The Hyundai Creta remained the country’s best-selling midsize SUV in September with 17,657 wholesale dispatches, but the more interesting action happened behind it.
Maruti’s Victoris held second place at 13,111 units, narrowly ahead of the Kia Seltos at 12,593. The gap between the two was just 518 units, according to sales data from AutoPunditz.
At the other end of the table, the Honda Elevate fell to only 599 units, a 54.8 percent drop from August, while the Renault Duster managed 465. Overall midsize SUV sales reached 69,813 units in September, up 4.4 percent from 66,855 in August.
The Victoris is no longer just benefiting from launch momentum. It has accumulated 61,687 units between January and September.
In September, Victoris sales were almost flat month on month at 13,111 units, while the Seltos grew 7.5 percent to 12,593. So the Seltos is closing the gap, but Victoris still holds second place for the month.
The Grand Vitara also improved strongly, rising 9 percent to 8,513 units. Add the Victoris and Grand Vitara together and Maruti dispatched 21,624 midsize SUVs during the month, more than Hyundai did with the Creta alone.
The Tata Sierra was the fastest-growing major model in September. Dispatches rose 28.2 percent from 5,622 in August to 7,205 in September. Its January-September total now stands at 62,574 units. That puts the Sierra ahead of the Grand Vitara on cumulative 2026 sales, although only by 887 units.
Toyota’s Hyryder moved in the opposite direction. September dispatches fell 13.6 percent to 7,115, although its strong performance earlier in the year keeps it fourth overall with 78,140 units through September. The numbers show how quickly positions can change in this segment. Outside the Creta, there is no comfortable gap separating the next four major models.
The Honda Elevate’s 599 September units are difficult to ignore. That is down from 1,326 in August and leaves its January-September tally at 13,996 units, barely 2.3 percent of the segment. The facelift launched in early October, so September was effectively the outgoing model’s final full month. That partly explains the fall as buyers and dealers waited for the update.
But the scale of the decline also shows what the refreshed Elevate needs to fix commercially. Honda has now added a 360-degree camera, front and rear ventilated seats and more equipment, but it still offers only a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine. There is still no diesel, turbo-petrol or hybrid option.
The Skoda Kushaq dispatched 1,152 units in September and the Volkswagen Taigun 994. Both improved over August but remain far behind the segment leaders. The Duster rose 14.5 percent to 465 units, while the Nissan Tekton fell to 409.
Renault is hoping the Duster strong hybrid, launching on October 17 with a claimed 29kpl mileage figure, can improve that position. The larger trend is clear. The segment itself remains healthy, with January-September sales reaching just over 6 lakh units. But the market is increasingly concentrated around six products: Creta, Victoris, Seltos, Hyryder, Sierra and Grand Vitara.