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Steeroid · 7th March 2006, 13:52

While its good to have one more contender in a space cornered by Maruti and Hyundai (yes, both of them - why are people so eager for the demise of a Hyundai product, I wonder - the title makes it looks like they're the only ones that will be burnt by the Spark), the fact remains that the Indian market remembers it as a product that (1) didnt do very well & (2) disappeared leaving many in the lurch.

Its difficult to eraze bad memories, and not many people would really know about the difference that the change in management is going to make. They will just say - oh somebody has brought that old Matiz back.

That will be the single biggest challenge. The second challenge would be keeping service levels to those of the established two. Remember that GM has never had a VOLUME vehicle in the market - service is a walk in the park with the few vehicles that they sell, and I'd really like to see how they measure up to the deluge of small cars that will hit their service centres once they launch a successful A segment car.

We've seen the rush at Maruti, Hyundai and Tata workshops. IMHO sustaining a volume car is VERY MUCH a factor of how well you can support those volumes. Its not as simple as sending out a car thats got all the right specs on paper. You need to make sure parts are availble and service turnaround times are quick - these cars are the ONLY mode of transport for most people so its critical that the car stays reliable and is serviced quickly so that there's minimum downtime.

If you've seen the erstwhile Daewoo service centres and compared them to Maruti or Hyundai, you'll get a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about.

The small car buyer is extremely finicky about service levels and service costs. Most of them are first time car buyers and it takes a whole different set of skills to manage their expectations well. That is where the whole game is - winning the trust of the masses.

Can GM do that? They dont come with a heritage of doing so, but if they do then the customer will have one more choice.

7th March 2006, 13:52	#15 (permalink)
Steeroid Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: DXB Posts: 5,632	While its good to have one more contender in a space cornered by Maruti and Hyundai (yes, both of them - why are people so eager for the demise of a Hyundai product, I wonder - the title makes it looks like they're the only ones that will be burnt by the Spark), the fact remains that the Indian market remembers it as a product that (1) didnt do very well & (2) disappeared leaving many in the lurch. Its difficult to eraze bad memories, and not many people would really know about the difference that the change in management is going to make. They will just say - oh somebody has brought that old Matiz back. That will be the single biggest challenge. The second challenge would be keeping service levels to those of the established two. Remember that GM has never had a VOLUME vehicle in the market - service is a walk in the park with the few vehicles that they sell, and I'd really like to see how they measure up to the deluge of small cars that will hit their service centres once they launch a successful A segment car. We've seen the rush at Maruti, Hyundai and Tata workshops. IMHO sustaining a volume car is VERY MUCH a factor of how well you can support those volumes. Its not as simple as sending out a car thats got all the right specs on paper. You need to make sure parts are availble and service turnaround times are quick - these cars are the ONLY mode of transport for most people so its critical that the car stays reliable and is serviced quickly so that there's minimum downtime. If you've seen the erstwhile Daewoo service centres and compared them to Maruti or Hyundai, you'll get a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about. The small car buyer is extremely finicky about service levels and service costs. Most of them are first time car buyers and it takes a whole different set of skills to manage their expectations well. That is where the whole game is - winning the trust of the masses. Can GM do that? They dont come with a heritage of doing so, but if they do then the customer will have one more choice. __________________ Cheers Steer Petrols Suck. Diesels Torque. Q.E.D Last edited by Steeroid : 7th March 2006 at 14:03.