Thursday, February 19, 2009

Automobile Marketing

The competitive nature of the automobile industry has prompted the companies to take up new and innovative marketing strategies to thwart the competition. The B segment of cars is the segment which sees maximum competition as the consumer has a number of models to choose from and it's the volumes which drive the margins.

All the companies as a part of their marketing strategy offers a range of vehicles in all the segment to make sure that the customer is driving one of their vehicles only.
Advertisements on the Audio visual medium are a rage as it gives the car makers an opportunity to flaunt their cars. Flashy cars can be demonstrated on television but when it comes to the finer prints of the cars, print and online media comes to the rescue.

The online medium offers a greater flexibility to the car companies since they come with a lot of interactive features like demonstrating the interiors of the car with its salient features.
The print medium on the other hand provides an opportunity to the car makers to explain the function of a car in detail.
Celebrity endorsements and testimonial advertisements have come a long way and they are also doing their bit to sell the cars. Super star Shahrukh Khan has been associated with Hyundai Motor Company for a long time and he comes regularly on television to promote the Santro car. Similarly Ford has roped in Junior Bachan for the promotion of the latest offering from the company Ford Fiesta. On a similar note Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee is shown chasing each other with a Chevrolet aveo.

Aamir Khan who is considered to be one of the most talented actors in the industry is frequently seen changing roles on screen to promote the Toyota Innova, a car which is generations ahead of its predecessor Toyota Qualis.

Cricketers haven't been left behind in the race of promoting cars; Fiat Palio had received a great thrust when the promotion of the car was taken up by the batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar.In addition to the publicity and advertisement which is done by the companies there are certain innovative strategies which are taken up by the companies to beat the competition from time to time.

Automobile Racing in India


If you are crazy about speed, then automobile racing is something you are going to enjoy. automobile Racing is the sport in which automobiles are raced within a racing circuit as an effort to entertain the spectators. This concept of automobile racing is believed to have originated in France in the year 1895.
Broadly, automobile racing can be classified into several categories. Firstly, we have the single seater racing which is usually termed as the high speed racing.
In this form of racing, the wheels are generally uncovered and the cars have aerofoil wings. The world famous Formula One World championship comes under the category of single seater racing. However, there are a few sub categories that are included under single seater racing. These are kart racing, A1 Grand Prix and Formula Ford.Secondly, we have the Stock Car Racing which is the North American form of popular car racing.

In this form of racing, the cars used have very close resemblance with production cars. Among the Stock cars, the most renowned series is indeed NScars Nextel championship . This form of Stock car racing has also been popular in Europe and is commonly organized in Scotland and Wimbledon.
Rallying is yet another form of automobile racing. As the name suggests, it involves a rally between two vehicles only. The most common championship in Rallying is the World Rally Championship or the WRC . Other smaller rallies include the likes of Monte Carlo, Rally Argentina, Finland and many more.

India Auto Insurance


Types of India auto insurance
In India auto insurance industry there are two major types of auto insurance policies - Motor Policy A and Motor Policy B. Motor Policy A is a form of third party insurance. It provides unlimited coverage and compensation of payment in case of physical injuries or death of a third party. This type of insurance also provides limited coverage in case of damages caused to property of a third party.

Motor Policy A also provides coverage to insured from any legal obligations that result from accidents caused by their cars. Any damage done to vehicle of insured is not covered by Motor Policy A. In automobile insurance industry of India maximum coverage provided by Motor Policy A is INR 7.5 lakhs.

Motor Policy B is a sort of comprehensive insurance. It provides third party liability services in addition to coverage for damages sustained by car of insured. Types of damages covered range from thefts and accidents to certain types of risks. These insurance policies also provide coverage against floods, riots, earthquake and strikes. If insured pays extra premium, various accessories within a car can be insured by Motor Policy B.
India Automobile Insurance Industry
There are various types of service providers functioning within auto insurance industry of India. However, there are two broad categories who deal in India auto insurance policies – a development officer of an insurance company and an insurance agent. When an insured pays an India auto insurance premium he is entitled to receive a cover note from his or her insurer. Premiums of India auto insurance industry are based on Insured's Declared Value, which is premised on past showroom value of an insured car.

Automobile Projects in India



Automobile Projects are the in thing at this moment. The automobile industry has gathered immense pace in India in the last few years and hence is flying very high. It was only after globalization, liberalization and privatization that the Indian markets were opened up for the major global automobile players to invest in Indian. This completely changed the Indian scenario and the Indian automobile market made a hugh leap towards modernization. The latest models of all the brands were slowly introduced to test their adaptability with the Indian customers.
And to the surprise of all the makers, they were readily and highly acceptable by the Indian buyers.Even the Indian consumers wanted to feel the luxury of the high end cars and have a feel of the new technology as well. This resulted in the healthy growth of the automobile industry in India.The next step was to make India a perfect automobile hub for Asia, South-East Asia and if possible then a global hub. To add to this, the strategic importance of India played a major role in the development of the Indian market. The focus right now is on funding the experiments that are being carried on the innovative projects in the automobile industry. A lot of experimental work is also being carried on the implementation of indigenous technology along with the adaptations of imported technology for Indian standards.

The new age Bio Fuels and hybrid vehicles are the most growing areas of the Indian automobile industry. Along with that the field of Infotronics, is also catching up very fast. The long term aim for this particular sector is to make India the manufacturing workshop of the world. The research center that has been opened in Tamil Nadu for automobile research and development is going to make India a leading candidate in the field of auto research.

Vehicle Production

Automobile Industry is the largest industry in India with an impressive growth in the last two decades. The reason behind the growth was abolition of licensing in 1991 and permitting automatic approval and successive liberalisation of the sector.

According to estimation the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of Indian Automobile sales will grow at 9.5% and will touch a mark of 13,008 million by 2010. The figure for FY05 was 8.45 million units. To tap this large opportunity, the Indian Auto Companies along with the global giants have announced huge expansion plans.

Maruti Udyog Ltd. was the largest 4-Wheelers producer in 2005-06 followed by Tata Motors. Hyundai did well but the difference was nearly half of Tata Motors. In 2-Wheelres segment, Hero Honda is leading putting behind Bajaj Auto Ltd. Check the table below to get complete figure.

Automobile Electronics

The booming car industry has bought along with itself a large number of automobile electronics good which when added to the vehicle adds a new dimension to it. How many times would you have cursed the traffic jams when you have to catch a flight or attend an important meeting? The days of depending on the friendly radio Jockey in some popular radio station could soon become a thing of the past.The electronic gadget which could bail you out of trouble in a chaotic traffic situation is a Vehicle Global Positioning System Unit.
It can direct you to the best routes available in town to reach a particular point. So in all you would get a faithful navigator but at a price of a few hundred American Dollars.

Such a product will be a boon for the Indian automobile user as people will be able to beat the traffic and reach their destination by the help of these GPS systems.

If you are worried about the security of your prized car then there is the keyless
entry system which will provide maximum security to your favorite set of wheels.

If you are one of those types who like to be driven around in car then there are quite a few options available in the market to keep you busy while your chauffeur negotiates the heavy traffic on Indian roads.

One can have video screen fitted into the car for GPS navigation system or to play your favorite Bollywood movies. However one has to make sure that they don't come in the way of safety while driving as it can attract the ire of the cops. These systems also come with rear view cameras to guide you while you are reversing your car in that small gap.

Auto Accident

In today’s fast world, everything has become very fast and speed has become the other name for life. This theory is applicable for all the different aspects of life. And so it even includes fast driving and riding as well. To add to this the auto manufacturers are coming up with faster cars and bikes everyday. This has lead to an increase in the number of accidents every year and it seems to increase year after year. Although different governmental and non governmental organizations do carry out workshops and other training programs to make people aware of careless driving, yet this whole process has not been very successful till date.