An increasing number of car buyers in India are considering bigger vehicles such as utility vehicles (UVs) and mid-sized cars during their purchase process, according to a study by the research firm the J.D.Power Asia Pacific.
“In the past four years, there has been a significant shift in the type of vehicles buyers consider. In 2015, the percentage of new vehicle buyers who considered small cars during their purchase process has fallen to 45 percent from 65 percent in 2012,” pointed out the ‘2015 India Escaped Shopper Study’ by J.D.Power.
“Concurrently, the percentage of buyers who consider utility vehicles and midsize cars has increased by 12 percentage points and seven percentage points, respectively,” it added.
Mohit Arora, Executive Director at J.D. Power attributes the shift towards bigger vehicles to shrinking price gaps between segments. “Today, price gaps between vehicle segments have narrowed, with many automakers offering models of different body types around the same price point. This has given new car buyers a wider range of vehicles for consideration, including larger models,” he added
Also, purchase consideration of newly launched models has increased among the new buyers to the highest level in three years. In 2015, about 10 percent of all car buyers considered a newly launched model vs. seven per cent in 2013.
Notably, repeat vehicle buyers are typically more open than first-time buyers when it comes to selecting a newly launched model, the study stated.
It also said that more prospective buyers who consider a newly launched model use the Internet as a source of information for vehicle research than those who consider an existing model (51 per cent vs 45 per cent, respectively).
The findings of the study also claimed that among the buyers who consider a new model but later reject it, price is cited as the primary reason for rejecting (30 per cent), followed by exterior design (21 per cent) and fuel economy (18 per cent).
Maruti Suzuki is the most considered nameplate among new-vehicle shoppers for an 11th consecutive year, with 40 percent of all shoppers purchasing one of its models, it said.
The study is based on responses from 8,116 buyers and 2,983 rejecters of new cars and new utility vehicles who purchased their vehicle between September 2014 and April 2015.
In the past 2-3 years, utility vehicle segment saw numerous launches and also started to create new sub-segments |
With the introduction of new models by global brands in UV segment, domestic UV majors have seen drop in market share. Mahindra & Mahindra (43 per cent) and Tata Motors (5 per cent) held a share of about 48 per cent together two years ago. Now, the share has fallen to about 42 per cent. |
Among the big vehicle segments, mid-size sedan segment has seen a lot of action with Honda and Maruti rolling out new vehicles. Mid-size and other big cars account for 10 per cent of the car market. |
