Coronavirus Impact on new car selling and buying and car service maintenance
India has to prepare for new changes. Coronavirus is impacting the global automotive supply chain, but the true effects won’t be known for months. The current situation for manufacturers has become challenging with the COVID-19 outbreak, which is affecting supply chains and disrupting manufacturing operations around the world.
The Auto Industry is going through rough road and We all must know what’s going to happen and how we can prepare our self. Watch the video
According to a contributor at Forbes.com, she said –
The most vulnerable companies are those that rely heavily or solely on factories in China for parts and materials
Many of these companies have been forced to source production in this region due to increased pressure to reduce supply chain costs through offshoring and outsourcing. With these cost-cutting measures, a disruption in the supply chain results in a quick stop to manufacturing due to a lack of parts.
As per India Brand Equity Foundation, India became the fourth largest auto market in 2018 with sales increasing 8.3 percent year-on-year to 3.99 million units. It was the seventh-largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in 2018.
CAR researchers are monitoring the impact of the coronavirus outbreak (officially known as 2019-nCoV)—especially as it may impact the auto industry globally.
As media claimed that China has come out of lockdown and quarantine and there is claim to be normal life. IPSOS (marketing agency) conducted a quick survey in the end of February to monitor the new car purchase intention and listed down customer’s expectations. These the learning we have from this survey :
Here are some of the points mentioned in the survey.
- The customer who is planning to buy her first car would prefer buying a New Car than Used Car. Due to the fear of infection from coronavirus, the customer is interested to avoid public crowded transport and they don’t trust public transport. 66% say they will use Private Cars than Public Transport and 50% think that public transport is not safe. Also, 77% believe that driving reduces the chance of infection.
- With increase digital touchpoints, the customer would like to buy cars on Mobile. 67% says they will use the Mobile App and Website to buy a new car.
- Car Manufacturer has to provide new health features
An air conditioning system with a germ filter would become a necessity. They would prefer the interior uses antibacterial materials and health monitoring systems in the car. 51% preferred health features versus other even Brand Reputation 48% in the survey. It is a new demand that now car owners want to have an office inside the car, so they expect in-car office.
4. Customer needs to decide online for purchase
5. Doorstep Maintenance would become more popular as a customer expect to test-drive at the doorstep. With the increase of digital touchpoints, they would expect an online showroom with a virtual shop.
Antibacterial disinfection services at doorstep may also become popular.
It is rightly said the true effects won’t be known for months. This report can give you some ideas to prepare new demands and expectations. You can download a detailed survey from this link: http://www.mericar.com/reports/