What Factors Can Make or Break a 'CAR' in India?

[TSIVipul]

Now a days many people can be seen discussing about XYZ car is very good but still it isn't selling or ABC car is not that good but it sells a lot.

I too heard the same everywhere like in dealerships,at home,on streets and in FORUM too.
Okay so my mind again got its appetite and I was again busy thinking of three W's:-
1):Which?
2):When?
3):Why?

First one is:Which car excelled/failed?
Second one is:When it excelled/failed?
Third is:Why it excelled/failed?

Then factors started coming to my mind,and the factors were as follows:-
First factor-FE:-
FE or fuel economy plays a major role in making or breaking a car,simple it is:
Any car which has got higher FE is expected to go farther in same amount of fuel as well as the car with higher FE goes longer in sales charts too.
I laughed loudly and said "I got it,I got it..the reason is FE"..
But then,suddenly a Micra and a Verito passed from in front of my eyes and I was again in the same state thniking of what other factors it can be...

Then came the second factor-Design:-
Yes definitely this is a lead factor,this made Honda City,Hyundai Verna and XUV rule the segment.Definitely everyone wants his car to look good and hence its definitely the design.
Again I roared in laughter claiming I have cracked the code.."The reason is the design",see neither Verito,nor Micra have got such good designs and hence aren't doing that well.
Suddenly some fool came in a Linea and parked it just in front of eyes and again I was left in the same state thinking what's wrong with me..

Then came the third factor-Brand:-
This time I was over confident that yes,its the badge which does it all,any car from a brand like Maruti Suzuki sells like hot cakes but from brands like Fiat struggle to sell.
Thinking of none else I shouted 'Eureka-Eureka',I have solved the mystery..
Then suddenly came to me a Kizashi owner and gave me a very bad stare.
Again same story,I was again standing like a scientist who is re-inventing the inventions..

Then came the fourth factor-Car:-
After three failed attempts,this time I tried to give the best and hence came out with the 'CAR' itself.Its the car itself which can make or break the 'CAR'.With happiness on face I concluded the research,but without making any noise,because after getting insulted thrice I wanted to prove myself a silent warrior..
But then came a Punto and a Fabia and again I felt like a dream is shattered even before it came true..

Then came fifth factor-A.S.S.:-These three words mean a lot,A,S,S..everyone likes the A.S.S and everyone likes to have a good A.S.S and enjoy it.
Its the Maruti and Hyundai who lead in this field and hence customers buy their cars with closed eyes,but then why are the Skoda Rapids selling despite of horrifying stories of Skoda's A.S.S.?Why are Superbs ruling the segment?
And why aren't the Vitaras selling and same way why aren't the i-20s selling in adequate numbers?
Again same situation,like a bald man scratching hi head to get something out of it..

With these five factors..I here go out of mind..will be posting more as they click my mind...
TO BE CONTINUED..

Waiting to hear from you guys.

 

[raceace]

Nice Insight Vipul :)

I guess you also missed the "Money/Cost Factor". Money does influence a lot of decision making irrespective of the above mentioned factors being favorable.

 

[TSIVipul]

Buddy I remember all of those factors,only due to some work I went out of time and by mistake clicked on the submit thread button,after than added the last three lines to the post.
Will definitely complete it,till then you people keep mentioning your thoughts..

 

[Superbad]

I think the manufacturer has to balance out all those factors to produce a winner in its category.

Each manufacturer has a target segment in which it excels in a market.
This would be irrespective of what reputation it carries abroad.

Pricing :has to be varied for a single car with a large number of variants.
This itself gets the customer to visit the showroom.
A prospective customer will see the price of the lowest variant of the car to start with.
If He feels the price is good enough then only will he visit the dealership.
From there it is the skills of the dealership which will entice the prospective customer to enhance the values of its higher priced variants.
Thus the customer ends up paying for a car which has exceeded his budget.

The car should look good on paper to begin with.

Eg. A hatchback buyer will compare a ford figo diesel with some car like a swift and check upon its engine specifications in the comparo.
Then the price for the "upgrade" will be put to test.

too big to put in more points will do it later.

 

[raceace]

From there it is the skills of the dealership which will entice the prospective customer to enhance the values of its higher priced variants.
Thus the customer ends up paying for a car which has exceeded his budget.

I am one of that customer, who has ended up stretching my budget, not because of any dealership skills but out of necessity. I didn't want to compromise on ABS and Airbags for my swift so had to go for top end

 

[Surfer]

What about cost of the car? Overpriced car kills it self eg - Aria , New Fiesta etc
though these are good cars.

 

[350Z]

Nice topic. Speaking in context to Indian market, these are few prime factors that can make or break a car:

> Pricing (VFM)

> Brand Image

> Fuel Economy

> Looks and Design

An absolute well-priced and positioned product has least chances to fail regardless of rest of the factors. We have seen certain instances in form of XUV500 and Etios. Next thing buyers are normally crazy about is the brand image. And it would be safe enough to comment that FE matters to a considerable extent too. As far as Design is concerned, it could be subjective but still a unique and fresh design is always preferred (Verna Fluidic). Do update this thread with more of them soon. I look forward to it. BTW, Here is another related thread (http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...-your-top-most-priority-while-buying-car.html).

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[dharmesh]

IMO, there are 2 major factors.

Price (At certain cost how much more one can get. VFM) & FE.

 

[TSIVipul]

Then came the sixth factor:Price:-
Yes it was the price which has made and broken many cars in India.
Price has given a beating to Aria and made XUV take off the shelf without any issues.Price makes Maruti cars best sellers.
And again I was overjoyed and declared that I have really solved the mystery,the mystery which many are yet to solve:Its the price...

Suddenly a person brought an Innova in front of me and told me that the car costed him 15 lacs...and again as usual I was sitting ans looking at Innova like a dumbass.

Again I started running my mind and came to a conclusion that...
Seventh factor:Comfort:-
Yes,it was comfort.People first of all look at how comfortable the car is at the time they go to look at the car.Any car is uncomfy is not going to please the owners and hence I lacking some confidence declared comfort as the factor and suddenly I saw an Amby and again I was at the same place I started from..

So,at last after researching of zillions of factors I reached to the conclusion that the car must be a jack of all trades if it needs to win in the Indian market.Here is very less number of enthusiasts who want their car to be a master in ride,handling and dynamics but 99.9999%(Where is Iron rock?He gives interesting figures)of the buyers are the compromise makers...so the car must appeal them not those 0.00001% enthusiasts to gain good sales..

 

[point_city96]

I was thinking of starting a thread like "Do resale value affect your car buying decision?"

Coming to the topic,

I differ with some of the points that TSIVipul has posted.

Then came the third factor-Brand:-
This time I was over confident that yes,its the badge which does it all,any car from a brand like Maruti Suzuki sells like hot cakes but from brands like Fiat struggle to sell.
Thinking of none else I shouted 'Eureka-Eureka',I have solved the mystery..
Then suddenly came to me a Kizashi owner and gave me a very bad stare.
Again same story,I was again standing like a scientist who is re-inventing the inventions..

When you are talking about brand,you should see what sort of image does the brand have among the people.
Take the case of Maruti and VW.
I think VW brand is more aspirational.
Coming to Kizashi,
Problem with Kizashi is its a petrol,its not cheap and more over I think customers in this segment would love to buy a car of a brand with a premium image associated with it.
Think about maruti,they are popular for making successful hatchbacks.
Now think about Skoda and then the Skoda Superb.

I hope you understood what I meant.

I am looking forward for the sales of the newly launched Sonata.

 

[Umang]

guys imo only price, looks and features can MAKE car in india! see how hyundai is playing with verna and elantra. nobody cares about safety & performance !

 

[singh890]

I think two factors which play the most crucial role in braking or making a car in India are Price (the car should be priced really well hence be a VFM product) and the other factor is FE (Car should have really good FE)

 

[shailinder]

Well to me and for others alike. It is VFM factor and A.S.S because buying an Elephant is still easy than maintaining it.

 

[manjoo]

Can Resale value also adds up here, Most of the ppl can't afford for new cars and they just want in good price and the brand image.

 

[Gurrala74]

Well to me and for others alike. It is VFM factor and A.S.S because buying an Elephant is still easy than maintaining it.

+100, Yes After sales service and maintenance cost, spares availability and their price makes lot of influence on buying decision these days.

I complete agree with you Shailinder, at times when I was short listing my buying decision of hatchback last year, the cars like Skoda Fabia, Fiat Punto, Indica Vista were very much in my list and I like them, but their maintenance cost kept me away from them !!