Thursday, January 13, 2011

Will the Kizashi be an ice-breaker for Maruti Suzuki??

The Kizashi is debuting this year by February, but is MSIL really prepared to take on the D-segment. ZigWheels conducted a survey to know what a premium segment buyer wants.

Automobile manufacturers in India now have a stiff neck-to-neck competition. While car makers have been focused with 2011 for capturing the small car segment where Maruti can be called the champion for the compact car segment, MSIL now wants to find a spot in the more upmarket, aspirational section.

Badges can win it all here if their product is aimed right at what the customer wants. Concerning a vehicle coming from a company 28 years in the market, Maruti specifically knows what it is getting into. It could be the stepping stone for Maruti’s next ventures or a bad dream like the Vitara.

While talking about the customers of the D-segment market, where the buyer may or may not be well educated, but is almost always well informed on the set of wheels he/she drives. “I'm very sorry sir, we don’t have …”, this line (or excuse) will not work for this segment.

Here the customers are demanding, budding and want everything in place for the money they put in. It is more of an investment for this class of buyer and it is certainly more than just buying a product. The car here has to be extremely good-looking, extremely powerful, extremely tidy, in short, the extremes of everything. This segment is a brutal test of all aspects that come with a car. Even a single compromise on quality standards would not only be bad for the sales figures of the car, but, for the reputation of the manufacturer as well.

The highest number of customers lies in the small car segment, but, with this segment, where the numbers are relatively low, they want the best in looks, fit and finish, performance fuel efficiency. Not only that, even the after sales cannot be compromised in this segment, where an exclusive treatment is demanded by the buyer.

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