hen Tata Motors launched Safari in 1998, it was India�s first sports utility vehicle (SUV). Times have changed and so has the SUV market space in India. Companies such as Honda, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan and Mitsubishi entered the fray with a flurry of SUVs. Though Tata seems to be have been left behind in the SUV race, it is still doing better numbers than the others. Consider this. The Safari leads the 8,000-unit SUV market race with a 44 per cent share. Ford�s Endeavour is second with 25 per cent while Honda�s CR-V has a 21 per cent share.

Two qualifiers, however: One, Mahindra�s Scorpio prefers to be called a car rather than an SUV and has not been included. Two, the SUV market is normally split by marketers into two categories - up to Rs 10 lakh and above Rs 10 lakh. Here, we are talking of the two markets as one.... more