INTRODUCTION

RESEARCH DESIGN
Introduction
The study regarding consumer preference for cars was

made in respect of selected major car marketers in Trichhy.

The area of consumer preference is one of the most

interesting areas, because it is concerned with

understanding consumers with regard to why individuals act

in certain consumption related ways. Initially most concepts

of consumer preference were related with economic theories.

The mass communication has also changed the whole

theory concept of marketing. The marketers, who were

concentrating only on urban consumers, have started to shift

their target towards rural markets too. Increasing awareness

of new products has made consumer choosier, there by

consumer’s preference values have been changing very fast.

Nowadays it has become inevitable to find a place in an

individual consumer’s. Preference frame work for the

survival of the product.

Objectives
1. Psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and

select from among different alternatives.

2. Psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or

her environment.
3. Consumer preference while shopping or making other

marketing decisions.
In the economic development of a country, transport

takes a vital role. The demand for transport as far as

passengers and goods transport have made substantial

growth in the recent years, Road Transport plays a larger role

in the recent years. The user prefers this because of its

availability; adoptability to individual needs, door to door

services and reliability. At present; 80 percent of passengers

move by roads. Road transport has been very useful which

connects railways stations, port and other important places.

With higher volumes of production of all models of

vehicles in the year ahead, road transport assumed still

greater importance. Meeting the present and future demand

on road transport is an arduous task since the existing road

network is quite inadequate, both in terms of quantum and

quality. This has resulted in heavy congestion on roads, high

vehicles operating, rising vehicles maintenance and road

user costs, heavy loss of output of both material and man

power on account of high turn-around time of vehicles and

the like.
The next major area of concern is environmental

pollution caused by emission of vehicular smoke and other

harmful gases. The supreme court order stipulates that,

with effect from may 1, 1999, 250 diesel drive vehicles and

1,250 petrol driven vehicles per month, against the normal

12,000 cars per month, may be registered on a first-come-

first. Served basis in the National Capital Region (NCR) till

1st April 2000, only if they conform to Euro 1 norms from

April 15,000 no vehicle shall be registered if it fails.

Consumer Preference
In olden days fiat and ambassador cars were very

popular in India. As many companies have introduced many

models, the Indian users have the changes. For selection of

cars according to their tastes and the availability of funds at

their disposal.
Just as human beings have personality showing a

summation of characteristics, a brand also has a personality

with a set of characteristic which are human in nature.

These characteristics are demographic, for example, sex or

genders, age and socio-economic class. It takes image

characteristics of a brand and venders them in human as

seen by the consumer. Brand image is broader than brand

personality because by the time we enter the personality real,

we are dealing with feelings and emotions that the consumer

takes away from communications. A well-established brand

has a clear brand personality. It may remain unstated. But

it can play a strategic role in brand wars. Closely position

brands may also acquire distinct personalities as a result of

exposure to the quality of the product, attraction in packing,

service at the time of sale and after sale, word-of-mouth and

advertising strategies adapted by the company. Brand is

thought as being friendly, boring, funny, rude, caring stylish

etc. Consumers need to think of brands in human terms,

memorability of a brand personality comes through

consistency.
Brands are much like people. They have certain

physical characteristics, certain skills and abilities and

certain associations and attitudes. Like an individual, a

brand too is a blend of all these. The brand therefore;

appeals to senses, to reason and to emotions.

Various factors influence a human beings perceived

personality. Example, family, friends, neighbours, school,

religious, institutions, socialization in general, similarly,

various factors influence formation of a brand personality,

they are either product related or non-product related

factors.
Statement of Problem
The people will think either a fiat and Ambassador in

1980s. Around 30,000 would sell every year. Selling above

this level has been a great task. In the years to come Maruti

became very popular. A few models were only produced. For

the Indian’s size and its population, the basic three models

are not enough. How ever, improvements and research

activities are going on continuously to provide more economic

models to suit the Indian requirements.

It is a lot faster now, and not only because there are

cars around that don’t shake and rattle when the Speedo

meter hits 50. Today, you have too many in an infinitely

Freer market that has grown more than 10 times in the

past 10 years, almost touching four lakhs in the year ended

last march.
Fast, but not fast enough for top international names

such as Mercedes, Ford and General Motors, Fiat, Peugeot

and Daewoo. They have had to collectively absorb hundreds

of crores of rupees in losses in the past two years, the effect

few years of keeping pace at about 15 percent a year more

than twice the speed of the economy is now matching with

more sedate 6 to 7 percent. It is still growth, but the bigger

car makers like Maruti and TELCO which make less

expensive, hardly cars with strong networks have accounted

for most of it.

Though competition among car makers is growing day

by day, what would determine the success of a company in

terms of production and sales is the product quality and

technology and the comforts provided in the cars not the

price fixed for the vehicle. The Maruti experience has more

than proved this point. No sooner did Telco announce the

bunch of its Indica decided to slash its profit margins by

cutting vehicle prices. At that point of time, the introduction

of small cars like Santro, Matiz and uno did not bother the

company as much as launch of the 100% indigenous India,

which is now gradually improving its market share.

The overall situation is changing, thanks to positive

signs of recovery in sales of the commercial vehicles and

cars. With the rebound in critical segments of the economy

and improved industrial and agricultural activity, demand for

commercial vehicles is moving up for the first time in two

years.
The general expectation is that the Indian auto industry

will undergo tremendous changes, with the opening up of the

domestic market to imports and development of local

assembly by leading MNCS. To meet the challenges ahead,

vehicle manufactures will have to strive to cut costs further,

improve productivity, enhance market orientation and

successfully create a high level of consumer loyalty.

The ultimate success of a car manufacturer is

depending on one important factor i.e., now for the car

manufacturers are able to convince the customers about the

respective brands. In the present study, an attempt is made

to study the consumer preference to cars in Trichy city.

Collection of Data
The present study was conducted using the primary

data and secondary data. The required secondary data was

collected from the dealers in the study area and various

journals were referred like business India, India today, and

Business world. To ascertain the consumer preference the

data were collected from the respondents with the help of a

interview schedule.
 CHAPTER – II
INDIAN CAR INDUSTRY – AN OVERVIEW
Revolution in Car Market
The mid-1980 registered a revolution in the car market

when the government decided to issued license to all

automobile manufactures to produce allied vehicles as well.

This move showed the entry of Maruti Udyog Ltd., which

launched the Maruti 800 cars. This model was considered to

be modern car with contemporary styling and much better

fuel efficiency.
In this way, Maruti Udyog Ltd., very soon became the

market leader and has been occupying a dominant place in

the Indian market for more than two decades.

The late eighties and the early nineties witnessed the

emergence of a marketing orientation. Car man factures

tried to position themselves in various segments. A few new

models were introduced-mostly with foreign collaboration.

Following the liberalization of the car market by the

government, for the first time, international car

manufacturers began to take keen interest in the Indian car

market; Dalimier-Benz, Daewoo GM, Ford, Fiat and Peugeat

were the companies to enter the car market in India.

Historical Perspective:-
As regards automobiles industry it plays an important

role in terms of curbing un employment. A number of

skilled-unskilled, educated-uneducated, technical-non

technical persons have got employment directly or indirectly

in the industry in many ways such as in manufacturing

units, repairing workshops, dealership, authorized service

stations, car drivers, sale and purchase work etc.

The history of car industry, it is found out that the first

car in India appeared in 1938 with taxicab in Bombay.

Before partition, some assembly plants were established at

Bombay, Calcutta and Madras by leading foreign

manufacturers. The premier Automobiles Ltd(Bombay) and

Hindustan Motors Ltd(Calcutta) were set up in 1943 and

1944 respectively.
On the recommendation of the Tariff Commission

Government of India discouraged the activities of assemblers

to ensure economic output of the automobiles in 1953 and

provided a further protection to the Industry in 1956 with

priority for manufacturers of commercial vehicles, expansion

of capacity of existing units and increased production of

diesel vehicle for ten years. In 1959, JHA committee in his

report recommended a uniform import duty and brought this

giant industry under distribution and price control.

The Car Industry and The Car Market
 The car market is clearly maturing with a full range of

cars from segment A Economy models to the highest end

segment E cars. This ensures that there is a car for every

need players in the car market are Maruti, Hyundai, Tata,

Ford.
Trend in The Car Market
Now-a-days in India novelty is no more a key drive for

car sales and customers are more demanding and discern in

now. Cars are more affordable and available than they were

before, thus serving to broad base the market. Additionally,

increased options in used cars that are much more

affordable and easily available have also led to increase in

first time car buyers entering the market. The car market is

very healthy.
 India’s Most Respected Automobile Companies
Current year Rank Previous year
st
1 Rank - Maruti Udyog IIIrd Rank
IInd Rank - Tatamotors Ist Rank
IIIrd Rank - Ford VIIIth Rank
th
V Rank - Hyundai Motor India VIth Rank
Source: Business world – 9 April 2007
TATA
A Tata motor owes its leading position in the Indian

automobile industry and well known for the use Indian parts.

This focus has driven the company to set up world-class

manufacturing units with state-of-the-art technology. Every

stage of product evolution-design, development,

manufacturing, assembly and quality control, is perfectly

checked out. Its manufacturing plants are situated at

Jamshedpur in the East, Pune in the west and Luck now in

the North.
In the field of automobiles, Telco is the largest

commercial vehicle manufacturer in Indian and ranks 6 th

worldwide.
The product basket of Tata Motors Limited consists
1. Tata Indica V2
2. Tata Indica V2 Turbo
3. Tata Indigo
4. Tata Indigo Marino
5. Tata Indica GSX
6. Tata Safari
7. Tata Sumo
8. Tata Toyota
9. Tata Qualise
Hyundai
 The Hyundai given to Susee, Trichyin 1998 is nine

years old. Hyundai has also balancing its Santro and Verna

model cars with in the existing capacity constraint and is

looking for respite through operating a third shift. In a

couple of months Hyundai expects to sell beyond the break-

even of 90,000 cars and Ratan Tata has indicated that the

Indica project would reach the level in the year 2004.

Daewoo and Honda expect to get closer this year, achieving

break-even in 2004-2005.
The product basket of Hyundai Ltd consists mainly of
1. Santro
2. Get Z
3. Verna
4. Elantra
5. Sonata
6. Tucson
7. Accent
Maruti
Dealership for the MUL given to A.R.A.S.P.V.P.V & Co.,

Trichyin August 1996 is ten years old, but with an

experience that spans six decades.

Maruti Udyog Ltd., was established in Feb 1981

through an act of parliament, to meet the growing demand of

a personal mode of transport caused by the lack of an

efficient public transport system. Suzuki Motor Company

was chosen from seven prospective partners worldwide. This

was due not only to their undisputed leadership in small cars

but also to their commitment to actively bring to Maruti

Udyog Ltd., contemporary technology and Japanese

management practices. A license and a joint venture

agreement were signed between Government of India and

Suzuki Motor Company in Oct.1982. Now, the company has

a vision to be the leader, in THE INDIAN AUTOMOBILE

INDUSTRY and wants to create customer delight and

shareholders.
The product basket of Maruti Udyog Ltd., consists

mainly of
1. 800 6. Swift
2. Alto 7. Esteem
3. Zen 8. Baleno
4. Wagon R 9. Gypsy
5. Versa 10. Omni
along their variants between a price range of

Rs.2,01,767 to Rs.6,64,318 Mauti Grand Vitara is also in

the list of utility vehicles of the company.

Ford
Ford Motor Company entered the business world on

June 16, 1903, when Henry ford and 11 business associates

signed the company’s articles of incorporation few companies

are as closely identified with the history and development of

Industry and society through out the 20th century as ford

motor company, first implemented at the Highland Park

plant in 1913. Ford motors is one of the oldest car

manufacturing company of the world. They completed their

official 100th anniversary in 2003. Their brands worldwide

include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover. India

started their operations in India in the 90’s and since then

they have created a market for them selves.

The product basket of Ford Motor Company. Consists

mainly of
1. Ford Ikon
2. Ford Fiesta
3. Ford Fusion
4. Ford Mondeo
5. Ford Endeavour
6. Ford Ikon NXT Sxi
Indian Car Industry: Models & Status
Status Models
I. Super luxury car 1st class Hundai

Sonata, Ford Mondeo,

Maruti Grand Vitara,

Baleno, Swift, Ford

Fiesta
nd
II. Luxury car 2 class Tata Estate, Tata

Sierra, Ford
Ikon, Hyundai Accent,

Maruti Esteem,

M.Wagon R Tata Safari,

Tata Sumo, DX, Qualis,

Ford, Ford Ikon NXT Sxi

M.Versa, M.Zen Estilo

rd
III. Economy car 3 class M-Omni 800, Alto

M,1000,
Tata Sumose, Tata

Indica, Tata Hyundai

Santro

A Problem of Plenty Car Majors Have Set Ambitious

Capacity Targets
Company Capacity Likely

Capacity
in 2006 in 2010
1.Maruti Udyog 6,00,000 1,00,000
2.Tata Motors 2,25,000 3,25,000
3.Hyundai Motor India 3,00,000 6,00,000
4.Honda Siel 60,000 2,00,000
5.Toyota Kivioskar 60,000 2,00,000
6.General Motors India 85,000 2,15,000
7.Ford India 60,000 1,00,000
8.Mahindra & Mahindra 1,00,000 5,00,000
9.Daimler Chrysler 2,000 2,000
10.skoda/Volkswagen 30,000 1,40,000
----------------------------------------------
Total Capacity 15,22,000 32,80,000
Total Demand 14,00,000 23,00,000
Source: - Business World 29, Jan 2007
Advantages of Foreign Entry
The Indian automobile industry has recorded an

unprecedented growth of 30% in 2002-03 to reach a

production of 4.5 million units. all manufacturers have

foreign collaboration to produce quality product to meet the

competition.
As significant feature of these joint ventures is the fact

that the foreign collaboration have a major stake in their

Indian projects.
After the recent economic reforms the international car

market identified a local partner and went in for joint

ventures with them. The foreign partners were allowed a

maximum of 51% equity. However, the Government relaxed

the composition of equity and has allowed foreign companies

even a 100% equity on their side.

Growth in Production of Cars
Automobile production has grown faster than sales. In

the market, the competitor started looking into the ordinary

car as well as premium segmented cars to meet the needs of

rich and other layers of the society. A leading car

manufacturing in different parts of the world wive with each

other targeting to capture Indian market with a sharp sense

of product differentiation, and quality upgraduation India is

one of the fast growing markets with 25% growth rate in her

Rs.30,000/- crores size of her automobile Industry.

Variables Influencing the Production of Cars
a. There has been an exceptional and sustained demand

pull in all commercial vehicles

b. Sharper initiatives from the industry for diversification

of model
c. Improvement in technology to make the product more

operator friendly and environmental friendly.

Production and Sales
The production and sales information of cars for the year 2001-

02 to the year 2005-06 has been presented.

Year Production Sales Exports

2001-2002 5,00,301 5,09,088 49,273
2002-2003 5,57,410 5,41,491 40,263
2003-2004 7,82,562 6,96,153 1,25,320
2004-2005 9,60,487 8,20,179 1,60,670
2005-2006 10,45,881 8,82,094 1,70,193
Source: Siamindia.com/scripts/market-share

From the above table it is noticed that the production of

cars has been showing an increasing trend except in the

year.
New Models to Hit the Indian Road
The past few years seen a proliferation of entrants into

the passenger car sector following the liberalization of the

economy Hyundai corporation has set up a manufacturing

unit near Chennai and is all set to launch the hatch back,

Santro model this year as a competitor to the MUL’S zen.

 The Japanese automobile giant Honda has set up a

plant in Uttar Pradesh and production of the “City” a mid-

size model devised foe the Asian Market began in Dec.1997.

General motors, in a tie-up with Hindustan motors, had

already launched its opel Astra about two years ago while the

collaboration between Mahindra’s and Ford. Mahindra Ford

India Limited, had introduced the Ford Escort almost

simultaneously.
Hindustan motors also has a technical collaboration

with Mitsubishi of Japan and has launched the medium-size

lancer with a fairly high indigenous content. Toyota of Japan

too has arrived on the scene with its manufacturing facilities

in Karnataka. Mercedes Banz of Germany went to the luxury

category by entering into a collaboration with Telco and

setting up a plant near Pune to product limited quantities of

the Ezzo and the 250D for the upper crust of Indian society

as well as to meet the needs of the Asian Market.

Auto Mobile Revolution
The market for small cars has suddenly wins wide open,

with the introduction of variety of cars, the last but not least

being the Tata Indica. Simultaneously, Maruti has

announced drastic reduction in the price of their small cars,

proving conclusively, once and for all, that most of the Indian
driving public was being taken for a ride in more ways than

one all these years.

It is also likely that soon, the prices may well be

reduced further, as the installed capacity for small cars is

now almost 3 times the likely demand, if you take into

account the fact that the Maruti 800, Omni will continue to

be the large selling entry-level cars for most Indians.

Furthers more, the automobile industry is pressing for a

rebate excise duties from the existing 40% to 25%.

All in all, it will be important for prospective buyers to

be tally informed on these matters.

Turnover of Automobile Manufacturers

Year (Rs.In Million)
1999-00 422,933
2000-01 492,024
2001-02 499,136
2002-03 595,184
2003-04 661,769
2004-05 835,851

Table No. 2.1: Sale of Automobiles in India

(Value in Millions)

S. Sales in Amount of Growth

Year
No. Rupees Growth Percentage
1 1999-00 422933 - -
2 2000-01 492024 69091 16.34%
3 2001-02 499136 7112 1.45%
4 2002-03 595184 96048 19.24%
5 2003-04 661769 66585 11.19%
6 2004-05 835851 174082 26.31%

Table No. 2.3: Installed Capacities of Automobile

Industry in India

2003-2004 2004-2005
Installed Capacity (In Installed Capacity (In
Million) Million)
a) Four Wheelers 1.51 a) Four Wheelers 1.72
b) Two &Three b) Two &Three
7.83 9.13
Wheelers Wheelers
c) Engines 0.18 c) Engines 0.18
 Market Share for Automobiles in the year 2005-06

Installed Capacity in
Type of Vehicle
Million
CVs 3.94
Total Passenger Vehicles 12.83
Total Two Wheelers 79.19
Three Wheelers 4.04
Prices of Various Cars (Price in Rs.)
MARUTI

Maruti 800 STD Rs. 2, 20,308

A/C Rs. 2, 43,626

Omni E Rs. 2, 68,491

5 Rs. 2, 66,114

LPG Rs. 2, 77,024

Cargo Rs. 2, 46,569

Cargolpg Rs. 2, 26,950

ALTO STD Rs. 2, 63,100

LX Rs. 3, 00,832

LXI Rs. 3, 21,234

Wagon R LX Rs. 3, 72,053

LXI Rs. 3, 94,126

VXI Rs. 4, 14,936

VXI{ABSBAIRBOG} Rs. 4, 49,611

 LX DUO {LPG} Rs. 3, 95,243

LXI DUO {LPG} Rs. 4, 20,177

Zen Estilo LX Estilo Rs. 3, 64,259

LXI Estilo Rs. 3, 90,122

VXI {NONABS} Rs. 4, 12,591

VXI {ABS} Rs. 4, 45,187

Esteem LX Rs. 4, 73,363

LXI Rs. 5, 06,532

VXI Rs. 5, 45,320

Swift LXI Rs. 4, 46,942

VXI {NONABS} Rs. 4, 76,481

VXI {ABS} Rs. 5, 66,387

Versa STD Rs. 4, 05,428

DX1 Rs. 4, 87,957

DX2 Rs. 5, 30,092

BALENO LXI Rs. 6, 38,962

VXI Rs. 7, 30,129

HYUNDAI

SANTRO

XING - XK- NON AIC Rs. 3, 00,521

XING - XK- METALLIC Rs. 3, 62,850

XING - XL- METALLIC Rs. 3, 89,441

XING - XO- METALLIC Rs. 4, 14,638

XING - AT- METALLIC Rs. 4, 63,216

GETZ

GLE Rs. 4, 68,898

GVS Rs. 5, 06,622

GLS Rs. 5, 34,656

GLX Rs. 5, 73,086

VERNA

VTVT-1 Rs. 6, 89,176

VTVT-X1 Rs. 7, 05,723

VTVT-XX1 Rs. 7, 68,658

CRDI -VGT Rs. 8, 13,942

ELANTRA

GT -D Rs. 7, 88,111

GLS -LP Rs. 9, 36,716

GRDI -D Rs. 9, 52,793

GRDI -LP Rs.10,89,383

SONATA EMBERA {MT-LP} Rs.15,39,344

TUCSON CRDI Rs.19,28,610

 CHAPTER-III
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Introduction
In the recent years the marketers find it very difficult to

come to decisions, they conduct frequently consumer

research. They spend big amount to provide maximum

satisfaction to the consumers and provide enough after sales

services.
The company that really understands how consumers

will respond to different features, prices advertising appeals

and so on will have enormous advantages over its

competitors.
Branding has grown so strong that today hardly

anything goes on branded sellers to process orders.

Branding also gives the sellers the opportunity to attract a

loyal and profitable set of customers. At present in the

passenger car industry variety of brands are available. Some

customers may look into fuel efficiency and some other

customers may look into the capacity and so on.

As already pointed out to study the customer preference

towards passenger cars, required information were collected

from 50 respondents.
Table No.1
Age of Respondents

Age (in years) No of Respondents % of

 Respondents
21-30 15 30
31-40 16 32
41-50 19 18
51-60 9 18
Above 61 1 2
Total 50 100
Source : Primary Data
The above table shows that 32% of respondents beloved

to the age group of 31-40 years. 30% of respondents

belonged to the age group of 21-30 years. 18% of

respondents belonged to the age group of 41-50 years and

51-60 years. 2% of respondents beloved to the age group of

above 61 years.
There fore it is clear that majority 32% of respondents

were in the age group of 31-40 years.

 Chart No.1
Age of Respondents

Table No.2

2%
18%
30%

18%

32%

21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 Above 61

Occupation
For buying any consumer durable or luxury products,

the earnings are considered to be important. The amount of

earnings has been much influenced by the occupation of the

individual. The following table shows the occupation of the

respondents.

Occupation No of Respondents % of
Respondents
Govt. Employee 5 10%
Private 15 30%
Employee 14 28%
Profession 5 10%
 Agricultural 9 18%
Business 2 4%
Others
Total 50 100%
Source : Primary Data
10% of respondents beloved to the Govt. Employees.

30% of respondents beloved to the private employee. 28% of

respondents beloved to the profession. 10% of respondents

beloved to the agricultural. 18% of respondent’s beloved to

the business. 4% of respondent’s beloved to the other

employees.

There fore it is clear that highly 30% of respondents

were in private employees.

Table No.3
Income
In some family the head of the family make the earnings, there may to be more

number of members who earn either by salaries or by business. In the study area it was

found that in many cases both husband and wife were employed the following table

shows the income per month.

Income per month No of Respondents % of

Respondents
Less than 10,000 9 18%
11,000-20,000 19 38%
21,000-30,000 11 22%
31,000-40,000 9 18%
41,000 above 2 4%
Total 50 100%
Source : Primary Data
 The above table shows that the 38% of respondents

beloved to the income per month of 11,000 to 20,000. 22%

of respondents beloved to the income per month 21,000 to

30,000. 18% of respondents beloved to the income per

month less than 10,000 and 31,000 to 40,000. 4% of

respondents beloved to the income per month above 41,000.

There fore it is clear that 38% of respondents were in

11,000 to 20,000.
Table No.4
Number of Family Members
The earnings and savings are influenced by the number of members in the

family. The family may be a joint family or nuclear family normally in a joint family,

the number of members in the family will be more. The following table shows the

number of family members.

Total No of
% of
Family No of Respondents
Respondents
Members
2 5 10%
3 15 30%
4 24 48%
5 6 12%
Total 50 100%
Source : Primary Data
48% of families were having four members, 30% of

families were having three members. 12% of families were

having five members. 10% of families were having two

members.
 There fore it is clear that majority 48% of families were

having four members.

Table No.5
Brand Classification
A car is name term or design or a combination of them which is intended to

identify the products of one manufacturer and to differentiate them from those of

competitors. In India after liberalization, lot of brands are available in the case of

passenger car market.

Brands No of Respondents % of
Respondents
Maruti 29 58%
Tata 5 10%
Hyundai 6 12%
Ford 9 18%
Others 1 2%
Total 50 100%
Source : Primary Data
The table shows that the 58% of respondents used

Maruti cars. 18% of respondents used Ford cars. 12% of

respondents used Hyundai cars. 10% of respondents used

Tata cars. 2% of respondents used others cars.

Therefore it is clear that majority 58% of respondents

were using Maruti cars.

 Chart No.2
Brand Classification

58%

60%

50%

40%
The credit facilities is also one of the important
30%
18%
factors buying cars. The new cars
12% purchase of most people
20% 10%

like them. But some buyers also not availabilities

2% credit
10%
facilities therefore purchase a second-hand cars.
0%
Maruti Tata Table No.6 Ford
Hyundai Others
New Car or Second-hand Car
% of Respondents
Type of Cars No of % of
Respondents Respondents
New Cars 29 58%
Second-hand Cars 21 42%
Total 50 100%
Source : Primary Data
The table is 50 respondents of the survey. The 58% of

new car purchased, and 42% of second-hand car purchasers.

There fore it is clear that majority 58% of respondents

bought new car purchasers.

70%
58% Chart No.3
60%
New Car or Second-hand Car
50%
42%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
New Cars Second-hand Cars

% of Respondents
 Table No.7
Main Use of The Car
There are so many reasons for using a car. It is office

and private purpose and both uses more than consumers.

Purpose No of Respondents % of
Respondents
Office 9 18%
Private 16 32%
Both 26 50%
Total 50 100%
Source : Primary Data
From the above table that 50% of respondents used

cars both for office and private use. 32% of respondents

used cars for private purpose. 18% of respondents used cars

for office purpose.

Therefore it is clear that majority 50% of respondents

used motor cars for both office and private purposes.

Chart No.4
Main Use of The Car
60%

50%

40%

30%
50%
20%
32%
10%18%

0%
Office Private Both

% of Respondents
 Table No.8
Purchase Decision

Purchase No of Respondents % of
decision Respondents
Own decision 25 50%
Family members 10 20%
Joint consultation 4 8%
Friends 11 22%
Total 50 100%
In case of costly purchases, it is difficult to decide who

make the purchase decision for this purpose; before one

arrive at decisions, we have to consult the existing users,

family, friends, relations. The following table shows

Source : Primary Data
From the above table it is cleat that 50% of respondents

bought cars out of there own decision 22% of respondents

acted on friends. 20% of respondents influenced by were

family members. 8% of respondents made joint consultation.

There fore it is clearly that 50% of respondents

depended on own decision.

 Table No.5
Purchase Decision

50%

20% 22%
8%
Table No.9 % of Respondents
Pre purchase Visit to The Dealers Show Room
Own Family Joint Friends
decision
Answer members consultation
No of Respondents % of
Respondents
% of Respondents
Yes 33 66%
No 17 34%
Total 50 100%
Source : Primary Data
The above table shows that 66% of respondents visited

the dealer’s show room. 34% of respondents did not visit the

Dealer’s show room.

Therefore it is clear that majority 66% of respondents

visited the dealer’s show room.

 Chart No.6
Pre purchase Visit to The Dealers Show Room

34%

Table No.9A
Number of Times frequency of visit to Dealers Show
66%
Room

% of
Visiting Times No of Respondents
Respondents
1 Yes
5 No 18%
2 14 42%
3 12 36%
4 1 2%
5 1 2%
Total 50 100%
Source : Primary Data
The table shows that 42% of respondents visited 2

times; 36% of respondents visited 3 times; 18% of

respondents visited 1 time; 2% of respondents visited four or

five times.
Therefore it is clear that 42% of respondents visited 2

times6 visit.
Chart No.7 5
5
Number of Times frequency of visit to Dealers Show
4
4 Room
3
3
2
2
1
1 42% 36%
18% 2% 2%
0
1 2 3 4 5

Visiting Times % of Respondents

 Table No.10
Year of Use
The products like cars are normally retained for certain

number of years and then disposed off. As the model of the

car has been changing frequently; the owners of the car may

be interest in disposing the car in order the get a better

resale value. The following table shows.

Years No of Respondents % of
Respondents
Below 2 years 12 24%
2 to 4 years 14 28%
Above 4 years 24 48%
Total 50 100%
Source : Primary Data
The car using the year table we observe that the

classification according to the period of ownership 48% of

respondents were using for more than 4 years. 28% of

respondents were using 2 to 4 years. 24% of respondents

were using for less than 2 years.

Therefore
50% it is clear that the 48%
majority 48% of

respondents
40% using the cars for more than 4 years.
Chart28%
No.8
30% 24% Year of Use
20%

10%

0%
Below 2 years 2 to 4 years Above 4 years

% of Respondents
 Table No.11
Preference for the Car
Consumer prefers the particular car. The following table shows.

Factors No of % of Respondents
Respondents
New Technology 2 4%
More Mileage 5 10%
Economy in maintenance 23 46%
Prestige 6 12%
Affordable price 14 28%
Higher resale value 0 0%
Total 50 100%
Source : Primary Data
From the above table 50 we in tar the consumer refer

the car among. 46% of respondents gave important to

economy in maintenance. 28% of respondents gave

important to affordable price. 12% of respondents gave

important to prestige, 10% of respondents gave important to

more mileage. 4% of respondents gave important to new

technology. 0% of respondents gave important to Higher

Resale value.
50%
Therefore it is clear that majority 46% of respondents
45%

gave40%
important to economy in maintenance.
35% Chart No.9
30% Preference for the Car
25%
46%
20%
15% 28%
10%
5% 10% 12%
4%
0% 0%
New More Mileage Economy in Prestige Affordable Higher resale
Technology maintenance price value

% of Respondents
 Table No. 12
Brand Selection
Brand name helps the consumer to identify the product and different it from

those of competitors. Branding play a vital role in achieving greater sales volume and

greater stabilities of price. In he case of passenger cars, consumers look up on the

brand name as a symbol of product quality and as a symbol of satisfaction. The

following table shows the classification according to popularity of the car.

Weighte
Factors d Rank
Average
Cost of vehicle 4 III
Mileage 4.32 I
Maintenance cost 3.74 IV
Style and comfort 3.16 IX
Prestige 3.24 VIII
Availability of spare parts 4.04 II
New technology 3.58 VI
Seating capacity 3.62 V
Suitability for roads 2.78 X
Safety 3.38 VII
Source : Primary Data
The above analysis it is clear that the first preference

selection of the motor car when to mileage. The second

preference selection of the motor car when to availability of

spare parts. The third preference selection of the motor car

when to cost of vehicle. The fourth preference selection of the

motor car when to maintenance cost. The fifth preference

selection of the motor car when to seating capacity. The sixth

preference selection of the motor car when to new

technology. The seventh preference selection of the motor car

when to safety. The eight preference selection of the motor

car when to prestige. The ninth preference selection of the

motor car when to style and comfort. The tenth preference

selection of the motor car when to suitability for roads.

Therefore it is clear that majority of respondents were

selection to mileage is first rank.

 Table No.13
Mode of Purchase
There are so many options available for an individual to borrow money from

outside agencies commercial banks and many private financial institutions are prepared

to lend money with certain conditions of payments and security. The following table

shows

Mode No of Respondents % of
Respondents
Borrowed 9 18%
funds 21 42%
Own funds 20 40%
Both
Total 50 100%
Source : Primary Data
The table shows that according to the source of

borrowings. 42% of respondents used own funds. 40% of

respondents used both of own funds and borrowed funds.

18% of respondents depended on borrowed funds.

Therefore it is clear that majority of 42% of respondents

used own funds.

 Chart No.11
Mode of Purchase

18%
Table
40% No. 14
Usage of Car in a Week
Consumers are usage of the car in various type more than consumers are using
42%
the car for all days.

Days No of Respondents
Borrowed funds Own funds Both
% of
Respondents
One day 10 0%
2 to 4 days 16 32%
5 to 6 days 14 28%
All days 20 40
Total 50 100%
Source : Primary Data
The above table shows that 40% of respondents were

using for all days using a week 32% of respondents were in 2

to 4 days. 28% of respondents used 5 to 6 days in a week.

Therefore it is clear that majority 40% of respondents

were using all days in a week.

Chart No. 12
Usage of Car in a Week
 45%
40% 40%
35%
32%
30%
28%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0% 0%
One day 2 to 4 days 5 to 6 days All days

% of Respondents

Table No.15
Satisfaction level

Answer No of Respondents % of
Respondents
Highly satisfied 13 26%
Satisfied 36 72%
Mode rate 1 2%
Dissatisfied 0 0%
Highly 0 0%
dissatisfied
Total 50 100%
Source : Primary Data
The above table that following 72% of respondents were

satisfied. 26% of respondents were highly satisfied. 2% of

respondents were mode rate, no respondents was in

dissatisfied and highly dissatisfied group.

Therefore it is clear that majority 72% of respondents

were satisfied.
Chart No.13
Satisfaction level
Highly dissatisfied 0%

Dissatisfied 0%

Mode rate 2%

Satisfied 72%

Highly satisfied 26%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

% of Respondents
 Table No.16
The Reason for Satisfaction

Reason for Weighted

Rank
Satisfaction Average
High Mileage 5.14 I
Good performance 4.72 II
Good service 4.52 III
Low maintenance 4.20 IV
Low cost 4.00 V
New technology 3.10 VI
High resale value 2.40 VII
Source : Primary Data
The above analysis it is clear that the first preference

selection of the satisfaction when to high mileage. The second

preference selection of the satisfaction when to good

performance. The third preference selection of the

satisfaction when to good service. The fourth preference

selection of the satisfaction when to low maintenances. The

fifth preference selection of the satisfaction when to low cost.

The sixth preference selection of the satisfaction when to new

technology. The seventh preference selection of the

satisfaction when to high resale value.

Therefore it is clear that the majority of respondents

were satisfaction in to high mileage was first rank.

Table No.17
Need for a Car
 % of
Factors No of Respondents
Respondents
Safety 0 0%
Convenience 24 48%
Prestige 8 16%
Luxury 2 4%
All the above 16 32%
Total 50 100%
Source : Primary data
From the table was 48% of respondents gave

importance to convenience. 32% of respondents were in all

the above group. 16% of respondents preferred prestige. 4%

of respondents gave important to luxury. No respondents

preferred safety.
Therefore it is clear that majority 48% of respondents

were in convenience.
 Table No.14
Need for a Car

50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15% Table No.18
Opinion
10%
5%
on wrathfulness of investment on car
0%
Safety

No of Respondents% of Respondents
Convenience

Answer % of
Prestige

Luxury

All the above

Respondents
Yes 37 74%
No 13 26%
Total 50 100%
% of Respondents
Source : Primary Data
The above table shows that car is worth for the

investment 74% of respondents stated that it was worthy for

it’s investment is worth. 26% of respondents disagreed with

this point no Investment is not worth.

Therefore it is clear that majority 74% of respondents

best that the Investment was worthy.

Chart No.15
Opinion on wrathfulness of investment on car

26%
Table No.19
Opinion of the performance of the car

74%
 Maruti, Hyundai, Tata, Ford and others are ranking

performance of the car is the table is given below.

 Brands Weighted Average Rank
Maruti 4.16 I
Tata 4.14 II
Ford 3.20 III
Hyundai 3.02 IV
Others 1.14 V
Source : Primary Data
The above table shows that 4.16% of respondents gave

first rank Maruti cars. 4.14% of respondents gave second

rank to Tata cars. 3.2% of respondents gave third rank to

Ford cars. 3.02% of respondents gave fourth rank to

Hyundai cars. 1.14% of respondents gave fifth rank to other

cars.
Therefore it is clear that 4.16% of respondents were in

Maruti cars.
 CHAPTER-IV
4.1 FINDINGS
 It was observed that 32% of respondents were in age

group of 31-40 years.

 It was observed that the occupation of 30% of

respondents was in private sector.

 38% of respondents were in the income group of

Rs.11,000 to 20,000.
 Majority 48% of respondents were 4members in the

family.
 It was observed that 58% of respondents were using

Maruti Cars.
 58% of respondents bought new cars.
 It was observed that the main use of the car for 50% of

respondents was office and private purpose.

 50% of respondents bought cars according to there own

decision
 66% of respondents visited the showroom before buying

the cars.
 42% of respondents visited twice dealers show rooms.
 48% of respondents were using the car for past 4 years
 46% of respondents gave first preference to economy in

maintenance.
 Majority of car owners were of the opinion that they

gave (4.32%) mileage of the cars.

 Most of purchaser 42% of respondents used own funds

for buying the cars.

 40% of respondents were using the cars daily.
 Majority 72% of car owners were satisfied with the car

they own.
 The owners of almost all brands of car were satisfied

with the mileage of car, which they own.

 It is observed that car is nessing and 48% of

respondents considered it for convenience.

 Majority of 74% of respondents were of the opinion that

investment on cars were worthy investment.

 Majority of the car owner were of opinion that among all

cars Maruti car was the best car performance.

4.2 SUGGESTIONS
On the basis of the above findings the following are the

consumers and tap the market potential of the car.

 The mainly persons in the age group of 31 to 40 years.

Therefore the consumers of the all age groups should be

attracted by the manufactures by using proper

advertising and other sales promotional efforts.

 Private sector employees were the major market

segment using the cars. Therefore the segments like

government employees, professional, rich farmers,

business peoples etc. Should also be covered.

 People in the income group Rs.11,000 to Rs. 20,000

were the major buyers of the cars. Therefore other

income group should also be covered low cost cars like

the one purpose by TATA cars for rupees ONE LAKHS

should be manufactured and entered into the market.

 The car buyers were having to family members more

than 4members travel suitable for car travels. Therefore

4members in the family most of prefer the car traveling.

 Maruti cars use mostly preferable by the people
4.3 CONCLUSION
Car owners view more important to low maintenance

expense and good mileage of car. Owner of all cars were

satisfied with the mileage. How ever the level of satisfaction

was not up to the mark on other features of the car. Such as

cost of vehicle, prestige value, availability of spares, usage of

modern technologies and so on.

Cars were own mostly buy a married person having

more them two or more children working in a private sector.

Widely preferred car was any one-brand manufacturer by

Maruti Udyog Ltd. Show room was important place, which

was visited by the car buyer for more than ones.

Car manufacturer may give the importance to the

features like cost of vehicle, prestige value, available spares

and so on. The show room may be established in an

attractive manner. As maintain was considered as nature

factor in selecting a car they may try to produce maintain

free car.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Southern Economist, December 15th 2006

2. Business world, 5th June 2006
3. Business world, 29th January 2007
4. Business world, 9th April 2007