In the first five months of the year, two out of every five car buyers in the Indian market chose an SUV, confirming consumer preference for the body style in a market where hatchbacks accounted for nearly half of passenger vehicle sales seven years ago in 2015.

Given rising demand, automakers are going all out to offer feature-rich entry-level SUVs, which have emerged as the largest segment in the local market, accounting for 21% of the market.