[Arsenic]

We do have a thread on this, but it's 11 years old and the Indian car scene has evolved quite a bit since then. So, it's worth asking again - is there a gap in the Indian car market that a C-segment hatchback can fill?

The poster-car of large hatches, the VW Golf

Why large hatches might succeed... and why they might not

Well theoretically we already have one large hatch in India, the Skoda Octavia. However, it still looks like a sedan styling-wise and it doesn't resemble a large hatchback like the Golf or Hyundai i30 one bit. The only true large hatch that's ever been sold here is the Chevrolet Optra SRV.

BHPian carrazy's stunning SRV

The SRV unfortunately bombed, mostly because the pricing was quite high (7.5L for a hatch in those times was ridiculous!) and due as well to the fact that people didn't really know who GM was targeting. A post from 2006 by mod Navin about the same:

Originally Posted by navin

I am wondering who they intend to sell the SRV to at the present price:

1. The Vtec would attract anyone who wants a fast car under 10L
2. The Palio 1.6 GTX would attract boy racers at 4L less
3. The Aveo and Optra 1.8 would attract anyone who is insterested in luxuury interiors
4. The Fiesta who attract thhose who value drivibility

For what it costs the SRV is not luxurious, fast, nor offers great drivibility. What bugs me is that GM had the tools to make it a winner. Just add the 1.8 engine and the Optra 1.8LT interiors (incl ACC etc...) and you'd have a luxury racer costing 5L less than the RS OR drop the price of the VGIS to 6L (under 8L On the road mumbai) to fly under the Vtec's radar.

Out of curiosity, I decided to ask a friend for his opinion on whether large hatches would succeed in India. Here's what he had to say:

More on that point about enthusiast cars later...

PS: The messages might be hidden by the team-bhp watermarks, so in case you’re wondering what he said - “It might be rebranded as "family hatches" or MPVs to work, though I am sure cars like the golf or i30 would become enthusiast cars.”

Now I personally find another one of his statements quite intriguing, and it's why I think large hatchbacks do have potential in India.

Transcript:
Me: Would you personally buy one if they were launched at decent prices?
Him: What would you count as decent?
M: On par with C-segment sedans, basically priced to sell.
H: Won't they be around the same wheelbase but with more space?

He does have a point, although I'm not sure if there is necessarily more space on offer. The VW Golf has a wheelbase of 2636mm, close to the Virtus' 2651mm, and offers quite a good amount of rear legroom + a 380L boot. Additionally, one might argue that a hatchback opening is a lot more convenient than a traditional trunk.

However, I do think there is one thing that could prevent these hatches from succeeding: the rise of the small crossover. The Venue and Brezza have already brought down sales of the likes of the i20 and Baleno, so what chance does a Golf/i30 have against a Taigun/Creta? Of course, those who value a low center of gravity will always spring for the hatch, but that probably isn't the majority of consumers in today's market.

But how can a large hatch succeed?

I think there's 3 ways that these big hatchbacks can capture sales:

1) Price them to sell!
The Indian market no longer sees 7.5 lakh for a hatchback as ridiculous. In fact, I'm sure it would accept a C-segment hatchback at the same price as a compact sedan. Wouldn't a Corolla hatch priced along the lines of the Virtus be quite a unique proposition? Or even better, an i30 at the pricing of the Verna!

2) Bring the hot-headed versions!
I do believe that had the Golf GTI been launched instead of the Polo GTI back in the day, we'd be seeing quite a lot of GTI-badged cars on our roads today. Considering we no longer get the Octavia VRS, something like a Hyundai i30N, Kia Procee'd GT or even a Toyota GR Corolla priced similarly to the old VRS would be quite a tantalizing proposition. In fact, it would bring enthusiast cars back to the 30-50L price band, which many Indian car enthusiasts searching for fun cars with a 40-55L budget would appreciate.

3) Sell them as alternatives to electric crossovers!
Wouldn't many of us rather have an MG4 vs the ZS EV? I personally wouldn't mind purchasing a Nissan Leaf or VW ID.3 at a decent price. I'm sure a lot of us who aren't massive fans of crossovers but are keen on going electric would love to have a nice electric hatch in their garage. I know I'd love to have one for sure!

The MG4 vs the ZS EV

[MotoBlip]

I get where this thread is going but to be brutally honest, what I really want an answer to is the question, Do estates have potential in India?

The track record has been bad, hell it's been egregious, but I do still have hope. Assuming some fungibility, voted YES.

[batish]

Considering how the roads are in our country, even hatchbacks are a dying breed. With current prices any large hatch cannot be priced below 1.5 Million. In large numbers, I don't think so but like VW GTI came in small numbers, probably.

Originally Posted by MotoBlip

Do estates have potential in India?

They don't even look nice. See


I don't see anybody paying millions for this when reliable Innova is there. One would simply buy a proper tall go anywhere SUV. Something similar to this would be Ertiga, but I don't think you'd categorise that as an estate.

[vedirah]

Interesting thread! Voted yes, and if a product like the golf were available in the market today my money would be where my mouth is. I absolutely love the hatchback body style - even more so than the Sedan, and definitely more than SUV/MPV/Crossover. It looks cool, has great seating position, and basically it's the perfect driver's car. I would love to see large hatchbacks make their way here. When it's time to upgrade my Polo in 5-6 years, if these are around I'll be inclined to purchase a large hatchback.

[Jaguar]

In our market, hatchbacks are considered entry-level cars and therefore it is difficult to sell a large hatch. However, with the disappearance of entry-level sedans, I feel there could be a market for decently-sized hatches. But aren't the likes of Nexon just larger hatches on stills?

Originally Posted by batish

With current prices any large hatch cannot be priced below 1.5 Million.

I don't see anybody paying millions for this when reliable Innova is there.

OT, but why can't you simply say 15 lakhs instead of 1.5 million?

Lately, I am seeing this trend in the forum where people somehow find it fashionable to use the American number system. A lakh is even shorter character-count-wise to type and easier to type.

End of rant.

[MotoBlip]

Originally Posted by batish

They don't even look nice. See

Matter of personal opinion, plus you just had to go and pick one of the most boring examples. Well, I think they look darn nice.

Originally Posted by batish

I don't see anybody paying millions for this when reliable Innova is there. One would simply buy a proper tall go anywhere SUV. Something similar to this would be Ertiga, but I don't think you'd categorise that as an estate.

Going by that logic, I don't see anyone paying millions for a supposedly elongated hatchback when the likes of Innova et al. are present, ultimately also defeating the purpose of this entire thread.

[Chetan_Rao]

Potential? They already sell, we just like large hatchbacks in a certain 'other' body shape!

Seriously though, I'd pick up a 'conventional' large hatchback with a competent powertrain over a comparable sedan/CSUV in a heartbeat.

I'd prefer an i20 N-Line DCT for 15L over the Nexons, Brezzas, Venues and Sonets of the world. I continue to be disappointed Honda never gave us a 1.5 iVTEC + magic seats version of the Jazz/Fit, I'd prefer it over a City, maybe even a Civic.

If VAG bring in Fabia/Golf with a competent motor, I'd prefer them over a Slavia/Virtus.

P.S. +1 for estates. the V90 Cross Country is a personal favorite!

[agambhandari]

If you had asked 10 years ago, there might have been a remote Possibility of such a C segment Hatch being successful if price, features were carefully set, but in todays's Crossover biased market, NOT AT ALL.

As the first pic is the Golf, let me remind you that in all the leading markets for VW, Tiguan/T-roc are in fact now best sellers comfortably ahead of the Golf. For enthusiasts, sure the GTI/R would be exciting but for the rest of the market, Crossovers would be the preferred option.

[shankar.balan]

Hatchbacks are practical and those large powerful hatches with lots of features are lovely products. But they are niche products at best.

While they will appeal to and succeed amongst certain segments of the market, I don't think they ever can or will easily become ‘mass market’ products in that sense.
As others have pointed out, the road conditions, the need to transport larger groups of people and larger amounts of luggage plus the overall unpredictability of things in our country, necessitate different products. This is probably why SUVs and MPVs and Crossovers are presently ruling the roost and are likely to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

[shancz]

Voted No, although I don't agree with the absoluteness

Reasons :
- A large hatch like the Golf exists in the market, it was the S-Cross. I always considered it was a large hatch with relevant GC for our realities and if you compare it is similar to the Golf Mk6's(1.6, not the GTI) dimensions except the GC and height.
Today's CSUV's/MSUV's are crossovers with more and more aggressiveness and boxiness being built into the design to cater to the "imposing SUV" design which our market is clearly in love with.

- Something like the GTI would be brushing shoulders with the 3 series. That would be a tough call even for enthusiasts, let alone the folks who are buying for badge/brag value.

- For the targeted sales its going to gather it wouldn't make sense for VW to keep a channel open for them.
The closest VW has come to that was the T-Roc which had a lot more potential to sell with its more practical dimensions and we know how that went.


If I was answering this 2 years ago I would've been on the opposite side but it seems like I have aged significantly faster than expected

[GTO]

Voted no. In India, hatchbacks are only bought because of price and even there, we have seen innovations like the Compact Sedan (started by Tata) which became runaway successes because they gave you a "sedan body style" at a price comparable to hatchbacks.

The main reason though is crossovers. A large hatchback will cost as much as good crossovers and there is simply no competing with that body style. The mass market appreciates crossovers & SUVs for their style, higher seating & enhanced GC. Even the C2 sedan segment is floundering thanks to the crossovers.

Large hatchbacks will attract a limited set of buyers.

Originally Posted by MotoBlip

Do estates have potential in India?

Dead the world over (even USA) and surviving in just a few countries. Main problem = image. Plus, you get the same practicality and then some more with crossovers.

[vb-saan]

Voted No… Couple of reasons:

• In India, traditionally sedans somehow hold the status value when compared to the corresponding hatchbacks. And now with crossovers eating into sedan space, the big hatchback scene is bleak.
• It doesn’t work for manufacturers to sell a hatchback version cheaper than the version with the boot. In most of markets, the hatchback is more expensive than the corresponding sedan (Jazz vs City or Golf vs Jetta). So if they have to sell the hatchback in India, it will end up as an inferior version of what is being sold in the international markets. Even luxury players ditched the hatchback options for the Indian market – Mercedes A-Class as an example.

But I do feel premium hatchbacks in limited numbers/CBU could sell well in India. Informed buyers nowadays are happy to pay for quality.

[DicKy]

Would love to vote Yes. Something like a Corolla hatch or a Mazda 3 hatch.

But lets be real. Even sedans are struggling. Also when we say that many hatchbacks are more practical than equivalent sedans, there are already hatchbacks ruling the sales chart. Only thing is they are raised and are marketed as crossovers...nah echuvees.

But companies can surely bring in some CBUs and sporty/BEV models.

[Astargea]

For manufacturers, it makes no sense to sell large hatches. Hatchbacks in India are associated with less premium cars. SUVs of the same size (mid sizes like Creta, Seltos etc) can be produced with a lower cost.

Smaller premium SUVs such as the VW T-Roc costs more or less the same to produce compared to the Golf (which is based on the same platform), but it's appeal is increased due to the fact that it's an SUV. For non-enthusiasts, the Golf looks like a Polo despite its massive price difference.

For premium hatchbacks with a sedan variant (such as the A-Class), the sedan version are easier to sell in India.

[DriveOnceMore]

I think, considering the prices of the cars today, the Large hatchback may fit the bill for many.
An Jazz like (read spacious and tall) hatchback with easy ingress/ egress and all bells and whistles (including Pano sunroof) will find the buyers for sure.
Especially city dwellers anything sub-4 meter is preferred choice for many.

So IMO: Spacious interiors + Good fit and finish + all features (ventilated seats, pano or normal sunroof, connected car tech etc) + tall (for easy ingress / egress) + with price tag of below 15 lakhs is the formula which can potentially work.

Current buyers compact SUV buyers are preferring it because of most of the (not all) above mentioned factors being fulfilled.