An Analysis of Consumer Preference for Suv's in the Indian Market

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION        3

INDIA  - THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITIES        3

CAR SEGMENTS        4

SUV/MUV MARET IN INDIA – AN ANALYSIS        5

DENOMINATORS INFLUENCING PURCHASE DECISIONS        2

INFLUENCE OF PRODUCT PERCEPTION ON BUYING DECISION        4

CONCLUSION        5

REFERENCES        6

INTRODUCTION

Long gone are the days of the famous Indian middle class loving their Altos and Maruti cars. Today it is the SUV s which has captured the imagination of Indians right from the middle class upwards. More than 11 new entrants are clobbering the Indian SUV market! SIAM (Society of Indian Auto Manufacturers) report says that the SUV market grew at a rate of 32% in the last FY. The analysis further says that there was a huge decline in the sales of entry car segment like Alto, Eon, i10, Nano etc because of SUV sales. Rising consumerism in the Indian market has increased the desire to own an SUV has made India one of the fastest growing markets for these off-road machines, even in the luxury space.

INDIA  - THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITIES

India being the second most populated country in the world. India withstood the even the 2008 period of recession and is definitely on a growth trajectory vis-a-vis developed nations. This makes India a very attractive market for car makers. This is attracting various foreign brands like Ferrari,Porsche,Volvo to venture into the Indian market.

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CAR SEGMENTS

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SUV/MUV MARET IN INDIA – AN ANALYSIS

Consumer preferences combined with their budget culminates into final purchase which the automobile industries need to tap.

In India, Utility vehicle market is around 28% of the total car market, including both SUV and MUV. This segment, with its price ranging from Rs. 5 lakh- Rs. 1 crore, is growing at approximately 16% annually with sales of around 4,20,000 units in 2016. This is a growing segment and holds immense potential for car manufacturers. Even when growth was slowing down in the other segment like hatchback the perennial choice of the Indian consumer, utility vehicles showed robust growth. Considering these factors many automobile manufacturers are concentrating on this segment now.

Perceiving the increased demand from customers many brands , Mahindra &Mahindra TUV , TATA , Toyota Innova , Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano, Maruti Ertiga are just some of the examples that have been introduced in the Indian market.

Manufactures of luxury SUVs such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi are virtually struggling to meet the demand. SUV s are more than 30% of the luxury vehicles sold in India. Mercedes-Benz's GL Class, priced at Rs 80 lakh before road tax and insurance in Delhi, and Audi's Q7, which comes in a similar price band, are among the most sought-after luxury SUVs. 
Mercedes-Benz sold more than 2,500 SUVs in the Indian market last year, and according to it, the top-end GL and ML formed more than a quarter of its total  sales in India.