Have you noticed the decline in the number of small hatchbacks and sedans on the streets of Guwahati and across Assam over the past few years?
You surely have.
The reason is fairly simple. Car buyers are increasingly moving towards SUVs and compact SUVs, driven by rising purchasing power, premiumisation and, perhaps, the desire for a lifestyle upgrade.
The pan-India preference for bigger cars has gradually made its way to Guwahati, Assam and the wider Northeast market. Management representatives from several Guwahati-based automobile dealerships told GPlus that the shift isclearly visible in the region.
And the numbers back this up.
A recent report by business and financial intelligence data services company Rubix Industry Insights said the share of utility vehicles in India's passenger vehicle segment increased from 39% in 2020-21 to 65% in 2024-25.
That essentially means SUVs now account for nearly two out of every three passenger vehicles sold in India. The Northeast, it appears, is no exception.
The report suggests that this has largely been a post-Covid phenomenon, driven by consumers' growing preference for SUVs and crossovers that offer higher ground clearance, larger cabins, enhanced safety features and a more premium positioning.
Manufacturers, naturally, have responded to this change in demand.
“Manufacturers have responded by reallocating production capacity and prioritising SUV launches across price segments, with companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra (Scorpio-N, XUV700), Tata Motors (Nexon, Punch, Curvv), Maruti Suzuki (Brezza, Grand Vitara, Fronx), and Hyundai (Creta, Venue, Exter) expanding their SUV portfolios,” the Rubix report said.
The demand-led shift has fundamentally changed both production planning and sales composition, with automobile companies increasingly directing investments and new product development towards the utility vehicle segment.
Guwahati follows the trend
The shift is particularly visible on Guwahati's roads.
“The kind of terrain this region has, car buyers are increasingly preferring SUVs or sub-4-metre compact SUVs,” said Munish Thakur, Marketing Manager at Apunar Skoda, during a conversation with GPlus at the dealership's showroom on NH27 near Khanapara.
Skoda currently offers the Kylaq and Kushaq in the compact SUV segment, and according to the dealership, these are its highest-selling models.
But what exactly are customers looking for when they walk into a showroom?
Is it price, mileage, safety, technology or after-sales service?
For Thakur, the brand comes first, followed by the price point and after-sales service.
“Car buyers these days have total information in their dispensation, and they are highly aware about the products,” he said, crediting social media and digital platforms for changing the way people research cars.
“People are more digitally socialised than ever before.”
That observation was echoed by several other dealership representatives GPlusspoke to.
The automobile business, once heavily dependent on showroom visits, newspaper advertisements and conventional marketing, is now increasingly being shaped by social media and digital platforms. Their massive reach, combined with immediate feedback, has changed the way dealerships communicate with potential buyers.
There has also been a significant structural shift towards utility vehicles.
According to the Rubix report, utility vehicle production grew at a 28% CAGR between 2020-21 and 2024-25, while passenger car production recorded a marginal decline of 0.3%.
Sales of utility vehicles grew at a 27% CAGR during the period, compared to a 3.2% decline in passenger cars.
Overall, passenger vehicle sales increased at an 11% CAGR, from 2.71 million units in 2020-21 to 4.64 million units in 2025-26.
First-time buyers, including women, have also contributed significantly to the growth in passenger vehicle sales over the past few years.
The SUV is becoming the family car
Rajiv Kalita, General Manager (Passenger Vehicle Sales) at Mahindra dealership IFE Auto LLP in Walford, GS Road, shared a similar picture.
According to him, SUVs are in huge demand, with the Scorpio, Bolero and Thar emerging as their top-selling models.
“Mahindra is specialised in SUV, and it's in our company's DNA,” Kalita said.
For customers, he said, technology, features, safety and mileage are among the biggest considerations while making a purchase.
But the decision is no longer being made inside the showroom alone.
“These days, we mostly do digital marketing, apart from bulk messaging, on-ground activation and roping in content creators,” Kalita said.
A Mahindra & Mahindra official, who did not wish to be named, also pointed to the premiumisation of the Indian automobile market and the increasing number of first-time and women buyers.
Interestingly, even first-time buyers are increasingly choosing SUVs.
“Children are playing a key role in influencing their parents' buying decision. To me, a car is the second most important investment decision for a family after real estate,” the official said.
The official also described the move towards digital marketing as less of a conscious decision and more of a trend that the automobile industry could not afford to ignore.
“Digital marketing gives you immediate feedback and one can gauge the reach of the message.”
Tata sees Assam as a key market
At Kamakhya Motors, a Tata Motors dealership near Kamakhya Gate, General Manager Upen Sarma said SUVs dominate their sales as well.
The Punch, Nexon, Sierra, Safari and Harrier are among the models selling strongly at the dealership.
For Tata customers, safety comes first, followed by price and other features.
“Tata is known for their safety features, and all cars are 5-star rating,” Sarmasaid.
But perhaps the more interesting change is happening before customers even enter the showroom.
Only around 20% of customers, according to Sarma, now walk into the dealership directly. The rest come through phone calls or digital platforms.
“We have our presence in various car aggregators, and we also have our own website. Leads come through those platforms,” he said.
A Tata Motors official also described Assam as an important market for the company, contributing around 60-65% of Tata's sales volume in the Northeast.
The Punch and Nexon together account for more than 60% of the company's sales volume in Assam.
Electric vehicles are also beginning to make their presence felt. According to the official, EVs currently account for an estimated 8-9% of overall Tata sales in Assam, with the numbers
continuing to grow.
The government's push towards sustainable mobility has also played a role in changing the EV landscape, the official said.
A new generation of buyers
The profile of the Assam car buyer is changing too.
Women and first-time buyers are increasingly purchasing their dream cars, while higher disposable incomes are giving more people the ability to make that purchase.
According to the Tata official, nearly half of their customers are first-time buyers.
And increasingly, their first interaction with a car does not happen at a dealership.
“Their first touchpoint mostly would not be a dealership. It would be the internet. Nowadays, people do a lot of backend research,” the official explained.
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, local content creators, influencers and other forms of digital advertising are now playing a major role in influencing buying decisions.
Physical marketing, however, has not disappeared completely.
The official also believes the passenger vehicle market could grow significantly if the CNG network expands further across the region.
And then there is Hyundai
The story is much the same at Hyundai.
At Mukesh Hyundai in Ganeshguri, Venue and Creta are among the highest-selling models in Guwahati.
“Customers are tech savvy and are well researched. They just come to showrooms for the touch and feel,” said Panchal Das, Sales Manager at the dealership.
Das also pointed to the increasing number of women and first-time buyers entering the market.
On the marketing front, he said almost everything has shifted towards digital platforms, with campaigns now largely carried out through social media.
So, where is Assam's automobile market headed?
GPlus asked dealership representatives and automobile company officials to sum up the Assam automobile market in one sentence.
The responses varied, “people are increasingly becoming capable of buying cars”, “automobile was, is, and always will be relevant”, “the automobile market is only growing”, “the market is booming”, “growing very fast” and “the trend is shifting towards EVs”.
Put together, they tell a fairly clear story.
The Assam automobile market is changing, and so is the person sitting behind the steering wheel.
The small hatchback and sedan may still have their place, but the SUV has increasingly become the aspirational family car, offering more space, more features, more road presence and, for many buyers, a sense of having moved up.
At the same time, a younger, more digitally informed generation is entering the market, researching cars online long before walking into a showroom.
The road ahead, therefore, looks fairly bright for the automobile business in Assam.
Electric vehicles appear to have a long runway for growth, while the CNG segment still has considerable ground to cover.
And if the streets of Guwahati are anything to go by, the future of Assam's automobile market may just be bigger, more premium, and increasingly electric.
