Safe, Youthful and Modern: The Evolving Preferences of Car Buyers in India

This article is authored by Mr. Vivek Srivatsa, Head, Marketing, Sales and Service Strategy, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd.
2022 was a significant year for the automotive sector, marked by earnest efforts to get the industry back on a decisive road toward recovery and success. OEMs in India managed to mitigate the impact of supply shortages, addressed delivery bottlenecks, and showcased record growth, with a notable 23% rise in passenger vehicle sales through December 2022 compared to last year, and a sale of over 3.8 million units.Customer enthusiasm and improving preferences have inspired us to innovate and bring in fresh products, while the move towards safety and experiential driving has changed the dynamics of purchases at the consideration level.
A wave of change: A car for every customer
The way cars are perceived and judged has undergone considerable transformation in the past few years. Customers today prioritize cars that have a sophisticated design philosophy, best-in-class safety, uncompromised performance, and a seamless and memorable driving experience. No longer is a vehicle simply functional - the key reason for this trend is the growth of young car buyers with relatively higher incomes. A testament to this fact is that around 30% of our customers are below 30 years of age. They are making their preference known towards personalized cars that symbolize a particular lifestyle and make a statement.
In recent years, safety is becoming a significant aspect of a customer’s purchase decision. However, Tata Motors was one of the first major auto manufacturers to have invested several years ago in a state of the art digital and physical product development processes manned by the best minds in safety, at a time when vehicular safety was not even being spoken about . This inherent want for the active inclusion of safety by the company, years later, gave India its first GNCAP 5 star rated car with the Nexon.
Furthermore, today’s customer has an ever-expanding awareness of modern personal mobility in general and expects a promising portfolio of diverse and versatile options to choose from, including segments and sub-segments. In our journey to make our passenger vehicles a part of a consumer’s purchase consideration set, we launched the New Forever philosophy – a commitment towards keeping our portfolio forever refreshed, be it with adding new variants or brand-new launches.

All this and more has had a rub-off effect on the entry-level offerings that used to be all about affordability and compromise. However, witnessing the changing dynamics of today, OEMs are re-looking at their strategies and packing their entry-level offerings with intuitive and quirky features, to make their products savvier and more contemporary. Today, a customer does not mind spending extra for their purchases, but they do not want to cut corners on comfort, safety, and convenience. Gone are the days when the most affordable car was the highest-selling one.
The need to provide choices is not only restricted to design and features. OEMs are also providing customers with multiple powertrain options. Within the same product, one now gets an option to choose not only between petrol or diesel but also from electric (with multiple battery options as per use case) and CNG.
Innovation is the key to keeping up with this fast-paced industry
The use of modular vehicular platforms is another great innovation. It is allowing foundational architectures of robust vehicles to be incorporated into newly developed models. But each product is tailored differently to suit the specific needs of customers while essentially delivering on the shared ethos of a transformed conception of personal mobility. Going forward, one can also expect further sophistication in connected car platforms to deliver on customer expectations of personalized, intelligent, and intuitive driving software.

Furthermore, modular platforms can be used both to the advantage of the OEM and the customer as well. Our Gen1, Gen2 and Gen3 platforms in EVs are a reflection of the same. Through these platforms, we can leverage the modularity to bring in multiple body styles, thus giving customers an array of electric vehicle types to choose from while also reducing development costs and the market launch time for a final product.
As we edge towards a new year of possibilities for the Indian automotive industry, automakers will emphasize quality and constructive customer engagement to provide an unparalleled experience. The key, as has always been, will be staying in touch with customer aspirations and putting forth fresh and advanced products that project the values of our changing times.