Indian car market will bounce back much faster than the anticipation after the prolonged slowdown of over 20 months, as the survey suggests.
COVID-19 has disrupted the way business used to be where every individual or company is trying to find a new normal. Mobility is undergoing under a complete overhaul as public transport turns out to be scary because of the rapid virus spread. Individuals are now strongly vying for own their vehicles to maintain personal hygiene and social distancing.
About 57 per cent of the Indian consumers are considering purchasing a car in 2020, according to a survey done by Capgemini Research Institute. Indians are most bullish about their car purchase after the Chinese. The number is far higher than the global average of 35 per cent. The survey was done in 11 different countries and collected responses of over 11,000 consumers, representing about 62 per cent of global annual vehicle sales and found that health and safety concerns will continue to shape consumer behavior even after this crisis subsides.
If the survey stands true in any sense, the Indian car market will bounce back much faster than the anticipation after the prolonged slowdown of over 20 months. From 3.4 million units at its FY19 peak, the Indian car market is projected to decline by 2.4 million units in FY21 taking it to levels of 2010. Another concern that will probably looms over the auto dealers is that the prospective Indian consumers want to minimize dealer visits and make more of the available online channels. Compared to pre-COVID levels, consumers have made a significant shift to digital modes of interaction.
As 70 per cent of Indian consumers respondents would prefer to avoid dealership visits to compare financing and deals. The global preference stood at 46 per cent. Many carmakers have already stepped up to take advantage of digital car sales. While the dealerships are concerned about the rentals of the big showroom and large infrastructure created for customer visits.
The survey also revealed that almost 44 per cent of consumers say that they will use their car more often and public transport less often and at least 40 per cent say they will make less use of ride-hailing and ride-sharing services. The key reason behind this shift is concern over health and safety. Also, 66 per cent of potential buyers are looking for health and wellness features, such as air conditioning with germ filters, and, 59 per cent of potential buyers are willing to pay a premium for health and wellness features.
May 11, 2020
Comments