[EightSix]

The Indian Automotive Scene is no more the same it was 10 years ago. A buyer would no longer choose a car just because he liked it when he saw its ‘glorious’ butt ahead of him at some random traffic light or because his relatives/neighbors have the same car. There is an assortment of options for the buyer in each segment.

Therefore, a major chunk of new buyers do their homework and research well. Besides, there are enough resources thanks to powerful media, advertising and the internet etc. Yet, there are some times when a buyer overlooks a few brands/models, unintentionally or even intentionally.

For example, in 2010, when my father chose a Toyota Innova, he did not know that some particular brands and models even existed in India. Likewise, even today, he would never buy a German or an American car, so he won’t even consider those.

And it’s not just crossovers and sedans and SUVs where there are 7-8 options. Even luxury car buyers would put their money at a BMW or Mercedes or Audi, for most since this trio is their first preference. Whereas Volvos, Lexus-es — even the Tiguan and Camry in case of BMWX1 and BMW 3 series don’t even occur to some.

Similarly, I think MPV buyers would need to be reminded that there is a Carnival (or an year ago, the Hexa) in the market and not just the Crysta. Correct me if I’m wrong.

When cars are overlooked, a buyer misses on a better car, or in some cases, a better deal. Being overlooked by the majority is also the last thing an OEM wants for its brand/models.

Let us discuss some cars that I think, are generally overlooked and their reasons. Chances are, during your car purchase — you might have forgotten/missed/overlooked some cars — and you are more than welcome to share such experiences with other BHP-ians as comments to this thread.

#1: Too many options in the market

When there are too many options like in the compact SUV segment, there are a few cars that occur to you instantly, like the Brezza, Ecosport, Nexon, Creta, Seltos, Harrier.

But then there are cars like Freestyle, Duster, Kicks, etc. which might not flash before your eyes as instantaneously as these few I mentioned earlier.

Ask anyone to name compact SUVs (crossovers) and they will mostly mention the former names, not the latter. The sales charts of these cars will further prove my point.

While I generally keep myself up to date on the Indian car scene, when I was discussing Indian SUVs on a recent weekend road trip, I somehow totally forgot the MG Gloster exists as a potential Fortuner-Endeavour competitor!

#2: Lack of enough advertising campaigns

This thread idea has generated through my own experiences, so I must mention that I regularly skim through multiple car manufacturer sites as well as blogs, forums, automotive websites like most of you who clicked on this thread.

As a result, I get frequent ads from many brands. Based on what I see, I can tell you that I get more Jeep Compass ads than VW T-Roc. As a result, it is the Compass that would occur to me faster than the VW T ROC.



Heck, if people like me don’t recall the TRoc easily, they would end up buying a Harrier or a compass. I don’t see as many Lexus ES advertisements as much as Mercedes C Class ones. I don’t see Toyota Camry advertisements as much as I see those of Skoda Superbs. In this case too, a glance at the sales charts tells you the impact of advertisements that puts cars in the consumer’s know.

Do you know how the iSUZU MuX magically disappeared in the market? People don’t even remember this sales dud anymore despite it being a great car with amazing offers.

#3: Infamy or bad reputation

The list of cars over here - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post4740530 (The 10 worst Indian cars of the last decade) are all horrible & half hearted attempts at making an automobile, and Team-BHP gave all of these the insult they deserve.



I forgot some of these cars before I read this thread and I’m guessing they disappeared into oblivion when they were launched, because buyers overlooked them. When a car gets a bad reputation, people start hating it, it’s sales decline within months of launch and then no matter how much the OEM tries to improve it later on, the car won’t be remembered by the customers.

#4. Brand Loyalty or bias

In the previous cases, it wasn’t exactly the buyer’s fault. There are many options and the car model that leaves a lasting impression in the buyer’s mind is the one that sells. But here is a case where buyers intentionally overlook a car.

For example someone may be buying Maruti Suzuki’s all their life that their car ownership would be something like — 800, Esteem, Wagon R, Swift, Ritz, Baleno, Brezza, Ertiga/XL6 — give or take a few models — Every next car that such people would purchase would be a MarutiSuzuki (I know one such person in the family), so they won’t bother with comparing options, reading reviews etc.

People like my father would never park a German or an American at their door (I’m gonna have a tough time if I ever want to convince him to get an Endeavour ) so my father would consider all other options but not ones from makes of these two nations.



I’m guessing that is not easy to convince a spouse or a parent to buy a car if they hold a bias against it, so you end up overlooking it despite your wishes.

#5. Sticker price

High price tag = less people will buy it = less people will recommend it = less sales = lesser attempts from the manufacturer and finally => car completely disappears from people’s minds despite it still being on sale, and is eventually discontinued. A decade later, it ends up in Team BHP’s list of ‘least VFM cars of the last decade’ or something.



#6: Cars from another segment


It fits in your budget, you like it but for the sake of practicality you have to intentionally overlook it, I’m talking of the Mahindra Thar 2020 here — my relatives have a Ritz and want to upgrade to a compact SUV. But they won’t consider the Thar despite they the fact that they it a lot, because it is from the lifestyle SUV segment, and is just not practical for their family of 4.

Of course, the Thar won’t disappear into oblivion for different reasons.

#7: When a model is dated

When a particular car model is dated, some people keep waiting endlessly for a facelift. When the facelift is delayed for too long, they just overlook the model altogether, despite a better facelift due to arrive. Of course, a dated model sometimes means it has lesser features, a lower safety rating etc. which can cause cars to be overlooked at times.

Last, but not the least —>

#8: When a car doesn’t offer what you want

This reason might seem the most obvious one of this list. But it is the one that influences the buyer’s choice the most. If a car does not offer good engines, transmissions, ride quality, ground clearance, safety, features, even looks, or affordable pricing — you would check it off without second thoughts.

(Not attaching a picture here, because my perfect car is not your perfect car.)

That’s all the reasons I could think of. Please add your own opinion on this and share with us if you have intentionally or unintentionally overlooked a car.

Image sources: Off the Internet, Team BHP

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[GTO]

Great thread, man .

One more reason = friends, relatives or word-of-mouth. As a culture, Indians are very good at three things:

- Seeking advice of others (we just have to)

- Giving advice to others (we cannot resist)

- Admit it, we care a lot about what our family / friends / neighbours think

There are so many cases where the average Ramesh really liked car model A, but his inner circle dissuaded him from it. Because of the above three points, it is promptly dropped. That's why the smart automakers invest a lot on their "image".

[aargee]

When we bought SCross in 2017, we went...

#10. Based on Needs/Practical

I scored the list of items cateorized under Must have & Good to have.

This exercise was done for over 50+ cars for over 3+ months & guess what, only Ford Ecosport & SCross were on top of the list. When TD'd, I got sold on SCross.

It never occurred to me nor did I ask any of my friends, relatives, forget alone neighbors on which car to buy. Of course, TBhp posts & may be some videos for titbit reference, if that may be considered asking indirectly to people.

Wondering do we have a tribe who buy based on needs & practical reasons without being biased

PS - Listing this point as #10 because GTO has a fantastic point #9 on relation aspect

[Cessna182]

Originally Posted by EightSix

The Indian Automotive Scene is no more the same it was 10 years ago. A buyer would no longer choose a car just because he liked it when he saw its ‘glorious’ butt ahead of him at some random traffic light or because his relatives/neighbors have the same car. There is an assortment of options for the buyer in each segment.

Good thread, but the number of brands in India was more in 2010 than in 2020. GM left the country and ford has just 1 model that brings in the numbers. Skoda, FCA are marginal players now and the Fiat brand is gone. Yes, the market has moved towards crossovers but good sedan cars like the Sunny disappeared and with it the budget sedan segment. Now you only have the base Ciaz as a proper sedan below 10 lakhs. So the choices have reduced, not increased, for many segments.

A consultant report (available online) about the factors affecting the buying behavior is attached in case someone is interested.

[giri1.8]

When I wanted to book my Ford Figo, almost everyone I know was against it, their reason was unreliability and high maintenance of Ford cars, in reality its the polar opposite!

Even after looking at my bills, people won't probably change their mind. People tend to be less plastic about their opinion and don't wish to be proven wrong, hence few bad years might hurt the car maker for few more decades.

Nissan proved that this can be changed by offering more bling for the buck.

[sarav100]

Well, I admit I've committed this crime as well

In my case, I've intentionally ignored the following cars last year while choosing Creta:

1. Nissan Kicks: I really liked the car and wanted to test drive it, if not buying. However, my better half and her brother did not agree with my even one percent. I actually drove to the front of Nissan showroom forcibly without letting them know and told them see that's the Kicks i was talking about. God knows what they saw in the car but they were hell bent on not going into showroom to checkout Kicks. So, family pressure dissuaded me from even trying an alternative.

2. Mahindra's options: We did our homework and did not even consider the following for the following reasons:

a. TUV: No boxes for us
b. XUV300: No < 4 metres for us. Same applies to other sub 4 metres options
c. XUV500: Design is quite old and did not have patience to wait for next gen model
d. Scorpio: S4 / S4+ 4x4 would have been perfect and I've have picked it is blindly but alas it is 2020 and 4x4 is not offered even in top trims.

3. Duster: Bitter service experience in the past dissuaded us from even having it in the list

4. Others: Apart from Kia Seltos, am I missing any other car that I genuinely don't know about ?

Going back to 2012 when I got my Figo diesel, we ignored Chevrolet Beat because of its size only. Nobody except me knew such a car existed and when I showed them the real car, it was too small in front of the alternatives - Figo and Ritz.

[Sanidhya mukund]

Another reason I can think of: the manufacturers country of origin. Some people have a tendency to look at Chinese products with suspicion, while some others believe that it is patriotic to buy Indian and unpatriotic to buy “foreign goods”.

[narayans80]

1. Preference for allrounders - Bulk of the car buying public are one-car households. So the preference has always been allrounders. Most importantly 2-door cars simply don't make the cut.
2. Form factor - Stationwagon is a taboo in Indian car scene. Boot wali gaadi is preferred. Nowadays SUV, crossover is in-thing.
3. Launch pricing - This market doesn't take ambitious launch pricing lightly, no matter how good the car is. Ask Honda about their 2010 Jazz, and how their disastrous pricing drove the i20 sales.
4. Company, Dealership and after-sales attitude - This needs time, effort and lot of word of mouth to work and even companies with bad reputation can revive their fortunes.
   
   Corrolary: Good products can buried by bad attitude.
   
5. Fuel Efficiency - This needs no introduction While customers are willing to compromise (Hyundai petrols anyone) given some associated tangible/intangible benefits. Uber low FE simply doesn't fly.

[Nav-i-gator]

Brand perception is the biggest (and first) consideration that drives people towards or away from certain cars. 2 years ago, I was on the lookout of a new car. After a lot of deliberations we finalised the Verna Petrol SX (even booked it). Our relatives were not even half as enthused as we were. THat deal didn't go through for some other reasons.

This year, we were again looking out for the new car. Parents' advise - buy either a Maruti or a Tata (which is funny, considering the polar opposite these two companies are in terms of safety and after sales service). All other cars were seen as waste of money and extravagant.

But when we finalized for the 5th Gen city, suddenly there was no opposition to that choice! "a city is a city"- I don't subscribe to that bull...but I was surprised by the enthusiastic thumbs up I received for my decision to buy a city. They even encouraged me to spend more and go for the CVT version!

[arunramaswamy]

Relevant to this thread,why should one get influenced by what relatives or neighbours think? Should our ownership be defined by the someone else's preferences?

If we are to buy based others preferences, wouldn't we end up regretting our purchase in the due course?

[varman742]

Some of the reasons why me and my cousins/colleagues have ignored some of the cars:

1. Brand Perception - Very strong negative or positive views about certain brands
2. Cost - The car may be the best suit, but out of budget.
3. Size of the car - Some of the cars have not been considered because of their big sizes even though they were meeting most of the requirements.
4. Peer/Family Pressure - influencing not to go for certain brands/models

I think nowadays, most of the people will evaluate multiple cars before making a final decision. So lack of knowledge may not be much of an issue. The biggest contributor seem to be the perception and other's advice!

[blorebuddy]

I have excluded Cars based on the following apart from various other factors
1) Cars having frequent Service intervals (Honda almost all models, TATA Nexon, Altroz). These are having every 6months service which is a Big NO for me.
2) Brands do not have Service Center with in 70km range, preferred the brands which are closer to me

[sandeepmdas]

In 2018, a friend of mine (not a petrolhead) had finalized the Endeavor 3.2, but instead went for the Fortuner. His reason was, the Ford comes with MRF Wanderers, while the Toyota features better tyres.

Being a hardcore Endy fan, I reported this incident here in Endeavor thread. Received a shock surprise when some of the Endy owners almost blamed me for the incident.

[RavSam]

I am stubborn in this matter and I'm kind of glad that I am like that!

When I finalized on Ignis, the advices that I got were:
1. Why a hatchback for THAT price? Get something cheaper.
2. Swift is better, looks better, performs better, resale better, this and that better.
3. Wagon R is same and BIGGER, get that.
4. Invest more and buy Ertiga.
5. Get white, grey or silver color. (come on! we must add colors to our lives!)
6. Get a manual, that's actually what driving is. Agreed but no thanks! I love my left leg calf muscle.
7. Why a Maruti Suzuki? Why not a Hyundai? Why not Baleno too if Maruti. Glanza, Polo, 7 seat Triber? Kwid, Triber also has AMT and one is cheaper and the other is bigger.

All this could have driven any sane person overlook it but I'm insane. I listened, smiled and bought Ignis anyway.

Still they advice me the same but now I turn up the speaker volume and AMT helps me keep my left hand free incase I need to slap a shotgun to shut up.