Case Study: 7

Consumer decisions towards brand cars

India is among the fastest-growing markets in the world when it comes to automobiles. By the end of the decade,
experts believe that India will be among the third largest markets in the world. The growth will be fuelled by the fact
that there are a lot of new manufacturers that are eyeing the Indian market. Here are 8 new manufacturers that are
planning to make their Indian debuts soon.

Kia - is a sub-brand of Hyundai. They have confirmed that they will soon be entering the Indian market in the lower
end of the spectrum. The company is close to finalizing a location for their manufacturing facility. Talks are on with
the AP government for the location. The company will soon setup shop in India before launching any product in the
country. This will be similar to how Skoda and VW operate in the Indian market. However, it isn’t clear as to
whether Kia will be positioned above or below Hyundai regarding pricing.

Daihatsu - Toyota and Daihatsu are in the process of coming up with a new brand for emerging markets like India.
Daihatsu itself will be entering the Indian market soon. While Toyota has been successful in the mid-level segments
with the Corolla, Innova and Fortuner, they haven’t been able to succeed in the lower end of the market, which is
where the volumes are. This shall be helped by the coming of the Daihatsu brand. The brand has lot small and
spacious products that are sure to interest our customers. The Daihatsu brand will compete against the low-cost cars
from Datsun and from other brands like Tata, Hyundai and Maruti in India. Their first car may come in form of
small hatchback known as Ayla.

Lexus - The luxury arm of Toyota has been planning to enter the Indian market space since a long time now. The
company will finally enter the market officially in 2017. Lexus has already started taking bookings and the products
will arrive through the Completely Built Unit (CBU) route. Lexus will bring in their SUVs RX450h and LX 570
along with a sedan ES300h. To bring the cost down and to compete with the other luxury brands in India, Toyota
may also assemble the vehicles after studying market response for the Lexus brand.

PSA Peugeot Citroen - The French carmaker Peugeot, which is now known as PSA Peugeot Citroen is all set to
enter the Indian market space. This will be the second innings of the manufacturer in India. Peugeot will start its
operations in 2018 and the strategy was confirmed by the company. Peugeot was one of the few car manufacturers
present in the Indian market during the early 1990s.The company pulled the plug from the Indian market in 1997
after the partnership with Premier Automobiles fell down. The coming back of the manufacturer will be in
partnership with Tata motors. The company pulled the plug from the Indian market in 1997 after the partnership
with Premier Automobiles fell down. The coming back of the manufacturer will be in partnership with Tata motors.
Peugoet is said to be utilizing Tata’s Sanand plant to manufacture the cars in India.

SAIC - Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation is planning to enter India soon. SAIC is General Motor’s partner
in China. GM is planning to sell their Halol plant in Gujarat and SAIC may take over the factory. GM and SAIC will
co-operate on the manufacturing strategy where the Chinese manufacturer may rebadge the GM models in India.
General Motors has already announced their future plan to concentrate on the Telegaon factory in Maharashtra and
stop the production at the Gujarat plant.

Questions:

1. Interpret the case by applying Model of consumer decision making

2. Discuss the concept of Product and Brand relationship in relation to the above case