Top 25 Selling Cars in India December 2025: Post-Festive Market Trends & Winners

December 2025 rewrote the traditional rulebook for India’s passenger vehicle market. Historically, December has been a year-end plateau month—driven by discount seekers, inventory clearance, and cautious buyers delaying purchases to avoid year-change depreciation. But December 2025 behaved very differently.

Instead of cooling off after October’s festive peak and November’s stabilisation, the market accelerated again, proving that the demand surge seen in late 2025 is not cyclical or event-driven—but structural.

December 2025 in Perspective: Why This Month Matters More Than October

October’s record-breaking numbers could still be dismissed as festive distortion.
November showed resilience without festivals.
December, however, removed all doubt.

Key reasons December is strategically important:

• No major festivals

• No heavy OEM discounting across segments

• Inventory largely balanced after Diwali

• Buyers fully aware of calendar-year depreciation

Yet despite these natural dampeners, Top-25 models alone crossed ~3.55 lakh units, rising from November’s ~3.27 lakh units.

That makes December 2025 one of the strongest non-festive months India has ever recorded.

Top 25 Best-Selling Cars in India – December 2025

Rank	Brand	Model	Bodystyle	Dec’25	Dec’24	Y-o-Y
1	Maruti Suzuki	Baleno	Hatchback	22,108	9,112	143%
2	Maruti Suzuki	Fronx	SUV	20,706	10,752	93%
3	Tata	Nexon	SUV	19,375	13,536	43%
4	Maruti Suzuki	Dzire	Sedan	19,072	16,573	15%
5	Maruti Suzuki	Swift	Hatchback	18,767	10,421	80%
6	Maruti Suzuki	Brezza	SUV	17,704	17,336	2%
7	Maruti Suzuki	Ertiga	MUV	16,586	16,056	3%
8	Tata	Punch	SUV	15,980	15,073	6%
9	Mahindra	Scorpio	SUV	15,885	12,195	30%
10	Maruti Suzuki	Wagon R	Hatchback	14,575	17,303	-16%
11	Hyundai	Creta	SUV	13,154	12,608	4%
12	Maruti Suzuki	Eeco	Van	11,899	11,678	2%
13	Maruti Suzuki	Alto	Hatchback	10,829	7,410	46%
14	Mahindra	Bolero	SUV	10,611	5,921	79%
15	Hyundai	Venue	SUV	10,322	10,265	1%
16	Toyota	Innova + Hycross	MUV	9,901	9,700	2%
17	Mahindra	XUV 3X0	SUV	9,422	7,000	35%
18	Kia	Sonet	SUV	9,418	3,337	182%
19	Mahindra	Thar	SUV	9,339	7,659	22%
20	Maruti Suzuki	Grand Vitara	SUV	8,597	7,093	21%
21	Toyota	Hyryder	SUV	7,022	4,770	47%
22	Toyota	Glanza	Hatchback	6,451	3,487	85%
23	Maruti Suzuki	Victoris	SUV	6,210	0	0%
24	Tata	Tiago	Hatchback	5,826	5,006	16%
25	Hyundai	Exter	SUV	5,612	5,270	6%

The December leaderboard clearly shows where demand concentrated—and why.

• Hatchbacks returned aggressively

• Compact SUVs reinforced dominance

• Mid-size SUVs stabilised

• Lifestyle and rural SUVs outperformed expectations

Most importantly, YoY growth averaged over 30% across the Top-25, an extraordinary number for a non-festive, year-end month.

This alone confirms that FY2026 is starting from a much higher demand base than FY2025.

Hatchbacks: The December Revival Nobody Expected—But Everyone Should Have

The biggest December story is impossible to miss.

Hatchbacks didn’t just recover—they dominated.

• Maruti Suzuki Baleno topped the chart with 22,108 units

• Swift, Alto, Glanza, and Tiago all posted strong YoY growth

• Combined hatchback share jumped sharply from November

Why hatchbacks surged in December:

1. GST 2.0’s 18% slab impact peaked

2. Buyers postponed October–November purchases waiting for year-end offers

3. EMI sensitivity overtook body-style aspiration

4. Urban first-time buyers returned in large numbers

Baleno’s 143% YoY growth is not a one-off—it is a signal that premium hatchbacks still offer unmatched value in the ₹6–9 lakh band.

December proves that SUV migration has a financial ceiling, and once prices cross it, rational buyers return to hatchbacks.

SUVs Still Rule—But December Defined the Winners Clearly

SUVs continued to command ~58% of Top-25 volumes, but December exposed a clear hierarchy within the segment.

Compact & Sub-4m SUVs: The Real Structural Winners

Models benefiting from the 18% GST slab showed the strongest consistency:

• Nexon

• Punch

• Fronx

• Sonet

• XUV 3XO

• Venue

• Brezza

These SUVs:

• Are less dependent on festivals

• Convert financing faster

• Appeal equally to urban and semi-urban buyers

This category now forms the core of India’s car market, not just a growth pocket.

Rural & Lifestyle SUVs: Surprisingly Resilient

Despite falling under the 40% tax bracket, the following models performed strongly:

• Scorpio

• Bolero

• Thar

Bolero’s 79% YoY growth highlights a critical trend:
Rural demand remained stable through Q3 FY2026, supported by farm income, infrastructure spending, and replacement cycles.

These models act as cycle stabilisers, insulating OEMs from urban volatility.

Mid-Size SUVs: Stable, But Clearly Saturating

Models such as:

• Creta

• Grand Vitara

• Hyryder

Continued to perform well, but December showed:

• Limited upside without festive push

• Increasing price resistance beyond ₹15 lakh

• Slower replacement cycles

The mid-SUV segment is no longer expanding rapidly—it is maturing.

Sedans: One Strong Pillar, No Broader Revival

Sedans remained a single-model story.

• Dzire continued to deliver stable volumes

• Strong fleet + private demand mix

• Perfect alignment with 18% GST slab

However, December confirmed that:

• Sedans are no longer declining sharply

• But they are not reclaiming lost share

• Growth is consolidation-led, not expansion-driven

Dzire has become a utility product, not a trendsetter.

OEM Performance Breakdown – December 2025

Maruti Suzuki: Market Control at Its Peak

With 12 models in the Top-25, Maruti Suzuki delivered one of its strongest Decembers ever.

Key strengths:

• Total domination of hatchbacks

• Strong presence in compact SUVs

• Continued leadership in sedans and MUVs

Baleno, Swift and Fronx alone reshaped December’s narrative.

Maruti’s biggest advantage remains unchanged:
Scale + pricing discipline + GST alignment = unmatched resilience.

Tata Motors: Consistency Over Volatility

• Nexon remains structurally strong

• Punch delivers dependable volumes

• Tiago steady but capped

December didn’t bring fireworks, but Tata’s portfolio shows no signs of fatigue, reinforcing long-term stability.

Mahindra & Mahindra: Rural and Lifestyle Insurance

Mahindra’s December strength came from:

• Scorpio

• Bolero

• Thar

• XUV 3XO

Absence of XUV700 confirms earlier festive billing distortion rather than demand weakness.

Mahindra remains cycle-proof rather than cycle-dependent.

Hyundai Motor India & Kia India: Compact SUVs Carry the Load

• Creta and Venue stayed stable

• Sonet delivered the highest YoY growth in Top-25 (+182%)

Kia’s December performance shows that compact SUVs are now the brand’s primary growth engine, not mid-size models.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor: Hybrids Normalize

• Innova Hycross remains premium MUV benchmark

• Hyryder continues steady hybrid traction

December confirmed that hybrid demand is structural—but not explosive.

November vs December 2025: The Real Shift

December didn’t correct—it re-accelerated selectively, led by affordability-driven segments.

GST 2.0: December Was the Final Proof Point

October showed immediate impact.
November validated sustainability.
December removed all doubt.

Key outcomes:

• Entry barriers permanently lowered

• EMI sensitivity dominates buyer decisions

• First-time buyers returned in volume

• Compact cars regained relevance

GST 2.0 is no longer a policy change—it is now consumer behaviour.

What December 2025 Tells Us About 2026

1. Festivals no longer dictate annual demand curves

2. Hatchbacks are value winners, not legacy products

3. Compact SUVs will define future growth

4. Rural demand provides crucial stability

5. Price discipline will matter more than feature escalation

Bottom Line

December 2025 was not a year-end clearance month.

It was a structural confirmation month—one that proved India’s passenger vehicle market has entered a stronger, broader, and more rational growth phase.

The industry is no longer riding festivals alone.
It is now driven by fundamentals, affordability, and sustainable demand.

India exits 2025 not cautiously—but with confidence, depth, and momentum that carries into 2026.