With India under the grip of second Covid 19 wave, only one in five of the Urban Population is likely to go ahead with the plan of buying a a car. Moreover, 13 per cent of the Urbans gave up the plan or switched to a two-wheeler, according to a report from the YouGov . About one in ten of the Urban Indians planned to buy a car early this year with the pandemic slowing down. However, it was the second way that hijacked their dreams. The report also said that two in five (19 per cent) respondents showed willingness to buy pre-owned/second-hand cars.
TIMELINES
The report mentions that the Urban People also changed the timelines for buying cars in the beginning of the year. About two in five (37 per cent) consumers planned to make a purchase within three months. However, the figures came down after the second wave hitting the country. The number fell to 19 per cent. Most of them pushed their car buying decisions to a later period. They are now looking somewhere between 4-6 or 7-12 months from now, the report said.
TYPES
Apart from this, people also shifted in car types. The report said that people became more value conscious. Before the second wave, hatchbacks were the most popular cars, followed by premium hatch cars. After the second wave of the pandemic, entry-level sedans (Dzire, Amaze, Tigor, Altroz, etc) have seen the greatest shift in demand. Only 13 per cent preferred these types of cars earlier. Now 21 per cent of the Urban Indians are looking to buy these type of cars. It also said that premium sedans also saw a decline (from 11 per cent to to 5 per cent). In the SUV segment, the YouGov said that 11 percent of the people preferred compact, seven per cent mid and six percent premium SUVs.
REASONS
Though people say that pandemic affected their plans of buying cars the reasons were different them. A large majority of people (about 43 per cent) said they were waiting for the situation to improve. Meanwhile, 28 per cent said that they had financial issues related to job and health. Even some (31 per cent) talked about their inability to use a vehicle because of staying home.
Commenting on this, Sanjeev Jha of YouGov India, said that the covid 19 pandemic brought about marked changes in consumers’ car buying plans in the country. The outbreak affected customers’ finances, driving a conservative outlook in them and diverting them to more immediate needs, he said.
