EXCLUSIVE

The Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza may continue to maintain its stranglehold on India's utility vehicle segment; but the Tata Nexon has made the news, this month with its first entry into the Top 5 UVs sold in India.

There was always an indication that the Nexon would be a game-changer in the Indian market. On November 30, 2017 – less than two-and-half-months since its September 21, 2017 launch – the 10,000th production-ready Nexon had rolled out. On February 27, 2018, the 25,000th Nexon exited the Pune factory. On August 16, 2018, the company announced its 50,000-unit production milestone.

Interestingly, our sister publication, Autocar Professional, has estimated that sales of the Nexon in the domestic market would have crossed the 50,000 mark by now.

In the 12-month September 2017 to August 2018 period, the Nexon has sold a total of 49,059 units – working out to a monthly average of 4,088 units or a daily sales of 136 units. Doing the math for the first 17 days of September 2018, the Nexon would have gone home to another 2,316 buyers – enough units sold to push the Nexon across the 50,000-unit sales milestone.

While the striking crossover differentiates itself with its contemporary design, the model stands apart in crowd with its swooping roofline, its concept-like textured elements on the outside and its aggressive stance. The Tata Nexon comes with a 110hp, 1.5-litre turbo-diesel motor and a 110hp, 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine, both mated to either a 6-speed manual transmission or a 6-speed AMT gearbox.

Mayank Dhingra