Indian Customers don’t like to wait!
In a study recently done by J.D. Power Asia Pacific, it has been found that 1 in 10 customers i.e. 10% of the customers chose not to go with a specific model of vehicle, because the waiting period for it was longer!
This figure is up from 7% last year and should send alarm bells ringing at the companies, which aren’t able to meet the market demand and have a long waiting list!
According to Mohit Arora, Executive Director at J.D. Power Asia Pacific, “The passenger-vehicle market in India has experienced a strong increase in 2010 from relatively low demand levels in 2009, which has caught manufacturers and their component suppliers by surprise as they scramble to increase production. The disparity between the automotive industry’s expected growth rate and higher-than-expected demand is the likely reason for the increased proportion of customers who have to wait for the vehicle of their choice.”
The study has also found that Indian customer is getting savvier by the day and is increasingly looking at Magazines, newspapers, internet and TV shows to help them make a buying decision, even though recommendation by friends and family, still continues to be the dominant source of information-influencing nearly 80 percent of new-vehicle buyers in India.
The study also finds that buyers of recently launched vehicle models in India are more inclined to evaluate at least one other new-vehicle model while shopping, compared with buyers of existing models that have been on the market for two or more years.
“Vehicles launched in the Indian market during the past year have been positioned as products that are affordable yet attractively styled,” said Arora. “As a result, buyers of these recently launched vehicles have rejected other models mostly on these grounds. On the other hand, buyers of existing models tend to be more conservative in their outlook and rely on the advice of their friends and relatives. Therefore, these buyers are more likely to have already decided on the make and model prior to purchase.”
In terms of rejection reasons, the study finds that price continues to be the most-frequently cited reason for vehicle rejection, with nearly one-third of shoppers rejecting a model because the price was too high. Exterior styling is the reason cited next most often for rejection.
For a sixth consecutive year, Maruti Suzuki performs particularly well in persuading shoppers to purchase the brand, with 36 percent of all shoppers eventually purchasing a Maruti Suzuki model. Buyers of Chevrolet, Fiat and Hyundai models tend to shop around the most before purchasing their vehicles, while Mahindra and Toyota buyers are least likely to consider another model during the shopping process.
i cudnt wait for unicorn..
and my sis cudnt wait for activa…
waiting period seems like chetak-era or as if u ordered a hand-made rolls-roye
Yes, waiting period of Honda Two Wheelers has been on the higher side for quite some time now and that seems to the biggest complaint consumers have about on Honda. Now only if they could manage to pull themselves together and get the production rolling at higher speed, I am sure we will see many more Honda two wheelers on the road, than there are currently.
I booked my Chevy Beat and got it in 2 days but wasn’t considering any other model – I asked fellow Beat owners and was surprised to hear the same from 4 out of 6 owners I spoke with. You do not need to be an business analyst to understand that purchase decisions are influenced by the model of car and the prospective buyer’s perceived value in terms of Price Vs Fuel Economy, Space, Features & Performance — in that order.
I agree with the point on rejection: Yes, we Indians are a demanding lot. There’s nothing wrong with that because we pay almost twice as much for our cars if they’re from a renowned brand and we don’t even have ABS/Airbags as standard on most of the models. We are concerned with Fuel Economy because our Fuel prices have skyrocketed and continue to do so. “Kitna deta hai?” cannot (and shouldn’t) be scoffed at.
It’s quite true when it comes to motorbikes since we do not that many options in the so called “performance biking” segment, barring the prohibitively expensive Yamahas, Suzukis, Hondas & H-Ds — these bikes cost more than twice as much as they cost elsewhere! Well, as modest as my budget could get for a bike, I wanted to buy a RE Bullet Classic 500 but felt let down when I heard the waiting period was 6-8 months! I sold my P200 in half a day, booked a ZMR the next day and was riding it on the third day — hmm, so much for waiting for a Bullet! Well, look at it this way: Instead of waiting for so many months, you get to buy a decent enough bike for the time being so that you could enjoy the 6-8 months of “honeymoon period” associated with any new purchase and perhaps decide to trade it in for a CBX250 or Fazer 250 when they hit our shores. IMO, its better than waiting!
Well said!