Saar: The cost of the vehicle continues to dominate the elimination method, followed by mileage, performance and features in a car.

It is always fascinating to unravel studies conducted to understand the Indian car buyer. About a week back, J D Power released the results of the 2018 Customer Satisfaction Index (Mass Market) Study. Now though, the company has revealed the top influential factors for Indian car buyers. In other words, what all is regarded importance while buying a new car in India. J D Power calls this one as the India Escaped Shopper Study. The annual study has now completed fourteen editions.

So, what does it say? Quite a lot, actually! But before we get to the main set of observations, let’s understand when and on what scale was this year’s study conducted. J D Power reports that responses from over 8,700 car owners who purchased theirs between September of 2017 and May of this year were recorded. The study was fielded between March and August this year.

Here are the main set of observations:

1. Vehicle price continues to be the top reason for rejecting a model.
2. 13 per cent of buyers cite good mileage as the second most important aspect, followed by the performance at 12 per cent and features at 10 per cent.
3. 17 per cent of car buyers rejected a model based on one or more reasons mentioned in bullet point number 2, compared to 10 per cent in 2017.
4. In terms of importance, for the first time in a decade, the reasons mentioned in bullet point number 2 have overtaken aspects like exterior and interior styling.

Pretty intriguing, isn’t it?! However, J D Power has also reported some other interesting observations which really sheds some light on how the market and the buyers are evolving. Here’s the list:

• More people are selecting or rejecting a model without visiting a dealership. In 2018, only 50 per cent of car buyers visited the dealership for deciding, compared to 72 per cent in 2017.
• This year, 45 per cent of car buyers took a test drive before deciding on a model. The same was 38 per cent last year.
• 66 per cent of new-vehicle buyers rely on recommendations from friends and family.
• 54 per cent of new car buyers used the internet to search for a model, compared to 50 per cent last year.
• Younger buyers, who are aged 29 years or less, rely more on the information gathered from reasons mentioned in the previous two points, compared to older buyers aged 30 years or above.
• One in four car buyers considered purchasing an SUV, making it the most considered vehicle segment in India, surpassing the premium compact and compact segments.
• People who bought an SUV cite performance, exterior styling, safety and mileage as the key reasons.
• People who decided against purchasing an SUV cited the higher price and the need for better mileage as key deal breakers.
• Maruti Suzuki remains top considered brand in India.