Sunroof – typically seen as a luxurious moderately than a sensible addition in Indian climate situations – is changing into an more and more sought-after function by native automotive consumers.
Automakers are including sunroof to the highest variations of even their mass-market fashions, stated trade executives. If greater than 90% of luxurious automobiles are geared up with this function, sunroof-equipped automobiles and SUVs now account for as a lot as 40% of gross sales for some mass-market gamers, as consumers are prepared to spend from INR 17,000-26,000 further for a entrance sunroof to INR 40,000-50,000 for a panoramic sunroof, they stated. In luxurious automobiles, this will go as much as INR 100,000.
If passenger autos with a sunroof accounted for simply 4.6% of gross sales 5 years in the past, the share now’s 23.4%, present Jato Dynamics knowledge.
Whereas heavy rains and intense warmth that India experiences typically preserve sunroofs shut, consumers nonetheless appear to love the optionality of getting the function, stated Ravi Bhatia, president of Jato Dynamics, an vehicle consultancy. “It might be as a result of perceived luxurious and standing related to having a sunroof,” he stated.
Hyundai Motor India, the second largest producer of passenger autos in India, presents sunroofs on 11 of its fashions, chief working officer Tarun Garg stated. “Sunroof as we speak is contributing to greater than 40% of our general gross sales and 5 of the fashions in our lineup have sunroof as a regular fitment,” he stated.
MG Motor, which supplied the function on the top-end model of the Hector when the corporate entered India, has since made it accessible on lower-end variants of the SUV and different fashions as properly, stated its India managing director Rajeev Chaba. Greater than 80% of its autos bought in India now have a sunroof.
In the meantime, the sunroof itself is getting function wealthy. A few of the current improvements embrace voice and touch-screen instructions and distant keys to function the sunroof and the automated rain-detection function.
Mounted sunroofs for premium segmentsThe panoramic sunroof makes the cabin roomier and offers a way of open area after opening the roof blinds, stated Santosh Iyer, Mercedes-Benz India’s managing director. For the posh carmaker, sunroof is an integral half aside from physique types like coupes, cabriolets and guard autos, he stated.
Whereas the sunroof is changing into bigger, or panoramic, there are additionally different adjustments occurring to it. Premium segments, notably new SUVs, are shifting in direction of laminated mounted sunroofs – a world pattern that’s catching up in India, too. Sunroof maker Saint-Gobain Sekurit forecasts a 50% enhance within the gross sales of sunroofs in 2023. The corporate provided sunroofs for 200,000 of the 700,000 autos bought with the function within the Indian market in 2022.
“We see alternatives for sunroofs with mild in glass and thermal options with particular silver-coated glasses. That is the place we see long-term worth to the tip buyer,” stated Venu Shanbhag, managing director, Saint-Gobain Sekurit India. Mounted sunroofs are additionally seen as extra appropriate for Indian climate situations. In conventional sunroofs, low utilization may cause seals to dry out and crack, resulting in leaks. As well as, mud and particles can accumulate within the tracks, inflicting the sunroof to malfunction, stated Bhatia.
