While the developed world is avoiding SUVs, Indians are increasingly catching up to the idea of owning one. As the middle class and upper middle class has more buying power, they are warming up to the idea of owning a SUV. The demand is so high that the auto manufacturers are having orders for the next SIX months! Yes, that’s right, the waiting period to own a SUV from world renowned manufacturers like Honda and Toyota range from three (for Honda CRV) to six months (for Toyota Fortuner). Honda CRV is imported as a CBU and is expensive at USD50,000!, whereas Fortuner is assembled in India and priced at USD40,000. There is a huge gap between demand and supply and a good opportunity for other companies to take benefit. Hyundai is planning to launch Santa-Fe for quite some time, but due to some unknown reason they have yet to do so.
