinued model now the TDCI Ikon(1.4) diesel is a fit case for C1.
I think that is why Santro is in Mini section. But does Santro comes only in 1.1litre only ? or is there any smaller engine available for it too?

As far as I knnow Emission norms in India apply equally to all vehicles, only differing for light and heavy vehicles.

Road tax and insurance are dependent only on the value of the car not on which segment it is in. The only difference in central sales tax existed, but was not dependent on SIAM classification. The regulation was cars below 4m in length and having a petrol engine smaller than 1.2L or a diesel engine below 1.4L would attract lower tax. This rule I believe never had, and still does not have, anything to do with SIAM classification.

Well, true we do get very detailed sales comparison data from SIAM.

But how does this criteria truly reflect the classification in the market space.

The Estilo and the Wagon R are in separate classes!!!The i20 and i10 are in the same class???The Etios and Logan are in a class lower than Indigo??? Can you really compare the Tata Indigo and the Honda City???

I really dont think the sales data based on this classification can anything relevant.

I agree that these classifications are not perect...
We tend to think of cars in the same segment as in the same "price range" which actually may be true 8 times out of 10. But a car's price range is not an objective parameter to base a classification on.
So, we come back to the next best thing, length. To differentiate between segments, you will need to draw the line at a particular length, causing you to leave some cars in a segment they don't belong to.
eg. The i10 being 3585mm long (as per Hyundai India website) should be placed in the mini segment while the Beat coming in at 3640mm (as per Chevy India website) is pushed up to the compact segment.

PS: Given the limited number of models available in India, model-level fugures combined with manual grouping (personalized to one's requirements) should do the trick.

I am not saying its an easy job to find an objective parameter which will perfectly mimick the car buyer's mind. But the above criteria definitely doesnt work. Also who says that you need to have one criteria, and also that you have to follow it religiously.

Thus remains the fact that this classification by SIAM is all but academic, and doesnt serve much purpose.

Hi
A query- is this still valid or are there any newer classifications in place.
Also does anybody know whether there are other standards in Indian auto industry. Need to submit a research paper, will help. thanks.

My Yeti measures 4223mm in length.
It is a large hatchback; some may even say it is a super hatch. Some may even say it is an UV or mini or micro SUV. It has a 2 litre Diesel engine which develops 140BHP.

What segment does it actually fall into?

Whichever classification rules one uses, the Yeti falls somewhere in the middle; between the two stools as it were.

Do please enlighten me further.

Yes, it is the length which is a major criteria for the classification. Manza, SX 4, Ertiga, Sail, Linea and possibly a few others, have 1300 CC engines though they are in higher class.

I do not understand the whole point of this classification system by SIAM, if there are vehicles which can not be fitted into this system you need a new one. On top of it the SIAM website is a real nightmare :deadhorse

Just noticed, it does not mention how UVs are classified. Any idea?

The Classification of cars is definitely tricky and does not always depend on the length. In some cases it lets prices overtake the length (where the length is short) as key criteria. For E.g. the Ford Ecosport, which by length comes under 4 meters, and thus should be a B2 segment member. However, being a million rupee car, it is classified under C2 segment. Other examples are Dzire and Aspire, which too come under sub 4 meter category and are classified, a segment higher, under C1.