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A study of consumer perceptions about different variances in “Gurkha” by Force Motors

Arjama Mukherjee

About Auto industry

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• Chennai India, is home to 30-40% of India’s automobile industry and thus they are called the Detroit of Asia.

• India is on the way to become the world’s largest Auto hub by 2016 with a capacity of over 3million cars annually.

• As of 2010 India was home to 40million passenger vehicles.• India levies an import tax of 125% on electric cars.• India’s automobile export have grown $4.5billion in 2009.

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F.D.I inflows in Indian auto industryShare of top five countries F.D.I inflows in 2010

Ranks CountryAmount of F.D.I inflows Percentage of total F.D.I

inflows `` in crores $ in millions

1 Japan 6,238.92 1,359.69 23.69

2 U.S.A 3,842.17 838.70 14.61

3 Netherland 3,236.15 722.25 12.58

4 Italy 2,715.71 634.04 11.65

5 Mauritius 2,231.16 495.32 8.63

Total of the above 18,264.11 4,050.00 70.53

About Force Gurkha

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• Differential locks on both front and rear axel.• Transfer case with 4wd high and as well as low

option

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Competitor Analysis

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Marketing research

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Objectives and scope

• To find out the customer’s perception about various products by Force Motors.

• To find out what drives a customer to buy a car, especially an off-roading car.• During the interaction inviting them for a test drive at our Akurdi plant Pune.

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Off-roading tracks in Akurdi plant

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Methods and tools adopted for analysis

• Sampling unit : 30 units• Research instruments : Structured questions• Data Analysis : SPSS & Microsoft Excel

Data’s are represented through histogram, pie-chart & co-ordinate mapping

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#1: Study of preferred vehicle with purpose of buying

Preferred vehicle * Purpose Cross tabulation

Purpose

TotalBusiness Family Off-roading

Preferred vehicle

Soft top 2wd 1 1 0 2

Soft top 4wd 2 3 1 6

Hard top 4wd 3 9 3 15

D.C model 1 1 1 3

R.F.C model 2 1 1 4

Total 9 15 6 30Soft top 2wd Soft top 4wd Hard top 4wd D.C model R.F.C model

Preferred vehicle

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Purpose BusinessPurpose FamilyPurpose Off-roading

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#2: Study of annual income with preferred vehicle

Annual Income in ` lakh * Preferred vehicle Cross tabula0tion

Preferred vehicle

TotalSoft top 2wd

Soft top 4wd

Hard top 4wd D.C model R.F.C model Accessorized

Annual Income

lakh

<5 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

5-10 1 1 6 1 1 1 11

11-15 0 3 5 1 0 0 9

>15 0 2 4 1 2 0 9

Total 2 6 15 3 3 1 30Soft top 2wd Soft top 4wd Hard top 4wd D.C model R.F.C model AccessorizedPreferred vehicle

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Annual Income lakh <5

Annual Income lakh 10-May

Annual Income lakh 15-Nov

Annual Income lakh >15

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#3: Study of preferred vehicle with ageAge * Preferred vehicle Cross tabulation

Preferred vehicle

TotalSoft top 2wd soft top 4wd Hard top 4wd D.C model R.F.C model Accessorized

Age

26-30 1 0 1 1 0 1 4

31-35 1 0 1 0 0 0 2

36-40 0 2 6 0 0 0 8

41-45 0 2 6 1 2 0 11

46-50 0 2 1 1 1 0 5

Total 2 6 15 3 3 1 30Soft top 2wd soft top 4wd Hard top 4wd D.C model R.F.C model Accessorized

Preferred vehicle

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Age 26-30Age 31-35Age 36-40Age 41-45Age 46-50

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#4: Study of age with purpose of buying

Age * Purpose Cross tabulation

Purpose

TotalBusiness Family Off-roading

Age

25-30 1 2 1 4

31-35 0 2 0 2

36-40 0 6 2 8

41-45 5 4 2 11

46-50 3 1 1 5

Total 9 15 6 3025-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50

Age

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Purpose BusinessPurpose FamilyPurpose Off-roading

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#5: Perceptual mapping “safety with comfort”Safety +

Safety -

Comfort -

Comfort +

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#6: Perceptual mapping “looks & performance”Looks +

Performance +

Looks -

Performance -2wd 4wd

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#7: Most preferred color of vehicle

50%43%

3% 3%

Matt black

Copper red

Dragon green

Intense white

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Brand concio

usness

Long jo

urney capabilit

y

Driving s

kills

Seati

ng capaci

ty

B.S IV iss

ue

Overall size

of the ve

hicle

Safety

Perform

anceLo

oksPric

e

1

32

4

1 1 1

4

1

#7: Most concerned attributes12

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#8: Study of individual concern with vehicle preferred

Preferred vehicle * Concerned for Cross tabulation

Concerned for

TotalBrand consciousness

Long journey

capabilityDriving

skillsSeating capacity

B.S IV issue

Overall size of

the vehicle

Safety Performance Looks Price

Preferred vehicle

Soft top 2wd 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2

Soft top 4wd 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 6

Hardtop 4wd 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 5 0 1 15

D.C model 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 3

R.F.C model 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 4

Total 1 3 2 4 2 1 1 11 4 1 30

Bran

d co

nsci

ousn

ess

Long

jour

ney

capa

bilit

y

Driv

ing

skill

s

Seati

ng ca

paci

ty

B.S

IV is

sue

Ove

rall

size

of t

he v

ehic

le

Safe

ty

Perf

orm

ance

Look

s

Pric

e

Concerned for

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Preferred vehicle Soft top 2wd

Preferred vehicle Soft top 4wd

Preferred vehicle Hard top 4wd

Preferred vehicle D.C model

Preferred vehicle R.F.C model

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#9: Study of purpose with turning up for test drive

Purpose * Test-drive taken Cross tabulation

Test-drive taken

TotalNo Yes

PurposeBusiness 5 4 9

Family 12 3 15Off-roading 4 2 6

Total 21 9 30

Business Family Off-roadingPurpose

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

5

12

4

4

3

2

Test-drive taken YesTest-drive taken No

Suggestion

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• The target customers for this vehicle will be those who are buying it for business purpose, because the vehicle is made for off-roading thus, builder’s, construction companies should be targeted.

• We should target customers aged above 35, because as already they are having one or more than one vehicle for the purpose of family, and are looking for something different (like an off-roading vehicle).

• Customers turning up for test drives were found insignificant from those who were looking for family purpose. Therefore, we must not mix S.U.V segment with E.O.V. for confusing our customers.

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• Many of the customers I met were reluctant to buy our product but they were only backed by the BS IV issue, I suggest in rolling out the CRDI version. Any space left for the competitor is actually losing our own market share.

• Among customers visited, the younger ones came to know about the product through online social media sites, so we need to create an official Gurkha Facebook account.

• Matt black color is the customer’s most favorite choice, so inventory of Force Gurkha with Matt black color should be highest, followed by copper red.

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Sampling error • Sample size is 30 which merely constitute a portion among the overall

population size of Pune.• The survey was conducted on customers who inquired about the product in

previous year.• The structured questionnaire was insufficient in gathering deeper

information.• The perceptual mapping was done before the test drive was conducted. Thus,

post test drive result might vary.

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Bibliography

• Market research, by Tull N Hawkins.• Marketing management, by Philips Kotler.• Maketing strategy, by Walker and Boyed.• Brand management, by Kirti Dutta.

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Webliography• forcemotors.com• forcegurkha.co.in• ijcrar.com• indianbusiness.nic.in• isca.in• siamindia.com• carwale.com

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Magazines• Autobild• Autocar• BS review• Car India• Car n style• What cars• Zig wheels

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Software tools used

• SPSS, by IBM• Excel, by Microsoft

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Special thanks to..

• Mr. Sanjeev Kulkarni, PIBM Institutional mentor• Ms. Sarika Nandanwar, Force Motors ICC showroom manager• Mr. Girish Pattanshetty, Force Motors • Mr. Sumit Attankar, Force Motors Dealer Account Manager

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Thanking You