Maruti Suzuki’s Swift, Dzire gain traction among firsttime buyers
MUMBAI:First-time
car buyers in India, who have always flocked to Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) for its entry-level Altos and WagonRs, are now buying up costlier Swifts and Dzires, company data showed. While only one out of three first-time buyers purchased these models five years ago, now one of two such buyers go for these models, indicating the firm’s ability to attract more customers to its premium models.
One of every two Maruti cars go to a first-time buyer, said Tarun Garg, executive vice-president (marketing) at Maruti Suzuki. While firsttime buyers accounted for 31% of combined Swift and Dzire sales in FY14, the number jumped to 52% in the June quarter of FY18. For Swift alone, the jump was from 28% to 52% in the same period, said Garg. “This trend indicates that first-time buyers are getting more aspirational,” Garg said in an email.
The growing preference for these feature-rich and costlier models as first cars indicates growing premiumisation in India’s car market, where automobile penetration is still low, and shows Maruti’s ability to reinforce the brand’s trust, said analysts.
Rohit Kumar, vice-president at Kantar TNS, a global market research firm, attributes the shift to the change in the very definition of small cars. “The entry car definition has changed from the smallest available to what is it that one desires, and if its affordable. Increasing fuel economies, affordable financing and better distribution only whet the appetite further.”
Kumar defines first-time buyers as those who are buying a car for personal use through funding arranged by themselves (self or financed).
Rakesh Srivastava, director (sales and marketing) at Hyundai Motor India Ltd, India’s second largest carmaker, said his firm does not share data on first-time buyers for competitive reasons.