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Travel bookings for SUV surge to 36%, while hatchbacks slip to 51% in 2025
Zoomcar's latest travel trends 2025 reveals how Gen Z and SUVs are driving India's new road travel revolution.
Short trips, big cars, and smart hosts power the rise of flexible, self-drive travel across India.
Indians are no longer waiting for the perfect vacation - they’re hitting the road more often and on their own terms. According to Zoomcar's Travel Trends 2025 report, a whopping 71% of all trips were under two days in, showing a clear surge in quick getaways, up from 66% in 2023.
Simultaneously, longer trips of over 7 days grew by 28%, signaling a rise in workcations and remote work-fueled mobility.
Based on internal bookings and behavioral data comparing Financial Year 2024 to Financial Year 2025, the report captures the pulse of a nation increasingly embracing flexible, frequent, and self-powered travel.
The report highlights a striking generational shift: Gen Z (ages 18–25) now contributes to 31% of all trips, up from 22% just last year. This cohort is fueling a rise in solo travel, offbeat destinations, and flexible travel windows - transforming how India thinks about road travel.
Indians are increasingly traveling together - with bookings for 6-7 seater vehicles rising from 16% to 18%.
SUVs are the preferred vehicle of choice, climbing from 30% to 36% of total bookings, while hatchbacks saw a dip from 57% to 51%. Style, space, and safety are becoming non-negotiable on the road.
Beyond metros, the road trip wave is being led by tier-II and III cities. Travel bookings from tier-II cities grew 30%, while tier-III cities rose 14%. Cities like Jaipur, Indore, Siliguri, and Madurai witnessed significant upticks in self-drive rentals, signaling a broadening appetite for independent travel across India’s heartland.
Zoomcar witnessed a 125% spike in bookings around key festive weekends - such as Holi, Republic Day, and Gandhi Jayanti - underscoring the shift from planned vacations to spontaneous, calendar-driven escapes.
Speaking on the trends, Abhilash Kasliwal, Business Head , Zoomcar said, “Self-drive travel is no longer a niche, it's a lifestyle. Whether it’s a solo Gen Z traveler heading out for a digital detox, or a family SUV escape.”
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