`

A
PROJECT REPORT
ON
“Comparative Study of Marketing Strategies of Two Automobile
Companies”

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement

For the award of degree of

Submitted By:
Ranjeet Singh
(Roll no. 1804870067)
Batch : MBA (2018-20)

Submitted To:
Evanglin Singh
(Asst. Professor)

Dayanand Academy of Management Studies, KANPUR

Affiliated To
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University
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PREFACE

As a part of the MBA curriculum and in order to gain practical knowledge in the field of

management, we are required to make a report on “Comparative Study of

Marketing Strategies of Two Automobile Companies” .The basic objective
behind doing this project report is to get knowledge of different tools of marketing .

In this project report we have included various concepts, effects and implications.

Doing this project report helped us to enhance our knowledge regarding

different-different marketing strategies and tools. Through this project report we come to know
about importance of team work and role of devotion towards the work.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Research Project is the one of the important part of MBA program, which has helped me
to gain a lot of experience, which will be beneficial in my succeeding career.

For this with an ineffable sense of gratitude I take this opportunity to express my deep sense of
indebtedness and gratitude to Dr. Sadhvi Mehrotra, Head of Department (MBA) Mr. Anuj
Srivastava & Asst. Prof Evanglin Singh
for taking part in useful decision & giving necessary advices and guidance. I choose this
moment to acknowledge their contribution gratefully.

It is my radiant sentiment to place on record my best regards, deepest sense of gratitude to

them for their careful and precious guidance which were extremely valuable for my study
both theoretically and practically.

I perceive this opportunity as a big milestone in my career development. I will strive to use
gained skills and knowledge in the best possible way, and I will continue to work on their
improvement, in order to attain desired career objectives.

I take the opportunity to extent my gratitude to all the concerned people who have directly or
indirectly contributed towards the completion of this project. Hope to continue cooperation
with all of you in the future.

Ranjeet Singh
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TABLE OF CONTENT

S NO. PARTICULAR PAGE NO.

1 INTRODUCTION OF STUDY
2 INDUSTRY PROFILE
3 OBJECTIVES
4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
5 LIMITATIONS
6 RESEARCH METHOLODGY
7 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
8 DATA INTERPRETATION
9 FINDINGS
10 CONCLUSIONS
11 RECOMMENDATIONS
12 BIBLIOGRAPHY
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INTRODUCTION

Comparative Study of Marketing Strategies of Two

Automobile Companies
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A marketing strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its

limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable
competitive advantage. Its a written plan which combines product development,
promotion, distribution, and pricing approach, identifies the firm's marketing goals, and
explains how they will be achieved within a stated timeframe. Marketing strategy
determines the choice of target market segment, positioning, marketing mix, and
allocation of resources. It is most effective when it is an integral component of firm
strategy, defining how the organization will successfully engage customers, prospects,
and competitors in the market arena.
Marketing strategies serve as the fundamental underpinning of marketing plans designed
to fill market needs and reach marketing objectives. Marketing strategies are dynamic
and interactive. It may differ depending on the unique situation of the individual
business.

On the Canvas of Indian Economy, Auto Industry occupies a prominent place.

Automobile sector is one of the core of Indian Industry. Continuous economic
liberalization over the years.

One of the largest industries in India, automotive industry has been witnessing impressive
growth during the last two decades. Indian automobile industry has a mix of large
domestic private players such as Tata, Mahindra, Bajaj, Ashok Leyland and major
international players including GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, etc. To remain in this
competitve market on has to come up different ides and strategies.
Various Marketing Strategies enables a firm to expand business activities for market
reputation, to satisfy human wants , to lead to specialisation and efficient performance of
production function climaxing in econimic stability.

After liberalization automobile Industry is growing at very high rate and many new
companies have also entered into market. With offering variety of cars in all segments for
everyone. So it is important to know which company is providing us good quality cars at
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fair prices and providing better after sales services. And how they are trying to reach
customers.

The most obvious objective marketers have for promotional activities is to convince
customers to make a decision that benefits the marketer (of course the marketer believes
the decision will also benefit the customer). For most for-profit marketers this means
getting customers to buy an organization’s product and, in most cases, to remain a loyal
long-term customer.

However, marketers must understand that getting customers to commit to a decision, such
as a purchase decision, is only achievable when a customer is ready to make the decision.

Title of Study
Comparative Study of Marketing Strategies of Two Automobile
Companies
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Objective of Study

 To know the various strategies used by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Company to
attract maximum number of customers.
 To know which company offers better cars, better after sales services and by which
company cars customers are satisfied most.
 To know the demand of Automobiles.
 Competition from other car manufacturers.
 -To know the trend in Market.

 To know which car is more demanded by Customers.

 Through which strategies maximum customers are attracted.
 To know recession effect on sale of cars
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Scope of Study

 Company will come to know what attracts Customers.

 Company as well as Dealers of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai will come to know that
which are the criterias customers look for before buying car.
Company and Dealers will also come to know the future changes which will be require
to satisfy customer needs and wants.
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INDUSTRY PROFILE

Maruti Suzuki’s Profile

In early 1980s Indian Govt decided to produce a small car, which would be within buying
reach of Indian middle class. The obvious place to shop for technology was Japan, which
had developed world class capabilities in small cars by that time.It was not Toyota, or
Nissan, or Honda ,three largest player in Japan, but Suzuki, a much smaller company
with strong capcabilities in making small cars. Suzuki grabbed the opportunity with both
hands and formed a joint venture with govt. called Maruti Udyog.

Maruti Udyog Limited, a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan, has been the
leader of the Indian car market for about two decades. Its manufacturing plant, located
some 25 km south of New Delhi in Gurgaon, has an installed capacity of 3,50,000 units
per annum, with a capability to produce about half a million vehicles.

Maruti rolled out its 1st car, Maruti 800 with 800cc engine in December 1983. This model
targeted at masses and was lanuched as “People’s car”. In early 2003, Maruti Udyog, a
joint venture between Suzuki and Indian Govt. dominated India’s automobile
market with 54% market share and with annual production capacity of 5lac cars. The
company dominated Indian Small car market with a share of 100% in A seg, 36% in B
seg and 86% overall.

The company has a portfolio of 11 brands, including Maruti 800, Omni, premium small
car Celerio, international brands Alto and WagonR, off-roader Gypsy, mid size Esteem,
luxury car Baleno, the MPV, Versa, Swift , Swift Dzire and Luxury SUV Grand Vitara
XL7, Vitara Breeza .
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In recent years, Maruti has made major strides towards its goal of becoming Suzuki
Motor Corporation's R and D hub for Asia. It has introduced upgraded versions of
WagonR, Alto and Swift Dzire, completely designed and styled in-house. Maruti's
contribution as the engine of growth of the Indian auto industry, indeed its impact on the
lifestyle and psyche of an entire generation of Indian middle class, is widely
acknowledged. Its emotional connect with the customer continues

Maruti tops customer satisfaction again for 8th year in a row according to the J.D. Power
Asia Pacific. India Customer Satisfaction Index Study. The company has also ranked
highest in India Sales Satisfaction Study.

In keeping with its leadership position, Maruti supports safe driving and traffic
management through mass media messages and a state.

Insurance and Maruti Finance are now fully operational. of-the art driving training and
research institute that it manages for the Delhi Government.
The company's service businesses including sale and purchase of pre owned cars
(TrueValue), lease and fleet management service for corporates (N2N), Maruti Suzuki.
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Hyundai Motors Profile

Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor
Company, South Korea and is the second largest car manufacturer and the largest
passenger car exporter from India. HMIL presently markets 54 variants of passenger cars
across segments. The Santro in the B segment, the Eon , i10 and the Premium hatchback
i20 in the B+ segment, the Accent and the Verna
the Elantra , the Creta in the C segment, the Sonata Embera in the E segment and the
Tucson , the Santea fe in the SUV segment.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd, continuing with its tradition of being the

fastest growing passenger car manufacturer, registered total sales of 984,328 vehicles in
the calendar year (CY) 2017, an increase of 49.6 percent over CY 2007. In the domestic
market it clocked a growth of 22.4 percent with 542,387 units in 2017, while overseas
sales grew by 92.5 percent, with exports accounting for 541,931 units in 2017.

HMIL's manufacturing plant is located near Chennai which has advanced production
quality and testing capabilities in the country. Inorder to provide the Indian customer with
global technology, HMIL started its second plant in February 2008 which produces an
additional 300,000 units per annum, raising HMIL's total production capacity to 600,000
units per annum. Apart from expansion of production capacity, HMIL currently has 546
strong dealer network across India.
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The production management processes at Hyundai Motor India are overlaid with an
organization-wide implementation of manufacturing best practices like Just-in-time
inventory management, Kaizen, TPM and TQM, that help us in making the world's best
cars, right here in India.

Hyundai Motor Company was established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Co. has grown into
the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group which was ranked as the world’s fifth-largest
automaker in 2018 and includes over two dozen auto-related subsidiaries and affiliates.
Employing over 75,000 people worldwide, Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries
through some 6,000 dealerships and showrooms.

Hyundai Motor Company, S.Korea, the parent of HMI, has been doing considerable work
on sustainable Environment Management . The company has a well defined framework
in place for developing products that reduce pollutant emissions and processes for
preservation of natural resources and energy along all the stages of the product lifecycle
from production, sales, use to disposal and has been awarded the ISO 14001 certification
for all its three major plants in Ulsan, Asan and Jeonju in S.Korea.

Cars of Hyundai
Hyundai deals in wide variety of cars which includes Eon , grand i10, i20, Accent, Verna,
Sonata, Tuscon, Elantra, Santa Fe etc.
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TOP 10 AUTOMOBILE COMPANIES

 TATA MOTORS

 M&M

 MARUTI SUZUKI

 HYUNDAI

 TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION

 HONDA

 CHERVOLET

 FORD MOTOR COMPANY

 MITSBUISHI MOTORS CORPORATION

 BAJAJ AUTO LIMITED

 HERO MOTO CO LTD

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HISTORY

The automobile industry in India is the tenth largest in the world with an annual production
of approximately 2 million units. India is expected to overtake Chinaas the world's fastest
growing car market[1] in terms of the number of units sold and the automotive industry is
one of the fastest growing manufacturing sectors in India.[2] Because of its large market
(India has a population of 1.1 billion; the second largest in the world), a low base of car
ownership (25 per 1,000 people[2]) and a surging economy, India has become a huge
attraction for car manufacturers around the world.[3Automobile History in IndiaWhile
automobiles were introduced to India in the late 1890's, the manufacturing industry only took
off after independence in 1947. The protectionist economic policies of the government gave
rise in the 1950's to the Hindustan MotorsAmbassador, based on a 1950's Morris Oxford,
and, is still ubiquitous in the roads and highways of India. Hindustan Motors and a few
smaller manufacturers such as Premier Automobiles, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Ashok and
Standard Motorsheld an oligopoly until India's initial economic opening in the 1980's. The
maverick Indian politician Sanjay Gandhi championed the need for a "people's car"; the
project was realized after his death with the launch of a state-owned firm Maruti Udyog
which quickly gained over 50% market share. The Maruti 800became popular because of its
low price, high fuel efficiency, reliability and modern features relative to its competition at
the time. Tata Motors exported buses and trucks to niche markets in the developing
world.The liberalization of 1991 opened the flood gates of competition and growth which
have continued up to today. The high growth in the Indian economy has resulted in all major
international car manufacturers entering the Indian market.General Motors, Ford, Toyota,
Honda, Hyundai and others set up manufacturing plants. Rolls Royce, Bentley and Maybach
are examples of the few high end automobile manufacturers which entered India in the recent
years. The Tata Nanois at the lower end of the price range costing approx US$ 2,500 and
Bugatti Veyron at the other with a price tag of over US$ 2 million.India's love affair with the
automobile is famously embodied in the 1920's Rolls Royce collections of the erstwhile
maharajas. The growing middle class aspires for the automobile for its convenience and as a
status symbol. Upper middle class and wealthy car owners employ full-time chauffeurs to
navigate the aggressive and seemingly lawless traffic patterns of most cities. The
construction of expressways such as the Mumbai-Pune expressway have opened up new
touring opportunities. The expected launch of a Formula One circuit in New Delhiis expected
to spark public enthusiasm for a motor sporting industry.

With a scintillating 2.3 million units produced in 2008 the Indian automobile industry bagged
the position of being the ninth largest in the world. Following economic liberalization, Indian
domestic automobile companies like Tata Motors Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra and Mahindra
expanded their production and export operations in and across the country and since then the
industry has only shown signs of growth. The automobile industry comprises of heavy vehicles
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(trucks, buses, tempos, tractors), passenger cars, and two-wheelers.

The Indian automobile industry seems to come a long way since the first car that was
manufactured in Mumbai in 1898. The automobile sector today is one of the key sectors of the
country contributing majorly to the economy of India. It directly and indirectly provides
employment to over 10 million people in the country. The Indian automobile industry has a well
established name globally being the second largest two wheeler market in the world, fourth
largest commercial vehicle market in the world, and eleventh largest passenger car market in the
world and expected to become the third largest automobile market in the world only behind USA
and China.

The growth of the Indian middleclass along with the growth of the economy over the last few
years has resulted in a host of global auto giants setting their foot inside the Indian Territory.
Moreover India also provides trained manpower at competitive costs making the country a
manufacturing hub for many foreign automobile companies. India proves to be a potential
market as compared to most of the other countries which are witnessing stagnation as far as
automobile industry growth is concerned.

A recent research conducted by the global consultancy firm Deloitte says that at least one Indian
automobile company will feature among the top six automobile companies that will dominate the
car market by 2020.

The Indian automobile industry proved to be in good shape last year even after the economic
downturn. This was majorly due to the fact of renewed interest shown by global automobile
players like Nissan Motors which consider India to be a potential market.

As far as authorized dealer networks and service stations are concerned Maruti Suzuki is the
most widespread. The other automobile companies are also showing rapid progression in this
field.

Indian Automobile Export market

India is a very favorable market for small cars be it production, sales or export. Since the Indian
automobile industry is the largest manufacturer of small cars companies like Hyundai and Nissan
Motors export about 2,40,000 and 2,50,000 annually. India emerged as Asia's fourth largest
exporter of automobiles, behind Japan, South Korea and Thailand. The Indian automobile
exports registered a 22.30 percent growth in the year 2009. The growth trend was as follows:
Two Wheelers- 32.31 percent, Commercial Vehicle - 19.10 percent and Passenger Cars grew by
- 19.10 percent.
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Key automobile manufactures in India

 Maruti Udyog
 General Motors
 Ford India Limited
 Eicher Motors
 Bajaj Auto
 Daewoo Motors india
 Hero Motors
 Hindustan Motors
 Hyundai Motors India Limited
 Royal Enfield Motors
 Telco
 TVS Motors
 DC Designs
 Swaraj Mazda Limited

Gaining from Government stimulus packages, more demands and lower interest rates on
automobile loans the Indian automobile industry witnessed a phenomenal growth of 26.41
per cent in the year 2009. Segment wise cars posted a growth of 25.10 percent and two
wheelers sales grew by 26 percent. The year 2009 actually turned out to be one of the best
years in the history of the automobile industry in India. If the trend continues the same way
then Indian will soon become the second fastest growing automobile market in the world
only after China.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (formerly Maruti Udyog Ltd) is India's largest passenger car
company accounting for over 50 per cent of the domestic car market. The company offers
full range of cars from entry level Maruti Alto to stylish hatchback Ritz A-star Swift Wagon
R Estillo and sedans DZire SX4 and Sports Utility vehicle Grand Vitara. The company is a
subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan. The Japanese car major held 56.21% stake
in Maruti Suzuki as on 31 December 2017.The company is engaged in the business of
manufacturing purchase and sale of motor vehicles and spare parts (automobiles). The other
activities of the company include facilitation of pre-owned car sales fleet management and
car financing. They have four plants three located at Palam Gurgaon Road Gurgaon Haryana
and one located at Manesar Industrial Town Gurgaon Haryana. The company has nine
subsidiary companies namely Maruti Insurance Business Agency Ltd Maruti Insurance
Distribution Services Ltd Maruti Insurance Agency Solutions Ltd Maruti Insurance Agency
Network Ltd Maruti Insurance Agency Services Ltd Maruti Insurance Agency Logistics Ltd
True Value Solutions Ltd Maruti Insurance Broker Ltd and J J Impex (Delhi) Pvt Ltd. Maruti
Suzuki India Ltd was incorporated on February 24 1981 with the name Maruti Udyog Ltd.
The company was formed as a government company with Suzuki as a minor partner to make
a people's car for middle class India.
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Over the years the company's product range has widened ownership has changed hands and
the customer has evolved. In October 2 1982 the company signed the license and joint
venture agreement with Suzuki Motor Corporation Japan. In the year 1983 the company
started their productions and launched Maruti 800. In the year 1984 they introduced Maruti
Omni and during the next year they launched Maruti Gypsy in the market. In the year 1987
the company forayed into the foreign market by exporting first lot of 500 cars to Hungary. In
the year 1990 the company launched India's first three-box car Sedan. In the year 1992
Suzuki Motor Corporation Japan increased their stake in the company to 50%. In the year
1993 they introduced the Maruti Zen and in the next year they launched Maruti Esteem in the
market.In the year 1995 the company commenced their second plant. In the year 1997 they
started Maruti Service Master as model workshop in India to look after sales services. In the
year 1999 the third plant with new press paint and assembly shops became operational. In the
year 2000 the company launched Maruti Alto in the market. In the year 2002 Suzuki Motor
Corporation increased their stake in the company to 54.2%. In January 2002 the company
introduced 10 finance companies (8 + 2JVs) in Mumbai. Also they found one new business
segment Maruti True Value for sales purchase and trade of pre-owned cars in India. In the
year 2005 the company launched the first world strategic model from Suzuki Motor
Corporation 'the SWIFT' in India. In the year 2006 they launched WaganR Duo with LPG
and also the New Zen Estillo. During the year 2006-07 the company commenced operations
in the new car plant and the diesel engine facility at Manesar Haryana. In November 2006
they inaugurated a new institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) which was set up
as a collaborative project with Delhi Government at Sarai Kale Khan in South Delhi. During
the year 2007-08 the company signed an agreement with the Adani group for exporting
200000 units annually through the Mundra port in Gujarat. They launched Swift Diesel and
SX4- Luxury Sedan with Tag line 'MEN ARE BACK' during the year. In July 2007 the
company launched the new Grand Vitara a stylish muscular and 5-seater in the MUV
segment. The company changed its name from Maruti Udyog Ltd to Maruti Suzuki India Ltd
with effect from September 17 2007.During the year the company entered into a joint venture
agreement with Magneti Marelli Powertrain SpA and formed Magneti Marelli Powertrain
India Pvt Ltd for manufacturing Electric Control Units. Also they entered into another joint
venture agreement with Futaba Industrial Co Ltd and formed FMI Automotive Components
Ltd for manufacturing Exhaust Systems Components.During the year the company signed
pact with Shriram City Union Finance Ltd a part of Shriram Group Chennai to offer easy
transparent and hassle-free car finance to its customers particularly in semi urban and rural
markets. The agreement is a joint initiative of the two companies for providing competitive
car finance to people in Tier-II and Tier-III cities across the country. During the year 2008-09
the company launched a new A2 segment car branded the A-star in India and in Europe as
the new Alto. They raised their production capacity to a landmark 1 million cars. In June
2008 the company launched Maruti 800 Duo which is a dual fuel (LPG-cum- petrol) model
car.In April 2009 the company revealed new Ritz K12M engine at Gurgaon plant. During the
year 2009-10 the company raised the capacity of their next generation K-series engine plant
to more than 500000 units per annum. They started work on an additional plant of 250000
cars per annum capacity at Manesar. The company launched their fifth world strategic model
the Ritz. They also came out with the spacious multi purpose van Eeco and the all new
WagonR with a K-series engine. During the year 2010-11 the company launched refreshed
variants of WagonR and Alto with the new K-series engines. SX4 was offered with a Super
Turbo Diesel engine. The Company launched the Suzuki Kizashi India's first sports luxury
sedan. It sports a 2.4 litre engine and is endowed with best-in-class features. The company
developed in-house i-GPI (Integrated Gas Port Injection) Technology and launched factory-
fitted CNG variants for five of its models: Alto WagonR Eeco Estilo and SX4.During the
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year 2011-12 the company started the work to commission another diesel engine plant of
300000 annual capacity in Gurgaon. At the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo the Company unveiled the
Ertiga - Life Utility Vehicle.

The global premiere of Ertiga marks the entry of the company in the UV segment which will
help further strengthen its leadership position in the industry. The company also showcased
the XA-Alpha a concept compact SUV.During the year 2012-13 the company started the
work on the Gujarat site. During this period Suzuki Japan decided that India will now be
responsible for the export markets of Africa the Middle East and its neighbouring countries.
The company has to ensure adequate sales and marketing arrangements in these countries
with the help of Japan. It also has to determine the products to be manufactured for these
markets and if necessary establish assembly plants overseas. This decision will greatly help
the growth of its exports.In 2014-15 Maruti launched a successful sedan Ciaz model cars.
The S-Cross creates a new market segment which combines the comfort and luxury of a
sedan with the power and styling of an SUV. Both these products have been enriched with a
number of premium features and enhanced performance levels. In January this year the
Hon'ble Chief Minister of Gujarat laid the foundation stone of the Gujarat plant. During the
year 2015-16 two new products introduced by the company namely the Baleno and the
Brezza exceeded its expectations of demand and both cars had a waiting period of 6-7
months. On 4 October 2016 Maruti Suzuki announced that its premium hatchback Baleno has
crossed cumulative domestic sale of one lakh units. On 18 May 2016 Maruti Suzuki
announced the launch of an updated version of its small car Alto 800 with more attractive
front design fresh interiors vibrant colours higher fuel efficiency and new features. On 27
May 2016 Maruti Suzuki announced that it will proactively and voluntarily recall 75419
Baleno cars (petrol and diesel) manufactured between 3 August 2015 and 17 May 2016 to
upgrade the airbag controller software. Of these 15995 Baleno diesel cars manufactured
between 3 August 2015 and 22 March 2016 will also be attended to for inspection and
replacement of a faulty fuel filter. The Baleno cars covered in the recall include 17231 units
of exports. In addition 1961 DZire diesel cars (only AGS variant) will be attended to for
inspection and replacement of a faulty fuel filter.On 27 May 2016 Maruti Suzuki announced
that it had begun exports of its Light Commercial Vehicle Super Carry to South Africa and
Tanzania. At that time the company said that it also plans to export the vehicle to SAARC
nations in due course. On 6 July 2016 Maruti Suzuki announced that its popular premium
mid-size sedan Ciaz has crossed one lakh cumulative sales mark in the domestic market. The
car was lunched in October 2014. On 28 July 2016 Maruti Suzuki announced that its
premium retail showroom under the NEXA brand has completed one year of operations. At
that time the company said that NEXA is expected to contribute 15% of its sales by 2020.
Maruti Suzuki announced increase in prices of select models ranging from Rs 1500 to Rs
5000 (Ex-showroom Delhi) with effect from 1 August 2016. It also announced increase in
price by up to Rs 20000 for Vitara Brezza and up to Rs 10000 for Baleno. The company
attributed the price hike to factors like segment wise demand foreign exchange movements
and strategic objectives of the company. On 12 August 2016 Maruti Suzuki announced that
the cumulative enrollment at its various driving training facilities has touched a record 3
million since it started driving training in the year 2000. On 30 August 2016 Maruti Suzuki
announced the launch of limited edition of its most popular hatchback Swift as Swift Deca.
On 1 September 2016 Maruti Suzuki announced the launch of its first light commercial
vehicle (LCV) Super Carry in the domestic market. The company has invested about Rs 300
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crore towards the development of the Super Carry. On 15 September 2016 Maruti Suzuki
announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Uber India to
train over 30000 individuals/Uber partner-drivers in safe driving over a period of 3 years. On
23 September 2016 Maruti Suzuki announced that it has attained cumulative exports of 15
lakh vehicles. These vehicles have been exported to over 100 countries including Europe
Latin America and Africa.On 15 November 2016 Maruti Suzuki announced that it will set up
a first-of-its-kind Industrial Training Institute in Mehsana Gujarat. On 25 November 2016
Maruti Suzuki announced the launch of limited edition of its small car Wagon R as Wagon R
Felicity with an array of new features. On 9 December 2016 Maruti Suzuki India signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ola the online cab aggregator to train aspiring
Ola driver-partners.

The company said that its partnership with Ola will create entrepreneurship opportunities for
aspiring Ola drivers-partners.On 13 January 2017 Maruti Suzuki India announced the launch
of IGNIS its premium urban compact vehicle for the millennials. The company alongwith its
suppliers has invested over Rs 950 crore towards the development of IGNIS. IGNIS has
98.5% localization.On 27 January 2017 Maruti Suzuki announced the launch of a new VXi+
variant of its small car WagonR with a wide array of new features including Projector
headlamps stylish front grill alloy wheels and side skirts Dual Airbags Anti-Lock braking
System with Electronic brake - force distribution system as optional. Maruti Suzuki
announced a price hike ranging from Rs 1500 to Rs 8014 (Ex-showroom Delhi) across
models with effect from 27 January 2017 due to increase in commodity transportation and
administrative costs. On 30 January 2017 Maruti Suzuki inaugurated its 200th premium retail
showroom NEXA in the country at Hyderabad. At that time the company said that NEXA is
now present in 121 cities and had already sold over 1.85 lakh vehicles since its inception. On
15 February 2017 Maruti Suzuki announced the launch of limited edition of its compact
multi purpose vehicle Ertiga. On 20 February 2017 Maruti Suzuki announced that its two
Smart Hybrid vehicles viz. Ciaz SHVS and Ertiga SHVS have crossed cumulative sales of 1
lakh units. Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki (SHVS) is a technology which uses an integrated
starter generator and an advanced high capacity battery to supplement the engine's power.
SHVS technology makes it more efficient than the conventional set-up and saves energy
while decelerating/braking.On 2 March 2017 Maruti Suzuki announced that its popular urban
sports utility vehicle Vitara Brezza crossed one lakh cumulative sales milestone in the
domestic market. On 27 March 2017 Maruti Suzuki announced that its popular urban sports
utility vehicle Vitara Brezza has clocked sales of over 1.1 lakh units in the first year of its
launch.On 31 March 2017 Maruti Suzuki announced that its popular midsize sedan Ciaz will
be sold exclusively through its premium retail outlets NEXA from 1 April 2017. On 16 May
2017 Maruti Suzuki announced the launch of updated version of its sedan Dzire. On 25 May
2017 Maruti Suzuki announced that it has decided to set up automobile skill enhancement
centres across 15 government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across 11 states over a
period of three months. On 1 July 2017 Maruti Suzuki announced that it has passed on the
entire benefit of the goods and services tax (GST) rates on vehicles to its customers and as a
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result the ex-showroom prices of Maruti Suzuki models were cut by upto 3% with effect
from 1 July 2017. However owing to withdrawal of tax concessions on mild hybrid vehicles
the price of Smart Hybrid Ciaz Diesel model and Smart Hybrid Ertiga Diesel has increased.
On 7 July 2017 Maruti Suzuki announced that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)
has approved the scheme of amalgamation of Maruti Suzuki India Limited and seven of its
wholly owned subsidiary companies viz. Maruti Insurance Business Agency Limited Maruti
Insurance Distribution Services Limited Maruti Insurance Agency Network Limited Maruti
Insurance Agency Solutions Limited Maruti Insurance Agency Services Limited Maruti
Insurance Agency Logistics Limited and Maruti Insurance Broker Limited.On 3 August 2017
Maruti Suzuki announced the introduction of auto gear shift option in its top-end Alpha
variant of its premium urban compact vehicle IGNIS. On 10 August 2017 Maruti Suzuki
announced a complete revamp of its True Value operations designed to make pre-owned cars
more attractive and transparent to customers.On 30 August 2017 Maruti Suzuki announced
transformation of its retail network across India. The new showrooms christened Maruti
Suzuki ARENA will sport modern looks and offer a warm friendly and comfortable
environment to the customers. On 29 September 2017 Maruti Suzuki announced the launch
of parent Suzuki Motor Corporation's global ECSTAR brand of lubricants coolants and car
care products in India. On 1 October 2017 Maruti Suzuki announced the launch of new
version of its premium urban offering S-Cross. Maruti further said at that time that it has sold
over 53000 units of S-Cross in the domestic market and exported over 4600 units since its
launch in August 2015. On 5 October 2017 Maruti Suzuki announced the launch of a
refreshed version of its compact car Celerio. Maruti further said at that time that Celerio has
achieved the three-lakh sales mark within a short span of less than four years.

On 1 December 2017 Maruti Suzuki announced the launch of the bold sporty and trendy
CelerioX compact car. The model is an extension of Maruti's Celerio compact car. On 27
December 2017 Maruti Suzuki announced that it has entered into an agreement with the
Government of NCT of Delhi to set up state-of-the-art Automated Driving Test Centres
across 12 locations in the city. The company will invest approximately Rs 15 crore for setting
up the driving test centres. While Maruti Suzuki will set up the centres and maintain them for
three years the Transport Department will conduct the tests and issue driving licenses to
eligible applicants.Maruti Suzuki announced price increase ranging from Rs 1700 to Rs
17000 (Ex-Showroom - Delhi) across models with effect from 10 January 2018 owing to
increase in commodity and other administrative and distribution costs.At the time of approval
of Q3 December 2017 results on 25 January 2018 the Board of Directors of Maruti Suzuki
discussed and approved a revision in the method of calculating royalty payment to Japanese
parent Suzuki Motor Corporation that would result in lower royalty payments for Maruti
Suzuki for new model agreements starting the Ignis. This would be implemented after
approval by the Board of Suzuki Motor Corporation.On 7 February 2018 Maruti Suzuki
showcased new compact car ConceptFutureS at Delhi Auto Expo 2018 in New Delhi. On 8
February 2018 Maruti Suzuki announced the launch of an updated version of its premium
hatchback Swift at Auto Expo 2018 in New Delhi. The all-new Swift comes offers the
acclaimed auto gear shift technology for the convenience of customers. Built on Suzuki's
innovative 5th generation HEARTECT platform the all-new Swift has a superior power to
weight ratio with an improved acceleration performance.

Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Co. has grown into the Hyundai Motor Group, which was ranked as
the wo
`

rld’s fifth-largest automaker si

PRE- LIBERALIZATION PERIOD

Since Independence The Car Industry was closely monitored and controlled by the
government till 1981. Limited choices were available to the car buyers due to the limited
manufacturers and tight supply. Hindustan Motors (HM) and Premier Automobile (PAL)
that were set up in 1940's dominated the vehicle market and industry. In the 1950s, the
arrival of Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, and Mahindra & Mahindra led to steadily increasing
vehicle production in India, while the 1960s witnessed the establishment of the two- and
three-wheeler industry in India.

But between 1970 to the economic liberalization of 1991, the automobile industry
continued to grow at a slow pace due to the many government restrictions. However, the
automotive industry witnessed tremendous growth after the entry of Maruti Udyog in the
1980s.

In 1981 the government decided to review their car industry policy and found that the
segment was neglected and there was a big market available for cars. The existing cars
available in the market were costly and technically less sound with compare to
international standard.Then government initiated dialogues with Suzuki Motors, a
Japanese car manufacturing company, finalized a joint venture, and formed a company
named Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL). The initial venture was between Government of
India with a share of 74% and Suzuki Motor with a share of 26%.

That was a revolutionary step taken for the car industry in India. In 1983 MUL launched
its first car in India (Maruti 800) with a price tag of Rs.40,000/-.
`

This development was a big shock to the existing car manufacturers and they also rushed
to improve and increase their product line.
After the lifting of licensing in 1993 by government, 17 new ventures came up, of which
16 are for manufacture of cars.

Today, almost all of the major global players are present in India. The automotive
industry is today a key sector of the Indian economy and a major foreign exchange earner
for the country.

Government
1981 was the year when government taken a revolutionary initiative to review and reform
its policy related to car industry. Now getting permission to produce cars in India is easier
and new entrants are coming almost every year. Government has also imposed heavy
imposed heavy import duties on imported vehicles to safeguard the car manufactured
locally.
`

POST- LIBERALIZATION PERIOD

Following the economic reforms of 1991, the automobile section underwent delicensing
and opened up for 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment. A surge in economic growth rate
and purchasing power led to growth in the Indian automobile industry, which grew at a rate
of 17% on an average since the economic reforms of 1991.

India's automotive components industry is being urged by the government to partner with
overseas firms with the aim of making India a platform for outsourcing as well as a global
R&D hub. As the Indian vehicle production industry has grown, so has the domestic supplier
industry. But the global auto industry's search for lower cost and more international
outsourcing has led to a sharp growth in component output and exports in recent years.

The positive demographic factors, stable macro-economic environment and pro-reform

policies of the government, low manufacturing costs, availability of skilled labor has
attracted almost all major global auto players making their way into India like GM, Ford,
Daewoo, Honda and Toyota The intense competition has compelled the manufacturers to
launch the latest global offering in India as early as possible. It has also enabled to keep the
prices of the vehicles under check. The consumers, in turn, have benefited from wide choice
of models, technologically advanced cars and better service from the car manufacturers.
`

Major Manufacturers in Automobile Industry and their

Cars

Maruti Udyog Ltd.

Cars:- Maruti 800, Omni, Zen, Esteem, WagonR, Swift, SX4, Alto, Ritz, Grand Vitara.

Tata Motors.
Cars:- Indica, Indigo Marina, Safari, Sumo, Nano

Hyundai Motor India Ltd.

Cars:- Eon, Accent, Sonata, Verna, grand i10, Elantra, Tuscon, i10,
i20

Honda
Cars:- Honda City, Civic, Accord

BMW
Cars:- 3 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series, 7 Series, X3, and X5.

Other Automobile Companies are:-

 Skoda

 Toyota

 Hindustan Motors

 Ford

 Toyota

 Mahindra and Mahindra

 General Motors
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EVOLUTION OF AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

Initial Years Early to mid 90s Mid 90s- 2018

Manufacturing wasSeller’s market and LongBuyers Market

Licensed waiting periods

High customs duty onDelicensing in 1993 Increase in Indigenization

import

Steep excise duties & sales Removal Of CapacityEasy Auto Finance

tax restrictions.

2 Major Players Decrease In customs &Manufacturers diversifying

excise. into related activities:

Premier Automobiles Ltd & Auto finance boom-moreFinance lease, fleet

Hindustan Motors players (foreign banks & non management, insurance and
banking companies, better
schemes).

1980s Used car market.

Entry of MUL, better Variety of Options available

product, with Govt support. to choose from.

Seller’s Market.

Long waiting periods.

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Which Car is the Best? – Maruti Suzuki or Hyundai

It's an honest question. Which car manufacturer do you prefer and why? Hyundai or Maruti?

Maruti Suzuki (All Indian, 100% Desi)

Way back in 1981, India saw the birth of its great pride and joy, Maruti Suzuki. People marveled at the first Maruti

Omni and Maruti 800 rolling on the streets, where they had only glimpsed the dodgy old Hindustan Ambassador and

Premier Padmini cars before.

• Largest car manufacturer

• Domestic car market share close to 40%.

• 14 car models that come in more than 200 variants

Production capability: 1.55 million units every year, from 5 large plants in Haryana (Gurgaon and Manesar areas).

HYUNDAI (Comes to us from South Korea)

Hyundai Motors comes to us from South Korea in 1996. By then, Maruti Suzuki was reigning monopoly over the

passenger car segment. However, this almost unknown brand made a name for itself quickly. Hyundai's Santro was
`

a runaway hit and was the start of HMIL's career in India.

• Second largest automobile manufacturer in India

• Largest automobile exporter in India

• Domestic car market share close to 20%

Manufacture range

• 10 passenger vehicle models (only petrol variants): i10, Eon, Xcent, Grand i10, Elite i20, Verna
Fludic 4S, Active i20, Neo Elantra, Creta and Santa Fe
Production capability: 2 plants in India, each producing 300,000 units per annum

Range Of Services

Maruti Suzuki
• Dealerships: 950 in 666 locations across India
• Authorized Maruti and franchised service stations and dealer workshops: 3,060 in 1,454
locations across India
• Maruti Highway Express Service Stations: 30, each located on a National Highway passing
through 1,436 cities. Service center personnel are trained by Maruti and deployed across India.
Service is provided to all stranded Maruti vehicles, irrespective of warranty status.
• Maruti car insurance: Maruti's own wide-ranging car insurance products backed by National
Insurance Company, Bajaj Allianz, New India Assurance and Royal Sundaram. Maruti
welcomes Non-Maruti car insurance owners to renew their insurance renewed from Maruti
Suzuki as well.
• Maruti car finance: Maruti is tied up with more than 37 banks and financial institutions, to
provide exclusive car finance assistance to Maruti car buyers.
• Maruti TrueValue: Maruti car owners can buy, sell or exchange their used Maruti Suzuki
vehicles at great deals.
• Maruti accessories: Genuine Maruti accessories compatible with every make and model of
Maruti cars in the market are available at every Maruti dealer, workshop and service center
across India.
• Maruti Driving School: Students are training using simulators, along with theory sessions,
before actual driving lessons are given. Maruti Suzuki driving schools also teach proper road
behavior, attitudes and the correct handling of road-rage drivers.
`

Hyundai
• Dealerships: 415 authorized dealers across India
• Service centers: 1100 service centers across India
• Hyundai car insurance: Hyundai offers only third-party car insurance from insurance
companies.
• Hyundai car finance: Hyundai assists its buyers to avail of third-party car finance assistance
from different banks
• Hyundai roadside assistance: 24/7 complimentary road-side assistance to Hyundai cars within
warranty.

Accessibility of Service Centers And Parts

Maruti Suzuki

• There's a Maruti Suzuki service center or workshop in every city or town.

• Genuine Maruti car accessories are manufactured indigenously and are easily and quickly
available at any Maruti showroom , workshop or service center.
• Maruti manufactures both petrol and diesel variants, which allows buyers to purchase the
variant they can maintain comfortably. Hyundai
• Cost of spares and accessories is high, as many of them are still being manufactured in South
Korea.
• Car maintenance is a problem with Hyundai, as they manufacture only petrol variants. Buyers
who convert their petrol vehicles to diesel variants find it that the car's value goes down.

Generic Comparison Points

• Maruti Suzuki cars enjoy higher resale retail value, when compared to Hyundai cars
• Maruti Suzuki vehicles are low maintenance, given easy parts accessibility and availability of
both diesel and petrol variants
• Maruti Suzuki employs high-grade fuel efficient technology in its vehicles; this feature is not
available in Hyundai's manufacturing process
`

GENERAL COMPARISON BETWEEN MODELS

1- I20 vs swift-
`

2- ALTO VS EON-
`

3- BREEZA VS CRETA-

4- I20 VS BALENO-
`

en auto-related subsidiaries and affiliates.

Hyundai Motor, which exported its first independently-made vehicle, the Pony, in 1976, now exports over
one million high-quality vehicles ranging from sedans, SUVs, trucks and buses.
In 2010, Hyundai Motor sold about 3.6 million cars worldwide, up 16.3 percent from 2009.
Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s largest automaker, sold 659,565 cars in the Korean domestic market in
2010, reaching a market share of about 45 percent. Outside Korea, the company sold about 2.9 million
cars in 2010 in over

186 countries through some 5,300 dealers.

Global Operations What is Nexa

Nexa is a retail network from Maruti Suzuki that caters the high-end consumers who have gone beyond
their first cars and are now looking for an experience. It offers a high level of sophistication and is based
on the principles of exclusivity, pampering and listening to the consumer.
But creating Nexa was a mammoth task for both the brand and Hakuhodo India team, the agency
entrusted with the responsibility of creating Nexa. On to the drawing board, the agency had to revisit the
entire journey of customer’s experience while buying a Maruti.

Elvis Sequeira, COO, Hakuhodo India, shares that they aimed at creating a different mindset and imagery
for Maruti. “Nexa is for a well travelled consumer who is digitally savvy, updated and seeks a world class
experience while buying a car. After research, we found that the Maruti’s popular retail channel is not
`

equipped for it and hence a separate channel was needed,” adds Sequeira. S Cross was the first car
launched at Nexa and was followed by Ciaz Hybrid and Baleno Hatchback. Sequeira points that the cars
sold from Nexa will not be sold at the popular Maruti dealerships.

As Maruti Suzuki is a pan India brand, Nexa needed to have a similar presence. The thought posed
several questions for the stakeholders as Nexa wasn’t meant cannibalize Maruti’s existing small car
market and it shouldn’t disturb the dealer-brand relationship.

Sequeira pointed that Nexa’s idea got a great response from both brand and agency. “We had to get it
completely right because if we did not, then it would have hampered the brand’s image, which it had
created after years of great services,” shared Sequeira.

“The biggest problem in designing Nexa was that it could not just be better than an existing model. It had
to be completely different, something that was never thought and done before,” elucidated Sequeira.

Employing over 78,000 people worldwide, Hyundai Motor is implementing a new global policy aimed at
localization. Th NEXA MODEL CIAZ includes product development, design, sales,
marketing, and consumer services to satisfy local customers’ tastes as well as that of the global market.
Currently Hyundai Motor has six overseas plants in the U.S., India, China, Turkey, the Czech Republic
and Russia. The company will add a seventh
`

plant by 2012, in Brazil. Hyundai Motor today has a combined global production capacity of about 3.91
million units a year (Korea Domestic: 1.86 million / Overseas: 2.05 million).Koo
COMMON MARKETING STRATEGIES OF
AUTOMOBILE COMPANIES

Advertising in News papers and Magazines:-

In this companies advertise about the car in various

local newspapers like Economic times and they give
detail explanation about the feature of the cars,
keeping customer’s requirement. They also provide
various dealers addresses and contact numbers for
reference. Company also tries to advertise through
various magazines like Auto Cars, Overdrive, etc.

Grand Launch :-
`

Recently Tata Nano car was grandly launched and created a buzz in market. After the
launch media aggressively took interest in providing the minute details about the car to
the customer by showing test drives, etc.
Once the car is launched they give adds in every possible newspaper, car magazines, put
hoardings, display car models in the malls.

Company provides exchange offers to customers :-

This is one of the most effective ways adopted by the companies and very successful
marketing strategy, which has helped company increase their sales.
In this method, companies provide option to buy a new car of your choice in exchange of
their old cars, but the price of old car is decided by the dealer by looking at its condition.
It helps customers, as they don’t need to go anywhere else to sell their old car. This also
helps companies to increase their sale of new cars.

Adding Star Value to product- Brand Ambassador :-

Companies choose brand ambassadors for their cars to reach wide masses. For e.g.
Shahrukh Khan promotes Hyundai, Abhishek Bachan promoted Ford Fiesta, Saif Ali
Khan and Rani Mukherjee promoted Chevrolet Aveo and Amir Khan promoted Toyota
Innova. Ambassadors give a special identity to the products.

 Companies have started sponsoring reality shows for

better visibility :-

As we all know reality shows are making all time big in television and entertainment
industry. This is really a smart move by automobile companies to gain visibility through
`

reality shows. The reality shows are aired all over the world and huge number of people
watch it. So companies sponsor such shows and get noticed.E.g. Maruti sponsored India’s
Got Talent show on Colors channel and gifted Ritz to the winner. Indian Idol winner was
also gifted with Maruti SX4.

MALL DISPLAYS

Various companies display their cars in Malls so as to get prime attention. People go in Malls
for shopping and hangouts with their friends and family. They conduct small contests and
give gift hampers as prize. Thus they try to attract crowd towards them.

Companies enter market with help of Movies

`

In terms of marketing strategies Chevrolet Aveo found a unique way of

advertising by way of a Yash Raj Film production, Tara Rum Pum. The main motive
behind this was to popularize and promote the product in youth.

Companies Sponsor Go- Karting events

Go-karting events are really booming up among young crowd. And that’s the reason we
see craze for participating in go-karting events is on high. People have started taking
interest in the sport and huge crowds turn up for such events. But for sure car companies
would to not like to miss chance of visibility they get in such competitions.Few years
before Maruti Suzuki sponsored Autocross rally. Similarly Tata Engenieering has
sponsored Narayan Kartikeyan as India’s Entry in to the World Series motorcar racing.

Personal selling
`

Personal Selling largely takes place at the Dealers’ End. The way customer is attended
depends mainly on the Dealer as he acts as an interface between the company and the
Consumer. The various cases in which Personal Selling takes place is Individual Sales,
Corporate Sales, Sales Presentations, Fair and trade Shows. Mostly in case of Individual
Sales the Customer goes to the showroom and takes a look at the product. There he is
attended to by the Sales Personnel of the Dealership. Sometimes the Senior Sales
Executive has to make Sales Presentation to Corporate Buyers. Personal Selling is also
practiced at Trade Fairs and Auto Shows wherein the Company appointed Sales
Personnel attend prospective customers and also book their orders.

Market Share Of Automobile Companies

Above market share graph shows us that in automobile industry still Maruti Suzuki is
enjoying highest market share. And then comes companies like TATA and Hyundai Motors
India Ltd.
`

Marketing Strategies used by Maruti Suzuki

 Advertisements

Good promotional strategy is adopted by Maruti Suzuki to transform its thoughts to the
people about its products by marketing through advertisement in television, radio,
newspaper, etc.
Through radios they try to promote their product by organizing quiz contests and the
person who wins are offered special discounts, gift vouchers, coupons, etc.
Through television they promote their vehicle by showing the utility value, its comfort
level.

Some of the strategies used for cars were:-

Baleno: “Missed the flight catch Baleno” The most comfortable Car even in long drives.
Esteem: “My Daddy’s Big Car” Affordable mid size car

Alto: “Lets Go” The fuel efficient and affordable car

After Sales Service:- “Kya yahan Maruti Service Station hai”

Availibility of service stations even in the remotest place in the country.

Display
`

If you visit any of the Maruti Dealers showroom what you will notice is one thing very
similar, that is the display. They display only 2-3 cars in the showroom. Well this is the
strategy to make people concentrate on only few choices otherwise they might get
distract and get confused. Here Maruti wins one customer.

Tie up with many banks

To promote its bottom line growth, Maruti launched Maruti Finance in Jan 02.
Prior to the start of this service Maruti had started two joint ventures – Citicorp Maruti
and Maruti countrywide with Citi Group and GE Countrywide
respectively to assist its client in securing loan.
Today Maruti has tie ups with ABN Amro Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Ltd, Kotak
Mahindra Bank, Standard Chartered Bank etc.

Exchange offers

Maruti has also placed its step and progress by marketing through exchange offers. In this
it makes possible to leave and get it replaced for a new one with barely some amount.
This is one of the greatest ways to attract more and more customers and also makes
possible to increase sales.

SBI Maruti Car Loans

The country’s largest bank and the largest car maker have joined hands to make
affordable car finance available to more and more people across the country. The mega
alliance makes car loans available at lower interest rates to a wider section of people,
with transparent terms and conditions.

The unbeatable advantages of SBI Maruti car loans:-

`

 Two market leaders in their respective industries with trusted brand names.

 Low interest rates

 No processing fees or hidden costs to ensure transparency.

 Car loans available for diverse categories of customers including govt. employees and
agriculturist.

Marketing Strategies of Hyundai

Advertisements
Hyundai had used Bollywood star Sharukh Khan as Brand Ambassador for promoting
their car. Through this they tried to attract the customers.

To promote their product they organized quiz contests on radio and the person who wins was
offered special discounts, gift vouchers, coupons, etc.
`

They also advertise in Newspapers. In this companies advertise about the car in various
newspapers and they give detail explanation about the feature of the cars, keeping customer’s
requirement. They also provide various dealers addresses and contact numbers for reference.
d capacity of about 1.86 million units a year. The plants are located in Ulsan, Asan and Jeonju.
The Ulsan plant is the world’s single largest automobile plant. The mammoth-sized Ulsan complex
sits on Free checkups

Hyundai arranges free checkups from time to time in which they check for any problem
and advice to visit the nearest service center for servicing. This helps in maintaining good
relationship with customers and tries to keep good image in market.

Exchange offers
As Hyundai deals in second hand cars also. They offer exchange offers to customers. And
by paying adjusted amount customer can get brand new car in exchange of old once.
`

Exchange offer makes customer happy as they don’t have to pay full amount also, they
get new car also and their old car gets replaced also with new one.

Cold callings

In this type of strategies old customers are given a relationship call just to know some
other references. This gives a boost to sales and customers also feel a sense of
involvement. Hyundai gets maximum sale through such type of cold callings only.

Events at Corporate Office and Banks

Hyundai tries to attract customers by conducting camps, events at corporate offices and
bank as most of the customers are of middle-age group and corporate offices are good
source for company to attract such customers.

Display

Hyundai keeps attractive display so that maximum number of people gets noticed. And
they even keep their own accessories related to cars at special accessories counter. For
attractive display they decorate their showroom as well as all the cars which are
displayed.
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REVIEW OF LITREATURE

Review of literature forms an integral as well as an essential part of modern research

studies. No research study is considered complete unless an extensive literature
review is made by the researcher. The basic purpose of undertaking this exercise is
to find the research gap between, studies conducted so far or literature available, and
also to finalize precisely the topic of research and to get insight into the research
topic selected for study. In this sense this exercise becomes a sort of exploratory
research.

Keeping these facts in view researcher has undertaken an extensive exercise of

literature review and came to the conclusion though some books are available on the
topics related to the research topic chosen by the researcher, but all of these have been
written in some other perspectives and none of these are having direct relation to the
topic of this research. In fact researcher intended to examine the sustainability of
small cars in Indian automobile sector, in the light of new developments taking place
in the Indian auto sector like introduction of big cars by number of auto
manufacturers in Indian market in the recent past, increase in personal and disposable
income, better and improved road conditions, shift in consumer’s behavior from to
save to consume, easy financing and loan facility, installment payment facility, status
symbol, etc. These facts also lead to a query that whether small car will be able to
withstand in the market and will it be the preferred choice of Indian car buyers. None
of the books researcher gone through has been written from this perspective.
Similarly a number of research studies have been conducted on the subject related to
research topic, some of these have studied the consumer/buyer behavior of these cars,
some of the have studied some other aspects, like environmental sustainability or
economic sustainability, but none of them have studied from the angle , researcher
intended to study.
`

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Data for this study was collected by means of a Survey conducted. The sample size was 10. The
Questionnaire was used mainly to test the model proposed for factor affecting consumer decision
making in online shopping. The types of research were both exploratory as well as Descriptive
have been employed.

DEFINITION OF RESEARCH DESIGN:

“It is a basic plan, which guides the data collection and analysis phases of the project. It is a
frame work, which specifies the type of information to be collected, the resources of data
collection procedure”.
A research design is a market plan or model or model for conduction a formal investigation. It is
a specification of methods and procedures for acquiring the information needed for solving of
any problem. Research design is the strategy for a study and the plan by which the strategy is to
be carried out. It specifies the methods and procedures for collection, measurement and analysis
of data. Unfortunately, there is no simple classification of research designs that covers the
variation found in practice.

Research Design:-

This study has been incorporated both exploratory as well as descriptive research design.

Sample Design
The sample size used for the study is 10. Responses Collected from 10 respondents.
Data Sources
 Primary data: Data collected through structured questionnaire from the respondents
 Secondary data includes the information obtained from the existing research reports, surveys,
journals or magazines regarding consumer approach towards automobile sales..
`

The report of (FICCI-2007) specified the overview of automotive industry of India and explained the
added advantages of automobile industry in India. According to this article India has high potential of
automobile industry, which contributes 4%GDP in Indian economy. Indian automobile industry offers
different types of automobiles such as cars, scooters, bikes, busses, trucks, jeeps, tractors and all types of
two wheelers, three wheelers as well as four wheelers.

Indian automobile industry includes nearly 500 huge firms as well as 1000 small scare registered firms
that are offering automobile services to the customers. India is having huge benefits because of managing
automobile industries as its major sector and it is getting many technological benefits, cost and manpower
advantages etc.

The Auto Ancillary Industry is the world famous R&D test center in India for automobile verifications
that can be considered as one of the competitive advantage to Indian automobile industry. According to
the World automobile statistics, India is the fast growing market sector for cars in the year 2004 and it is
the second largest two wheeler market sector in the world and third largest three wheeler dealer in the
world. According to this statistics India is the fourth largest market, which is having high tractor sales in
the world.

Research work is required in order to specify the detailed statistics on these aspects that reveals the
standard of Indian automobile industry in the world.

The information and statistics on Indian automobile industry is included in this article, which can be
considered as the most significant aspect in the entire research process. 

According to the report of KPM (2010) Indian automobile industry is a developed industry that is having
high opportunities when we compare among the others industries. Indian market is an open door for many
opportunities and it is having wide range of employment opportunities. Because of presence of  a higher
population the work prospects are also high which is allowing Indian customers to depend on vehicles to
manage their daily activities. These reasons lead to huge demand for automobile vehicles in India and for
this reason many automobile companies are offering wide range of vehicles according to customer
preferences. This article even explained the significant information on automobile sector of India and
even specified the information on growth and development of Indian automobile industry. The
information on short term and long term sectors of Indian automobile industries are explained clearly.

The future work is required in order to give a clear idea on developmental factors that lead to
development of Indian auto industry.

The significant information on Indian automobile industry is described in this article, which is significant
aspect for research process. 
`

Introduction to Automotive Manufacturing The automotive sector is one of the most important
economic catalysts in every country (Orsato and Wells, 2007). It creates direct and indirect industry
covering almost all products of steel, rubber, plastics and electronics. According to Jahanzaib (2008),
66.5 million passengers and commercial vehicles were produced in the world, with the installed
capacity of 85 million. A more recent report by OICA (2011) shows that the production has increased
by 15% to 78 million vehicles. A typical automotive project will require direct and indirect human
resources from many functional organisations and facilities such as workers, suppliers, consultants
and partners spread across the country and throughout the world. According to Hallgren and Olhager
(2009), increased competition, global markets, and more challenging customers are all contributing
factors that should be the main focus of today‟s business environment. Automotive projects require
dedicated expert team of designers, engineers, planners and managers in order to control schedule,
costs, delivery, regulations and customer needs. Traditionally, the processes of developing a new
model were sequenced from the design stage until the product launch (Gao et al., 2000). This
approach is too risky because once a problem happens it would affect the next stage of the process
and would deteriorate the total program. Therefore, companies are likely to apply innovative features
to avoid the delays of the program within a stream of new products and platforms (Beaume et al.,
2008). 33 An automotive program begins with conceptual stage whereby design and business strategy
concepts are blended based on current market desire and demand. Normally, this is the work of
styling group who transform the current needs and business perspective into a product concept sketch
(Kumar et al., 2006). A typical car making process is illustrated in Figure 3.1. Figure 3.1: Product
Development Stages (Mohamed et al., 2005) The concept should consider the fundamental
characteristics of the planned model, such as style, physical dimensions, image, options, and
performance specifications. From the sketches, the clay modellers use this information to create
detailed interior and exterior models of the vehicle that will physically represent the styling creativity
into reality. The physical model will be carefully studied by other development team members from
body design, equipment design, manufacturing, and potential part suppliers. This is to provide
feedback to the styling and clay model team on the feasibility and limitations of manufacturing the
vehicle and provide suggestions for improvement. After the refinement process is completed, the clay
will be digitised for the purpose of detailed product design. At the product and process development
stage, product engineers will start to design hundreds of individual new parts such as doors, hood,
roof and tailgate. With the current trend of speed to market, some of the parts are carryover parts
especially the inner parts and floors that are hardly noticed by customers (Ghosh and Morita, 2008).
Although it saves cost, this concept is a challenge to product engineers to manipulate the new parts
that fix together and attach to the existing parts. Later, by using soft tooling process, these parts will
be produced and assembled together to 34 form a prototype car. The purpose of prototype car is to
check abnormalities to the parts fitting, assembly process, and testing. Concurrently, production
engineers and suppliers use the completed product designs to design and build production tools to suit
high volume output (Orsato and Wells, 2007). These tools are comprised of dies, moulds, and other
similar devices that transform raw materials such as steel, rubber, plastics and glass into loose
finished parts. In addition, assembly tools will act to weld or fasten two or more parts together into
sub-assemblies, main assembly and finally transform into complete products. Checking fixtures act as
measuring tools to confirm the parts are according to their designed specifications and dimensions.
Process validation stage is the stage of production trials take place. Prior to the trials, all the facilities
and machines need to be installed to cater for the new requirements especially if the line is to
accommodate for different models. Once the installation is finished, pilot trials will take place to
evaluate and certify the ability of the entire production process that combines people and machines to
produce quality products as intended at the beginning of the development stage. Finally, the
production of the car will be commenced once all the requirements have passed the standards and
procedures of the company. This is the critical time for the company to monitor the performance of
the production line as well as the quality of the produced cars. Feedback from production site,
vendors and customers will help the company to perform a thorough study for continuous
improvement, not only for the product development but also the production set-up. This is in line with
Toyota Production System (TPS) which supports and encourages people to continuously improve the
process that they work on (Liker, 2004). 35 3.2 High Volume Automotive Manufacturing (HVAM)
The development costs for automotive models have increased over the years due to the unavoidable
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resource costs such as raw material, labour and services. Hence, automakers are extensively doing
research on how to reduce these costs. One attempt is to reduce the number of platforms, as suggested
by Kim (2003). The idea is to have a multiple vehicle variant of a single platform. By implementing
this concept, many parts can be shared between car models which reduce the tooling costs
tremendously. High Volume Automotive Manufacturing (HVAM) involves many high technology
tools ranging from such as dies, jigs and robots. Using this platform commonisation technique
undoubtedly reduces cost, time to market and quality as well as more choice to end users. Platform
means the main framework of cars which are normally comprised of floorpan, drive train and axles,
as cited by Ghosh and Morita (2008). According to them, there are three types of platform sharing.
The first is different products with similar quality levels such as Mitsubishi Endeavour and Galant,
and Honda CR-V and Civic 2. The second type is the platform sharing across manufacturers such as
Nissan Micra and the Renault Clio. The third type is the platform sharing across multiple products
with different quality levels or better known as vertically differentiated products within a
manufacturer and across manufacturers. Toyota Land Cruiser/Lexus LX 470, and Honda CR-V/Acura
RDX.3 are the examples platforms within the manufacturer. On the other hand, Porshe‟s Cayenne
and Volkswagen‟s Touareg 4, are the examples of platform sharing across manufacturers. On the
specific manufacturer‟s approach, according to Cleveland (2006b), Toyota has implemented an
approach known as set-based concurrent engineering. 36 The approach is basically a set of database
of designs for various car components. By applying this approach, multiple design alternatives are
created for each subcomponent instead of a single design variant. They can easily change the design
by selecting the alternative if the chosen design fails during simulation performance. General Motors
(GM) for instance introduced a Global Manufacturing System (GMS) with the aim of improving
safety, quality, productivity and cost. The system stresses the value of teamwork and of an
empowered environment. This means people at the shop floor control their working area and this
embeds the spirit of the company‟s goal. GM realized that by having this GMS, everyone‟s
experiences and insights are valued (Flores, 2003). This working culture has existed in Toyota
Production System (TPS), whereby people are selected and expected to be employees for life. Toyota
has been very selective in hiring the right people, at the right amount, in the right form and at the right
time (Liker and Hoseus, 2008). By having these values in people at Toyota, the goal of having quality
car, lower cost and speed to market can be achieved. In the car assembly method, Toyota has
introduced the so called “Toyota Global Body” approach. The concept is to use the common welding
jigs for different platforms, meaning that, the master jig can accommodate any model variants from
the same production line without the need to change jigs. The approach is duplicated at all Toyota
plants in the world so that the output will be the same regardless of plant locations (Brown, 2004). In
the HVAM sector, automobile manufacturers have introduced new approaches to reduce cost,
increase quality and shorten the timing especially in the area of method and machine. In HVAM, a
break-even point of 250,000 units per annum is considered the lowest volume that a manufacturer
must produce or 80% 37 capacity utilisation of 300,000 units per annum (Orsato and Wells, 2007).
These figures place continuing pressure on the manufacturers to cut cost and seek new alternatives to
meet the target. One alternative is to use the mixed model assembly lines to produce different product
models with different processing time for a low volume manufacturing scheme (Heike et al., 2001).
According to them, key elements for this type of assembly are flexible fixtures, flexible tooling, and a
multiskilled workforce. 3.3 Low Volume Automotive Manufacturing (LVAM) Automotive
manufacturing sector globally is increasingly becoming a competitive industry which requires new
car models at a lower cost, but at higher quality (Miguel, 2006). Current market trends require faster
product development, lower cost and higher quality products (Nagahanumaiah et al., 2008). Niche car
models such as luxury, sports and special purpose vehicles are one of the viable strategies to sustain
the market choices, which is achieved through Low Volume Automotive Manufacturing (LVAM),
defined as 25,000 – 30,000 units per annum. The normal route of car making processes is not suitable
to be implemented for LVAM, because the normal route involves higher costs and longer project
scheduling. Niche models of LVAM require high customisation, especially when related to design
concepts, manufacturing methods, and suppliers (Meichsner, 2009). Automotive design normally
requires experts who know the entire automotive production system starting from design concept,
tooling making and production requirements. To develop these experts requires time, resources and
trainings that are normally the manufacturer‟s bottleneck. According to Udin (2006), Khan and 38
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Wibisono (2008), and Nawawi (2009), it is essential to have a systematic tool for generic design in
automotive industry such as Knowledge Based System in order to achieve the manufacturing
demands and the high standards of production quality. 3.3.1 Automotive Design Concept Product
creation processes or design concepts are the steps that generate insights into opportunities and focus
on activities that help to prevent failures (Uffmann et al., 2006). The automotive industry should
consider various aspects such as technology, manufacturing, regulations, suppliers and customers.
According to Yadav and Goel (2008), vehicle attributes such as fuel economy, emission, vehicle
dynamics, performance, NVH (noise, vibration and harshness), aerodynamics, climate control,
packaging, cost, and weight are the characteristics or requirements needed in automotive industry.
Therefore, it is important to integrate these attributes with the identified customer, corporate, and
regulatory requirements into a vehicle concept such as LVAM. Yadav and Goel (2008) suggested a
way to priotise these attributes by using the Customer Satisfaction (CS) gap that ranks the
improvement opportunities by multiplying a weight factor such as: ∆CSi = CS i (BC) – CS i (CV),
Equation (1) where ∆CSi is Customer Satisfaction (CS) difference between two vehicles for attribute
i; CSi (BC) is CS number of the best in class vehicle for a given attribute; 39 and CSi (CV) is CS
number of company‟s current vehicle. The weight factor is a function of qualitative factors: ω = f
(vision, goals, complexity, resource requirements, opportunities, etc) Equation (2) The weight factor
above is a function of qualitative input factors, therefore Equation (2) can be used as a guideline by
the management or design teams to give due consideration to all appropriate input factors before
assigning weights to each attribute. As a result, the final prioritization ranking (PI) for attribute i is
calculated as: PIi = ωi ∆CSi . Equation (3) The attributes with higher prioritisation ranking offer
greater opportunity for improving overall CS as well as guide the company‟s planning. According to
Uffmann et al. (2006), the automotive design concept should also prioritise to reduce time for
producing a product in intended volume, with high level of quality and at competitive prices (time-to-
volume). Thus, a thorough studied concept ensures the product will be launched on the scheduled
date. Uffmann et al. (2006) stress the importance of overall timing as the profit of the new product
may be reduced by 30% if the time to market is delayed by six months, as illustrated in Figure 3.2. 40
Figure 3.2: The effect of problems on profit (Uffmann et al., 2006) Automotive manufacturing is a
volume driven industry which depends on particular volume to justify the production (Jahanzaib,
2008). Therefore, in the conceptual design stage, it is important to consider the right type of
manufacturing system to be used for all products including for LVAM model. According to Trappey
and Hsiao (2008), collaborative product design is one of the important aspect to be considered at this
stage. The concept of collaboration is that the project team members (comprising of experts,
engineers, managers and workers) can jointly work and focus on the same project in order to achieve
a common goal. This idea is shared by Forza et al. (2005), as they suggest the automotive companies
need to integrate product design, process design, and supply chain design decisions in order to stay
competitive. Design concept stage, as Ferrer et al. (2009) consider, is a stage to study the
manufacturing process constraints, capabilities and costs. Technologies to be used in the actual
process could also be finalised during this stage. Furthermore, the availability of manufacturing
information and knowledge will become key factor to achieve Design for Manufacturing (DFM) as
early as possible in order to avoid redesigns at the later stage, thereby reducing wastes and costs.
According to Shafia et al. (2009) common platform is one of the concept that maximise the
components sharing amongst several models except the differences in the outer skin of the 41 models.
Thus, the common platform throughout the chain promotes the resource sharing such as materials,
tools, processes and human resource (Shafia et al., 2009). This concept can help to reduce time
especially when dealing with large number of models and parts. The concept is practical for LVAM
because many parts are shared between the HVAM models (Sawyer, 2008). According to Riesenbeck
(2006), by applying this concept, not only can new product design be significantly reduced, but
product quality, technology used, components, modules and systems can also be integrated. As a
result, the manufacturer can adapt its volume to the target or niche market with significantly reduced
costs. The manufacturer who has the ability to produce this kind of product will have a major
advantage over the others. According to Alford et al. (2000), automotive manufacturers are able to
reduce investment cost in body fabrication process by applying the common platform concept.
Designers can focus on the exterior design and styling at relatively lower cost and timing to suit the
regional demands. He cited an example from the Ford Puma project which was based on the Ford
`

Fiesta platform. The model was delivered to market in 17 months from concept to production,
showing how a profitable niche markets could be rapidly produced from a high-volume vehicle.
Another product design concept is customisation or the tailored product. Customisation allows the
possibility of cars to be custom-made, not only by mixing and matching standard components but by
actually customizing the shape and style of components, new materials and production processes
(Seidel et al., 2005). There are two types of customisations; mass customisation and core
customisation. Selladurai (2004), suggested that “mass customisation refers to a process of production
of goods and services tailored to suit the needs of customers in a mass 42 market”. The concept is
being practiced by major companies like Dell, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, General Motors, Ford,
Chrysler, Toyota, Proctor and Gamble. With the availability of rapid manufacturing technologies,
parts and products can be made very quickly to customer specifications at affordable prices.
According to Seidel et al. (2005), the sales process also need to be changed from the traditional
„„mass‟‟ dealers to individual „„style advisors‟‟. The advisors will help the customer to choose the
right design for their personal requirements. Core customisation, on the other hand involves the
potential customer with the design process of the vehicle and is only applicable in LVAM and niche
vehicles (Alford et al., 2000). In this concept, customers can discuss their specific requirements with
the design team to have the special features of their tastes. Alford et al. (2000), gives an example of
Land Rover that manufactures classic all-terrain vehicles, offers optional features available to the
customer to satisfy individual preferences. Core customisation also occurs between low-volume niche
car manufacturers and their customers, as the nature of the manufacturing process allows customers
to modify designs to suit individual preferences. 3.3.2 Product/Tooling Design In automotive
industry, there are two types of designs, namely product design and tooling design. Product design is
related to the parts of the entire automotive body and chassis structure such as side panel, doors,
hood, doors that total up to more than 300 parts (Qiu and Chen, 2007). Tooling design is related to the
tools required for transforming the material into parts such as dies and moulds. Tooling design is also
required for body assembly fixtures fabrication. Normally, the 43 automotive manufacturers design
the parts according to their own specifications, systems and requirements (Park et al., 2001).
According to Trappey and Hsiao (2008), upon completion of the product design, Primary
Manufacturing Enterprise (PME) or the automotive manufacturer will find suppliers to fulfil the
product design with detailed tooling design. The suppliers or System Manufacturing Company (SMC)
will design according to the requirements, fabricate the tools and produce the parts. SMC also has
collaborative suppliers to supply components, parts and materials. This concept is illustrated in Figure
3.3, and consists of three tiers of participants; primary manufacturing enterprise (PME), system
manufacturing company SMC, and SMC‟s suppliers. The system involves design phase and
production phase that works in close loop such that PME set the system requirement and production
order, SMC and suppliers will respond accordingly. Figure 3.3: Current connection of automotive
supply chain in design and production phases (Trappey and Hsiao, 2008) González-Benito and Dale
(2001) suggested that suppliers need to be involved in the early design stage with the automotive
manufacturers in order to share ideas, improve quality and innovation. However, close partnership
with suppliers during 44 product development need to be very careful to avoid the information
leakage by restricting the information only to their specific components (Harmancioglu, 2009).
Therefore, the possibility of the information leakage of the entire projects is minimised. 3.3.3
Manufacturing The manufacturing process for automotive industry is normally complicated,
expensive, long and risky (Nobelius, 2004). However, different companies have various strategies to
achieve their goal (Crawford and Bryce, 2003) such as platform sharing (Kim, 2003), data base
design (Cleveland, 2006b), lean manufacturing system (Flores, 2003) and common tooling (Brown,
2004). For LVAM, the manufacturing environment is different from the HVAM because the nature of
LVAM is slower in production speed compared to mass production, hence, there must be a new
approach to shorten the processes without compromising on the quality, cost and delivery of the car.
Those approaches will be discussed in the following sections. 3.3.3.1 Material Material is one of the
most important aspects in every manufacturing industry. Due to the low volume environment, the
correct choice of material will definitely become an advantage to this automotive segment. According
to Cui et al. (2008), generally, the car body and its interior accumulate for about 40 % of the total
vehicle weight. Multi-material designs provide more opportunities for weight saving and 45 lower
cost compared to single-material structures. Multi-material combination method provides
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opportunities for designers to fully exploit the benefits of each material and achieve the optimal
production efficiencies. The application of new materials such as carbon fibre–polymer composites
for Body-In-White (BIW) closure steel panels has successfully reduced weight (Turner et al., 2008).
According to Turner, LVAM can take the advantage of this material because it has only become cost
effective for small and mid-volume production levels of up to 500 parts per annum. As an example,
BMW has adopted a thermo plastic composite for its low volume M3 model‟s underbody shields
(Jacob, 2008). The advantage of this material is its lightweight, optimised aerodynamic, corrosion
resistance and fuel efficiency (Sapuan et al., 2005). Besides that, BMW also uses thermoplastic
polyester for the front frame of sunroof for BMW Series 1 and 3 models (Jacob, 2005). In another
application of material for LVAM approach, Hypercar, Inc. uses carbon-fiber composite body
structure as the basis for design, fabrication, and assembly of the Revolution concept car (Cramer and
Taggart, 2002). Glassreinforced sheet moulding compound (SMC) is chosen for the material due to
its ability to be stamped into shapes which make it much lower in capital costs relative to steel.
According to Cramer and Taggart (2002), with the aims of having low-cost fabrication and assembly,
each part is designed to reduce sharp edges, shallow draws, enhance repeatability, and eliminate the
need for labour-intensive pre and postprocess steps. Through this concept, the body structure is 57%
lighter than a conventional steel body structure of the same size and yet offers better crash protection,
better stiffness and favourable thermal and acoustic properties. Furthermore, it is a very suitable
concept for LVAM because according to Fuchs et 46 al. (2008), the cost competitiveness for this
approach is achieved at annual production volumes of 30,000 or less. Then direct substitutions of
glass-reinforced composites for steel components for body-in-white are likely to reduce costs.
Grujicic et al. (2009), suggest that polymer–metal-hybrid (which is the combination of two classes of
materials into a singular component/sub-assembly) should be fully utilised for automotive
components such as Rear Cross Roof Beam as in Figure 3.4. It works by placing a stamped part in an
injection mould in order to coat its underside with a thin layer of reinforced nylon. The benefits from
this method among others are reduction of the number of components, production of the integrated
components ready to assemble, and weight reduction compared to the allmetal parts. Furthermore, the
hollow core of the part allows functional integration such as cable housings, air or water channels.
Figure 3.4: A rear cross-roof beam with the adjoining side brackets analyzed in the present work: (a)
the all-metal design and (b) the PMH rendition (Grujicic et al., 2009) 47 In the recent study by
Borsellino and Bella (2009), biomimetic cellular cores of recycled paper is used to form sandwich
materials for interior applications such as door trim panels, headliners, package trays and trunk floors
panels as in Figure 3.5. However, this technique is only suitable for use in non-structural components
because of its failure during the impact test. Figure 3.5: Automotive components (Borsellino and
Bella, 2009) 3.3.3.2 Tooling and Process In automotive manufacturing plant, there are four major
shops that have different functions in the manufacturing processes, namely; stamping shop, body
shop, paint shop, and trim and final shop. However, according to Joly and Frein (2008), production
process involve three shops: the body shop, the paint shop and the assembly shop. This is because the
stamping shop in the automotive environment is separated from the main production line and has its
own production line that produces stamped parts. These parts will be transported to the body shop for
assembly process at the main line based on the scheduled date. 48 3.3.3.2.1 Stamping In the stamping
shop, stamping dies are required to produce 250-300 of the automotive body-in-white parts (Sweeney
and Grunewald, 2003). Stamping process transforms flat sheets into a complex geometry parts
including various forming, cutting and bending techniques (Shivpuri and Zhang, 2009). According to
Nakagawa (2000), in general, metal forming is suitable for high volume production, but not for low
volume production. This is because each part shape requires individual die to form the geometry
resulting in high costs. However, the press sheet forming is still a very practical method to produce a
part even for small lot production. There are options for new forming process that are more cost
effective such as laser forming (Jeswiet et al., 2008), spray forming (Yang and Hannula, 2008),
incremental forming (Jeswiet et al., 2008), hydro-forming (Yuan et al., 2006), and roll forming
(Thuillier et al., 2008). Normally, a particular part requires different process dies: draw die, trim die,
pierce die and flanging die. LVAM manufacturer can take advantage of these options by developing
only the forming die to form the shape of the part quickly and inexpensively (Nakagawa, 2000). This
will avoid the fabrication of dies for the following processes such as trimming and flanging. These
processes can be done manually as well as flexible automation of laser cutter (Qiu and Chen, 2007)
`

and bending machine (Nakagawa, 2000). These flexible processes will give options to the
manufacturers to maximise their output and minimise the process (and hence costs). Tooling cost for
LVAM is one of the major concerns among the automotive producers. Cleveland (2005), suggested
that soft tooling that is normally used to 49 produce prototype parts is designed so that the tooling can
reliably produce parts in the 15,000 to 20,000 range. Normally the soft tooling is made of soft casted
material compared to the high carbon steel for high volume tooling. Cleveland (2005) also suggested
another option which is to lean down the design of high volume tooling that is targeted to run 750,000
parts and above so that it can run for several thousand parts. One way to reduce the cost is to reduce
the number of parts through the combination of different thickness of material known as tailor welded
blanks (TWB) (Jeswiet et al., 2008). This technique combines two or more sheet materials together
by using laser welding prior to the stamping process (Shi et al., 2007). The sheets of identical or
different materials of strengths, thicknesses or coating types represent different parts that are
combined to become a single part. According to Gaied et al. (2009), a typical application of TWBs is
the Door Inner as in Figure 3.6. The function of the inner reinforcements is replaced by combining
two blank pieces with different thicknesses into a single Door Inner blank. Then, the combined part is
transformed to become a formed panel in stamping process. Qiu and Chen (2007), suggested that by
adopting TWB technique, 66% of the total number of body and chassis parts are reduced. Hence,
TWB can significantly reduce weight, process and cost besides create the opportunity to maximise
the consumption of material. Laser forming technique is another solution for forming automotive
body parts. According to Jeswiet et al. (2008), a laser is used to assist in the forming processes by
directly heating the forming zone while the pressing rollers are used to form the sheet. It works by
placing the laser directly in front of the pressing rollers. This technique is suitable for LVAM because
it requires lower forming force compared to the conventional die, it increases the flexibility and it
also reduces the tool wear. 50 Figure 3.6: Door Inner based TWBs (a) developed blank and (b)
formed sheet (Gaied et al., 2009) Spray forming is another technique which is a rapid solidification
process of spray materials onto the ceramic mould. According to Yang and Hannula (2008), the
process starts by filling the metal in a tundish; the metal is then atomised by an inert gas into droplets
of 10–200µm in size, spraying at subsonic speed onto a ceramic mould as in Figure 3.7. In this
technique, the thickness of the metal layer is controlled by the duration of spray to ensure the
uniformity of thickness on the mould. By applying this concept for the dies inserts, the time and cost
are significantly reduced due to the rapid process of converting the molten alloy directly to a semi-
finished product (Yang and Hannula, 2008). Figure 3.7: Spray forming process (Yang and Hannula,
2008) 51 Another way to form a body part is by using a Single-Point Incremental Forming (SPIF)
technique. According to Jeswiet et al. (2008), SPIF as illustrated in Figure 3.8 uses a combination of
blank holder and a semi-spherical head forming tool to form a body part. According to Jackson and
Allwood (2009), this technique is flexible because specialised tooling is not required in the forming
process as the semi-spherical head tool moves over the surface of the sheet according to the tool path
computer numerical control (CNC) planning data resulting in a highly localised plastic deformation.
Figure 3.8: Single-point incremental sheet forming (Jeswiet et al., 2008) The tool trajectory is
generated from the CAD data of the part to be produced which can include a basic geometry
supporting die or not, depending on the complexity of the shape (Cerro et al., 2006). Therefore,
various 3D shapes can be formed by moving the forming tool according to a programmed path. The
main goal of this technique is to avoid the need to manufacture specialised and expensive dies
(Lamminen et al., 2003). Due to a long processing time, the application of SPIF is suitable for
automotive body parts such as prototype, low volume production 52 (Jeswiet et al., 2008); small
batch or customised production (Jackson and Allwood, 2009). Liquid pressure is also being applied in
metal forming industry, especially for small lots production of complex forming shapes (Alberti and
Fratini, 2004). This technique, illustrated in Figure 3.9, usually known as hydroforming or
hydromechanical forming processes which uses fluid counter pressure as female die. As the rigid
punch and the drawn cup enter into an enclosed liquid container, an opposing hydrostatic pressure of
the liquid is generated by pushing the drawn component against the punch which finally transforms it
into the desired shape. This not only produces the complex shapes but can also be applied for tube
hydroforming of hollow components with variable closed-sections (Yuan et al., 2006). Hydroforming
can reduce the number of parts and weight as well as improving their stiffness. According to
Nakagawa (2000), liquid pressure technique is able to reduce processes which proved difficult in
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conventional sheet forming methods. However, this technique is only applicable for the first drawing
process, the processes of trimming and bending are replaced by laser trimming and bending press.
Figure 3.9: Hydraulic counter pressure deep drawing (Nakagawa, 2000) 53 Roll forming is another
flexible process for forming a long body part that requires constant cross sections, as illustrated in
Figure 3.10. Sweeney and Grunewald (2003) mentioned that “roll forming is a continuous bending
operation in which flat sheet metal (from coils or pre-cut blanks) is plastically deformed along a
linear axis. Tandem sets of rolls shape the metal stock in a series of progressive stages until the
desired cross-section is obtained”. Roll forming is a continuous manufacturing process for a long part
passing through the tooling and cut into different lengths without changing the tool set-up. It is also
possible to change the geometry of the parts by simply changing the dies on the machine which
makes this technique cheaper compared to stamping and hydroforming (Sweeney and Grunewald,
2003). The typical applications of roll forming are bumpers, door beams, frame rails and roof bows.
Figure 3.10: Roller forming (Sweeney and Grunewald, 2003)
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DATA ANALYSIS
AND
INTERPRETATION
`

INTERPRETATIONS TO QUESTIONNAIRE

 Dealers Survey
Relation of Marketing Strategies and sales of product

 Maruti’s Survey:-
From the survey of 5 dealers it was found that every dealer positively replied that
marketing strategies had helped them to increase the sales of their product.
 Hyundai’s Survey:-
Even 5 Hyundai dealers positively replied that marketing strategies helped them
to increase the sales of their product.

Benefits of Marketing Strategy

 Maruti’s Survey:-
Dealers replied that from the various marketing strategies enquiries for the new
launches increases and thus indirectly sales. It also increases references and contacts.

 Hyundai’s Survey:-
Dealers replied that strategies created awareness amongst customers and increases
walkins.

1,200 acres and is Hyundai Motor’s main production plant, comprising five independent plants. It employs
over 34,000 workers capable of producing 5,600 vehicles daily. The plant also has its own port where up
to three 42,000 ton ships can anchor at the same time. The plant is the birthplace of the Korean
automobile industry and is a self-contained facility that operates its own fire station, hospital and security
vehicles. The plant is also equipped with cutting-edge facilities to protect the environment, such as a
waste water and sewage treatment facilities securing Hyundai Motor’s position as an eco-friendly
company.
Promotional Strategies
T

 Maruti’s Survey:-
`

Maruti dealers conduct various events at malls, at workshops and at near banks
and government offices. They also give advertisements in local newspapers and distribute
pamplets.

 Hyundai’s Survey:-
Dealers conduct cold callings i.e. calling old customers. They give advertisement
in papers, conduct roadshows and conduct service checkup camps. Gives exchange
offers.

Attraction of Customers

 Maruti’s Survey:-
Dealers replied that most of the customers are attracted through media
advertisements and mouth publicity and also through old references.

 Hyundai’s Survey: -
Dealers replied that most of the customers are attracted through references and
walk-ins and mouth publicity also helps in attracting customers to new product.

Promotion through Media

 Maruti’s Survey:-
`

Most of the dealers felt that media promotions are more attractive than other
medium because of its mass reach.

 Hyundai’s Survey:-
Hyundai dealers also had more positive reply for media publicity rather than
other mediums.

Effect of Grand Launch of a Car

 Maruti’s Survey:-
Dealers replied that grand launch of the car makes selling easy only in initial stage
but afterwards it depends on the product.

 Hyundai’s Survey:-
Dealers think that it helps to attract customer’s attention but afterwards it depends
on many other factors like quality, performance, service, etc

Most demanded Car model

 Maruti’s Survey:-
Most of the dealers replied that swift is the most demanded car amongst all Maruti
cars, while next best alternative is Alto.
`

Hyundai’s Survey:-
Dealers found i10, i20 and VERNA as the most demanded cars amongst
other Hyundai cars.

Best milege Car

 Maruti’s Survey:-
Dealers replied that Ritz and Alto gives best mileage.

 Hyundai’s Survey:-
Dealers replied that i10 and santro car’s mileage is best amongst
others.

Customer Preference

 Maruti’s Survey:-
Dealers replied that customers prefer petrol version more.

 Hyundai’s Survey:-
Here also customer demands more petrol version mostly.

Criteria in the Buyers Mind

 Maruti’s Survey:-
Dealers replied that most of the customers look out for every criteria i.e. quality, comfort,
performance, mileage and price.
 Hyundai’s Survey: -
In Hyundai also customers prefer all the above criteria’s but look for price and
comfort more.
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Biggest Competitor

 Maruti’s Survey:-
Maruti dealers replied Hyundai as the biggest competitors.

 Hyundai’s Survey:-
Hyundai dealers found Maruti as their biggest competitor.

Complete Package Car

 Maruti’s Survey:-
Dealers rate Swift as a no. 1 car for its complete package.

 Hyundai’s Survey:-
Hyundai rate i10 and i20 as their no. 1 car for complete package.

Way of Purchase
 Maruti’s Survey:-
According to dealers Maruti cars are sold mostly on EMI basis.
50 -75% customers purchase cars on installment basis.

 Hyundai’s Survey:-
As per Hyundai dealers cars are sold on both EMI as well as upfront payment and
around 50% of Hyundai cars are sold on EMI basis.
`

fig.3
Out of 10 dealers 7 dealers replied that 50-75% of their total sales are on installment
basis.

Bank tie-ups

 Maruti’s Survey:-
For EMI basis Maruti dealers are tied up with banks like ICICI, HDFC, SBI, and
many others banks but they don’t offer any extra discount to customers who purchase
cars on cash basis
 Hyundai’s Survey:-
Hyundai dealers are also tied up with ICICI, HDFC, SBI, and many other major banks for
EMI purchase and also don’t offer any discount to customers who purchase on cash
payment.
`

Recession effect

 Maruti’s Survey:-
Because of recession cars sales were reduced by 10-20%. But now people have started
buying cars.

 Hyundai’s Survey:-
Most of the dealers replied that recession didn’t affected them at all, but few
dealers replied that there was marginal decline in Cars sales.

Spending huge amount on various marketing strategies

during recession

 Maruti’s Survey:-
Dealers think that if they don’t spend on various strategies then customer will be
unaware of new launches and sales will get affected.

 Hyundai’s Survey:-
Hyundai dealers think that this is right time to attract maximum customers as rate
of interest on car loans have been reduced
`

Promotion through sponsoring Reality Shows

 Maruti’s Survey:-
Dealers think that such type of marketing strategies helps to attract customers
attention towards their cars and thus it tries to create awareness amongst customers
 Hyundai’s Survey:-
Dealers think that because of such strategies many customers gets aware about
their products and generate enquiries.

fig 4
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It was found out that most of the dealers i.e. 7 dealers replied positively that sponsoring
reality shows and giving car to winners helps in promoting car whereas 3 dealers were
not agreed to this.

Reason for loyalty

 Maruti’s Survey:-
Dealers think that customers are loyal to Maruti is because of its service, Quality,
range of cars and Brand Name
 Hyundai’s Survey:-
According to them because of its offerings of variety of cars in all segment and its
quality customers are loyal to Hyundai.

Believe in Customer Satisfaction and After Sales Service?

Both Maruti and Hyundai dealers believe 100% in Customer satisfaction and after
sales service because they think that if customer is fully satisfied with its service then
only he will return to same company for purchase otherwise he will shift to another car
companies product. And better sales service will create good image in mind of customers.
`

Conduct Marketing Research activity

Some dealers replied that they conduct research activity for knowing which
marketing strategy had attracted maximum number of customers, so that they can try to
promote more through that strategy. Otherwise they don’t conduct research activity. It is
normally conducted at companies level and not at dealers level.

Festive season boost

fig 5

 Maruti’s Survey:-
According to dealers car sales increases by 40-50% during festive
season like Diwali.

 Hyundai’s Survey:-
Hyundai dealers also replied that there is almost increase of 30-40% of cars
during festive season.
`

he Asan Plant, which mainly produces passenger vehicles for export, rests on 440 acres with a 4 million
sq. ft. building that consists of production lines for machine press, auto frames, paint, assembly, engine
and a materials plant Company support to Dealers
Both companies dealers replied that company makes selling of car easy by doing promotion
through various ways. Company also motivates employees to sale more cars by providing
incentives, and special schemes are introduced for dealers. Company gives them training so
that they can easily communicate with customers and can solve their doubts.

Customers survey

 Users

Below graph shows us that 63.75 % are Maruti users i.e 51 users out of 80 where as
remaining 29 users i.e 36.25% are Hyundai customers .
`

Most preferred cars

After the survey it was found that Santro from Hyundai and Swift from Maruti from the
various range available are the most preferred cars amongst the customers. Also Zen is
more in demand.

Loyal towards brand

It is found that customers stay loyal to Maruti and Hyundai rather than other brand. They
have faith in this brands due to their goodwill, good service, complete package and
reasonable prices
`

Rating to car performance

It was found that most of the customers were satisfied with the performance of the cars
whereas very few found it as not up to their mark.
`

Customer’s expectation

Below graph clearly states that 86 percent customer’s expectations were met through
these brands where as few were unsatisfied..

Criteria’s in buyer’s mind while purchasing

fig 11
`

Jeonju plant is capable of producing 70,000 units per year and in terms of the plant’s scale, it is deemed
to be the world’s largest commercial vehicle production plant.rseas Production
U It was found that while purchasing the car customer’s look for the complete car of

their choice which gives them good performance, looks, mileage and also it should be
reasonable in price.

Pricing

Most customers found that prices of these cars are affordable for their pockets whereas
few customers found that price is little higher.
`

Preference of customers
Maximum customers still prefer to buy petrol version cars rather than diesel or LPG
version. Even though LPG and diesel versions are economical in usage.

fig. 13

Strategies used to attract customers

Most of the customers prefer to buy after seeing some one else’s experience. Thus word
of mouth publicity acts as the marketing strategy for company whereas others are
attracted to T.V ads, brand ambassadors, etc .
`

Dealer’s Service
About 37.5 percent customers were satisfied with service provided by the dealers. Some
were not satisfied as they faced problems like delay in delivering the cars,etc

Expectations from dealers

When asked to customers about their expectations from dealers they replied that they
need delivery on time , good service, giving detailed information about he car before
purchasing, good after sales service, etc.
`

Findings

 It was found that dealers agree that Marketing Strategies helps to increase sale of
product.

 Most of the customers are attracted through media publicity and mouth publicity.

 Swift from Maruti and i10, i20, and Santro from Hyundai are most demanded cars
by customers.

 Customer prefers Petrol Version cars rather than Diesel or L.P.G. version.

 Most of the Customers were found satisfied with cars performance.

 Around 50-75% of customers purchase cars on installment basis.

 From survey, it was found that around 64% were Maruti users.

 Pricing of cars was found reasonable by most of the customers.

 Customers were satisfied with dealer’s service.

`

Suggestions and Recommendations

 To Dealers

 As dealers directly interact with customers, they should maintain proper Customer
Relationship Strategy.

 They should differ service benefits and offerings according to the various
customers segments. Which may include classification on the basis of
o income group
o Age group

 Dealers should help customers in taking right decision for buying car and should
give complete information about car before customer purchase car.

 The customers purchasing car on installment basis, should also be provided with
additional accessories as there is in case of cash purchase.

 Dealers should provide good after sales service and should maintain good
relations with customers so that reference can be get and goodwill is created.
`

To Company

 Maruti should more frequently come with mid-size models like sx4 and swift as
this sedan model is doing very good in market.

 Maruti and Hyundai should come up with diesel model of mid-size cars as market
survey says that the use of diesel cars will increase by 50% by 2010.

 Hyundai should try to increase their number of dealers and service stations so that
customers can get better service.

 Both companies should try to build trust in customers as competition is increasing

day by day.

 Company should try to give some good schemes and offers and discounts for old
and new customers.

 Maruti should try to expand its range of cars from small car and hatchbacks to
more mid-size cars like sx4 and swift mid size version.
`

Conclusion

Maruti suzuki is good in its marketing strategy and shows good results. And as Maruti
has its vast network of dealers and service centers they are able to provide good after
sales services and are able to maintain good relationship with customers which is their
strongest point. Maruti is also benefited with its goodwill and Brand name which is
already there in market. So Maruti can use these as an opportunity to bring new and
innovative car models in market and try to attract more and more customers. It can be
seen that Maruti is trying to attract customers from all segments by launching cars like
sx4, Swift, Ritz but their main preference is “A” segment cars only

Hyundai strategies of endorsing their products with celebrities has got a very good
response but Hyundai should advertise better to create a good picture of its products by
transferring the key good things about its cars. Hyundai has a good tract record of having
successful diesel mid size cars in its portfolio and it should encash the same opportunity
to launch the diesel versions of small car before Maruti too have competitive advantage.
And Hyundai should also try to increase their service centers so that customers can find it
convenient.
`

Annexure

QUESTIONAIRRE TO MARUTI/ HYUNDAI DEALERS

Q.1) Do you think Marketing Strategies helps to increase sales of product?

a) Yes b) No

Q.2) How did Marketing Strategy help you?

Q.3) Which Promotional Strategies did you use?

Q.4) Which type of Promotion had attracted maximum number of Customers?

Q.5) Do you think Promotion through Media is more effective than any other medium?
a) Yes b) No

Q.6) Does a Grand Launch of a Car makes Selling of a car easy?

a)Yes b) No

Q.7) Which of the Car model of your company is demanded by customer, the most?
a) Santro b) i10 c) Getz d) i20 e) Acccent f) Sonata g) Any Other
a)Ritz b) Swift c) sx4 d) Alto e) Estilo f) any other
`

Q.8) Which car of your company gives best milage?

a) Santro b) i10 c) Getz d) i20 e) Acccent f) Sonata g)
Any Other
a)Ritz b) Swift c) sx4 d) Alto e) Estilo f) any other

Q.9) What is the Customer Preference? a) Petrol

version b) Diesel version c) L.P.G version

Q.10) While Buying the Car, what are the criteria in the Buyers Mind?
a) Quality b) Comfort c) Performance d) Milage e) Price

Q.11) Which other Automobile Company do you think is Biggest Competitor for Maruti
Udyog?
a) Maruti / Hyundai, b) General Motors, c) Honda, d) Tata
e) Mahindra and Mahindra

Q.12) Which car will you Rate as No.1 for its Complete Package?
a) Santro b) i10 c) Getz d) i20 e) Acccent f) Sonata g) Any Other

a)Ritz b) Swift c) sx4 d) Alto e) Estilo f) any other

Q.13) Most of the Sale takes place on which Basis?

a) Cash b) E.M.I c) Cheque d) Any other
`

Q.14) How many % of Customers purchase car on installment basis?

a) 0-25 b) 25-50 c) 50-75 d) 75-100

Q.15) With which Bank you are tied up for E.M.I system?
a) I.C.I.C.I b) HDFC c) IDBI d) HSBC e) SBI f) Any other

Q.16) Do you offer discount to customer on Cash Purchase? If yes then how much?
a) 1% b) 2% c) 3% d) 4 e) 5% f) more than 5%

Q.17) Do you think Tata Nano’s entry in market will effect sale of your Cars?

Q.18) How much do you think, recession has effected your Business?

Q.19) Do you think in this recession time also, spending huge amount on various
marketing strategies is wise decision?
a) Yes b) No

Q.20) As observed most of the buyers are less than 35 years of age, what offers do you
provide to attract them?

Q.21) What do you think is the reason behind customer being loyal to Maruti / Hyundai
or have faith in Maruti/ Hyundai?
a) Brand Name b) Quality c) Service d) Reasonable price e) range of cars
`

Q.22)
and Do you profitability
increases think sponsoring Reality Shows` and Giving cars to Winner helps Promoting car
in return?
a) Yes b) No

Q.23) In the initial stage which pricing strategy you will prefer?
a) Skimming b) Penetration

Q.24) Do you deal in Second Hand Cars also?

a) Yes b) No

Q.25) How much do you believe in Customer Satisfaction and After Sales Service?

Q.26) What is the response for new Hyundai i20 / Maruti Ritz?

Q.27) Do you conduct Marketing Research activity?

a) Yes b) No

Q.28) What type of analysis do you conduct for Market Research?

Q.29) How does company helps to Promote Your Business?

Q.30) Do they arrange seminars for giving information about Future Plans and Car
Launches?
a) Yes b) No
Q31) How much increase in sales are recorded during festive season?
`

QUESTIONAIRRE TO CUSTOMERS

Q.1) Which companies car you are using now Maruti / Hyundai? a) Maruti b)
Hyundai

Q.2) Which car you are using?

a) Santro, b) i10, c) Getz, d) i20, e) Alto, f) Swift, g) Ritz, h) Zen, I) other

Q.3) Why you choose Maruti/ Hyundai car, and not others company car?
a) Brand, b) Quality, c) Price, d) Range of cars, e) Complete package

Q.4) How did you find the car’s performance?

a) Excellent, b) Good, c) Average, d) Poor

Q.5) Has it met your expectations?

a) yes, b) No.

Q.6) What was the main criteria in your mind while purchasing car? a) looks, b)
performance, c) comfort, d) milage, e) all of them

Q.7) If you have used Maruti/ Hyundai car before also, what reasons has forced you to
buy Maruti/ Hyundai again?
a) Brand, b) Quality, c) Price, d) Range of cars, e) all of them
`

Q.8) Do you think prices are reasonable?

a) Yes, b) No

Q.9) Which version would you like to purchase?

a) Petrol, b) Diesel, c) L.P.G

Q.10) Which Marketing strategy have attracted you to buy car?

a) T.V ads,
b) Launch of car,
c) Newspapers,
d) Word of Mouth publicity.
e) Other

Q.11) How did you find dealers services while buying car?
a) Excellent, b) Good, c) Average, d) Poor

Q.12) Do dealers offer any extra benefits other than company offers?

Q.13) What are your expectations from dealers side?

a) On time delivery
b) Good Service
c) Giving detailed information about car before purchase
d) Solving complaints/ queries immediately
e) All of above
`

Q. 14) Out of following which Hatchback car would you like to purchase?
a) Ritz, b) Getz, c) i20, d) Spark, e) Fabia

Q.15) Would you recommend your friends, relatives to buy Maruti/ Hyundai car?
`

Bibliography

Books
▪ Marketing
Author- Dr.N.Rajan Nair
Sanjith R Nair
Publications- Sultan chand and Sons

▪ Marketing Management
Author- Philip Kotler
Publications- Prentice Hall of India Pvt ltd.

Magazines
▪ Auto Drive
▪ Indian Auto

▪ Over Drive

▪
Websites
▪ www.marutisuzuki.com
▪ www.hyundai.com

▪ www.google.com

▪ www.autoindia.com

▪ www.overdrive.com
.S.
and testing facilities throughout the U.S. With a $30 million design center in Irvine, Calif., a $60 million pr