Are Sports Utility Coupes the next big thing

With the Coupé SUVs, the premium OEMs found the best way to increase their SUV sales and avoid cannibalization.

Half Sports Car, Half Off-Roader: The Era of the SUV Coupé has begun.

Beginning with cars from the big brands like BMW with the X6, and later on with Mercedes-Benz and Audi, this Sports Utility Coupé trend is growing rapidly in the car world.

With the Coupé SUVs, the premium OEMs found the best way to increase their SUV sales and avoid cannibalization.

They share all parts with the classic siblings but they have a hatchback rear end that allows them to have a more sporty look.

Built on the same platform with parts sharing with its SUV sibling and incremental sales, it brings the product development cycle to a bare minimum thus maximizing profits.

This trend will soon be catching up in India too. Mahindra has already made its intentions clear with the XUV9OO, the coupe version of XUV7OO.

Though not from an SUV, Maruti is rumoured to bring the Coupé version of the Baleno hatchback.

This trend will further grow as more manufactures' will subscribe to this trend in India too.

These are some of the SUVs offered by Volkswagen in China. Each of them has a coupe version and sits in different segments.

Here's what BHPian ashis89 had to say on the matter:

No!

I would bet otherwise. SUV coupe designs have been around for sometime now. While it got good attention, the sales numbers have been low and I believe, it will remain a niche segment only. For a mainstream model, the volumes would be very low and might not be sustainable.

Most SUV buyers look for space and practicality. This is compromised in a coupe design. IMO, even the stance of coupe doesn't befit an SUV.

I would rather they compare the coupe to sedan crossovers like the Volvo cross country series.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.