Indian vehicle buyers getting inclined towards higher-quality brands

The buying habits of the Indian customers specifically of the automobile industry are changing with times. Once the considered factors like the mileage figures and the after sales value of the model were on priority, but now the same customers are demanding more quality products. Another prominent reason could be rising awareness about cars amongst the crowd. This has lead auto majors to concentrate on more of quality imbibed cars as the Indian market is seeking this factor as the major one.

Also the new-vehicle buyers are putting those products as their preference which has got lesser initial quality issues. This has come out quite clear with the study undertaken by J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2013 India. The research was tagged as Initial Quality Study (IQS), and the reports have clearly showed the above mentioned results. The perception of blindly going for budget brand cars seems to be changing, and to assert on this, the Honda and Toyota have received Three Model-Level Awards for serving Initial Quality at their best.

Earlier even safety features were not really being considered by the buyers, but now with more awareness regarding road-safety; people are shifting their preferences. They are keen to invest on all such advance safety features, and it is one of those driving force for the auto companies which motivates them to bring such innovative products in the market.

The sales volume of the companies stressing over quality has been raised by 6 percent since 2011, while in contrast the ones which are not considering this factor as important have faced a straight decline by 8 percent. There are several issues which are faced by the owners in the first two-six months of ownership. These list of problems usually includes, engine and transmission, driving experience is not upto the mark, HVAC, vehicle exterior, vehicle' interiors; seats; audio, navigation and entertainment,controls and displays and many of these sorts. All these issues are summed up as number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). Lower the value of PP100, lower is the initial quality issues.

As per the reports, in 2013 the initial quality in the country averages to 115 PP100, but has certainly been improved from 120 PP100 in 2012. Amongst all the above mentioned problems, HVAC has encountered maximum complaints. Given the driving condition of extreme summer heat in India, people demand HVAC system to be most efficient. In this matter, Honda has been acclaimed for its best selling models, Brio (hatchback), Amaze (sedan) and City (mis-size). And Toyota is too applauded for its Toyota Fortuner (SUV), Corolla Altis (premium sedan), Innova (MUV). Other than these names, the Hyundai Santro ranks highest in the compact car segment, Maruti's two models- Alto 800 and Swift, have received recognition in their respective segments.

This study had included 9,070 car owners who purchased their vehicles between November 2012 and July 2013. While the study also revolved around 74 vehicle models and 17 auto makers.