Motown is going back to basics. With less money to spend, car buyers are settling for smaller cars and petrol variants as diesel versions command a price premium in an effort to buy the cheapest set of wheels. Maruti Suzuki, for instance, has seen a 10% year on year increase in enquiries and bookings for small cars/hatchbacks.
The 30 day data shows that 65% of bookings and enquiries we have received are in the small car category, up from 55% last year. Of course, we are not yet fully ramped up and there are markets that are still under lockdown. But from bookings and enquiries, it seems the small car shift has started happening,” said Maruti Suzuki executive director (marketing & sales) shashank Srivastava.
Moreover Nissan Motor India MD Rakesh Srivastava said, “Currently, consumers are seeking value in the form of a lower cost of ownership with more weightage to lower cost of acquisition. Towards this, hatchbacks have had increased customer interest, as we have experienced in the newly launched Mahindra & Mahindra is seeing demand shift away from diesel to petrol. “Although M&M is predominantly a diesel manufacturer, we are seeing very good demand for the petrol version of the XUV300 even from rural markets,” said Nikunj Sanghi, who runs Mahindra dealership JS FourWheel Motors.
