Why are Indian cars always getting bigger? We explain with 10 examples

They say – ‘bigger is better, and what can prove this better than cars in general. The Indian automotive industry has evolved much in the 21st century, especially in the last ten years. Some new carmakers have entered the game, some have left the game, and some have been instrumental in creating new segments within the game – the game of competition and survival. And it is where the carmakers are trying to be better than others by offering something bigger than their direct competitors.

All the popular and high selling cars in the 21st century have seen generation changes periodically, and in these generation changes, what’s been the most important aspect to talk about is their sheer size. Talk about all the main three dimensions of a car – length, breadth and height – and all the vehicles which see generation changes receive an upgrade in these dimensions.

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There are three main reasons why carmakers are bound to increase the dimensions of their offerings and make them bigger with every major upgrade.

Increasing competition

To grab a majority of the chunk of share in their respective segments, carmakers are making their cars bigger than their predecessors for offering the maximum possible road presence and stance over their rivals. Consider the situation of Maruti Suzuki. What was once upon a time the only player in the mass market and price-conscious segments has now seen cut-throat competition from other carmakers like Hyundai, Tata, Honda and Kia. It has increased the sizes of Alto, Celerio, WagonR and Swift. The same goes for other carmakers as well, either to maintain their leadership or for the act of survival.

Quest for roomier cabins

Unlike American and European audiences, the priorities of Indian consumers rely more on practical aspects like fuel efficiency and cabin space, with the latter forcing the carmakers to produce bigger cars year after year. A good family-oriented car in India should offer optimum space for five passengers on board, by offering an ample amount of knee room, headroom, legroom and shoulder room, especially at the back. It can become a deciding factor for those families, in which the members have a height of 5 feet 8 inches or above.

Status symbol

The Indian car buying audience perceives a bigger car as a sign of prosperity and status symbol – the bigger your car, the more influential you might be in society. It is the reason most Indian carmakers opt for the biggest possible car that falls within their budget limits, a trait that is more common in premium midsize and full-size sedans and SUV categories. It is a trend that is gradually filtering in smaller segments, with hatchbacks and compact SUVs and sedans too.

Cars that have become bigger in size

In recent years, many all-new models that replace the previous-generation vehicles have become bigger in size. Starting with the likes of the all-new Hyundai Creta, which is bigger than the previous-generation model in every dimension except for the height. There are other models like the all-new WagonR, which gets a new platform compared to the older version and is much bigger in size as well.

Similarly, there are many other examples of new models that are bigger than the previous version. The list includes the all-new Octavia, second-generation Amaze, tenth-generation Honda City, all-new Toyota Fortuner, new Hyundai Verna, all-new i20, all-new Swift, even the new Innova is much bigger in size compared to the pre-facelifted version while the cars like upcoming Slavia is bigger than the Rapid, which it will replace from the line-up. Also, we all know how cars from the iconic MINI brand has grown like anything in recent years.

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