Image – Suresh
After staying behind for 2 years, Tata Harrier and Safari combined sales have surpassed that of MG Hector and Hector Plus
With added impetus being shown to the mid-size SUV space in India, we compare two of the most significant players in this segment – Tata Motors and MG Motor. Tata Harrier and Safari are being compared with MG Hector and Hector Plus in terms of sales over the past 3 years.
Of the three, it was the Harrier which was launched first, back in January 2019. It was given a facelift in 2020. MG Hector entered the segment in July 2019 while the Tata Safari had a more recent launch in February 2021.
Harrier + Safari Vs Hector + Hector Plus
Starting with sales in CY 2019, it may be seen that Tata Harrier sales averaged at around 1,500 units in the first 6 months January to June 2019. At that time it had no competition from MG Motor. Immediately following launch of MG Hector in July 2019, sales of Harrier started to dip significantly. However, the year ended practically on par with Harrier sales at 15,227 units, just 703 units lower than Hector sales which stood at 15,930 units.
CY 2020 saw Tata Harrier sales significantly lower than that of MG Hector/Hector Plus though each month of the year. Harrier sales started off in the sub 1000 unit range for the first 7 months of CY 2020 but then sales picked up after July to end the year with 14,071 units of the Harrier sold as against 25,935 units of MG Hector/Hector Plus.
Tata Harrier, Safari vs MG Hector, Hector Plus – Sales since launch
Tata Safari Launch Changes Course of Sales
Calendar year 2021 commenced with 2,443 units of Harrier sold as against 3,003 units of the MG Hector/Hector Plus sold in the month. It was on 22nd February 2021 that the Tata Safari was launched. This was a turning point for Tata Motors as from that month onward, combined sales of the Harrier and Safari scored well above that of MG Hector/Hector Plus.
The two competitors in the mid-size SUV segment ended the calendar year 2021 with 46,396 units of Tata Harrier (28,038 units) and Safari sales (18,358 units) as against a total of 32,231 units of MG Hector/Hector Plus sales, a difference of 14,165 units. October 2021 was particularly momentous for Tata Harrier as it was in that month that sales were at their peak at 3,097 units.
This has led to a total of 75,694 units of Tata Harrier (53,336 units) and Safari (18,358 units) being sold through past 3 years as against total of 74,096 units of MG Hector/Hector Plus, a difference of 1,598 units.
Tata Harrier completes 3 years in India
Price Difference
While each of the competitors are three-row versions of popular mid-size SUVs, Tata Harrier takes on MG Hector while the new Safari takes on MG Hector Plus. Tata pricing is a step ahead of MG Motor’s. The Tata Harrier is offered in a price range of Rs 14.5-21.35 lakh while Tata Safari is priced from Rs 15-23.2 lakh.
MG Hector on the other hand is priced from Rs 13.95-19.91 lakh while Hector Plus is in a range of Rs 15.95-20.5 lakh. It is to be noted that Tata does not offer a petrol engine option, while MG does not offer an automatic diesel variant – in their respective SUVs.
Keyword: Tata Harrier, Safari Sales Cross 75k – Overtakes MG Hector, Plus