Website of car companies in India. Good, bad and the ugly

[sriramv.iyer]

I have found most of the websites of car companies in India way below my expectations.

For e.g., a year ago, Fiat india website opened a new window for every click. Ford Mondeo least information in the Ford website. By now, things seem to be improving.

Chevrolet's site is good (www.chevrolet.co.in). Ford is not bad either, but the content level is appalling.

But my blood boils whenever I go to Skoda Auto India website (home) and Mercedes Benz (Mercedes-Benz India - Home) - Even the international site of Benz is junk. These take the worst ranks in my list of auto websites in India.

I would like to know if I am the only one who feels so - What do other TBHP brothers (and sisters(?)) feel about the auto websites in India...

[BUSA]

There is already a thread about the indian websites

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...nt-future.html (Websites of Indian Car and Bike Manufacturers (Past/Present/Future))

[GTO]

Good topic, sriram!

Aim of a car company website : Good design, simple to navigate, provide information on cars and motivate a potential buyer to write the cheque! One of the most important tools in this internet-friendly world. Surprisingly most Indian car websites are disasters.

The best websites:

1. www.marutiudyog.com
2. India Browserinfo
3. Honda Accord India, Honda Crv India, Honda Civic Car India, Honda City Car India: Honda Siel Cars India

Some average websites:

1. :: Welcome to Mahindra Scorpio ::
2. Hyundai Motor India

Horrible websites:

1. home (mature design but poor on info)
2. Mercedes-Benz India - Home (very 80's design)
3. BMW International (doesnt seem "Indianised")

Looks like the germans dont focus too much online?

@ BUSA : The other link is a directory listing. This thread is about opinions on the website.

[iraghava]

If you guys thought BMW India was bad, check out Audi India 's site:

Audi India > Home

Even the most basic Technical Specs like Weight, Tyre sizes, list of Standard Equipment etc. is non-existent. Frankly it looks like a third-grade effort from a designer coming up with his first website.

[Ram_NP]

I Like Maruti's Web site and then Hyundai site is also good.

One thing I have noticed that except for Maruti, other website do not give details about the accessoires that are availible or can be fitted with a new car.

[cheap_deal]

the honda website is good, but someone need to work on their spellings
Features

i can spot 3 typos on that page alone. there were a few more last time i checked.

[GTO]

Fiats website is much better now, than what it was before. But it still doesnt look as "professional". And who can forget the fiasco of unpaid bills?

[Raja]

I find also that a lot of the websites will only work properly with Internet Explorer. I always use Firefox and some of the site buttons don't work.

Nissan India was very poor, now it is only poor. They have added on the 'Teana' button as an afterthought!

[sriramv.iyer]

Thanks GTO! I too was thinking it would be a good idea to discuss and get feedback since getting info online seems to be the best way for me. No need to stand in queues and open 24 x 7! Surprising some companies do not see this and do not put their heart in such an important piece of a business communication and customer interaction.

First, The title of the webpage is quite important - I was surprised (these are my initial days with TBHP) that the URL gets resolved to the web page title. Lets look at Chevrolet's website mentioned in GTO's post - It says India Browser Info (How useful and interesting!! )

I loved the website of Infiniti, US (Infiniti Luxury Cars and SUVs - Infiniti USA Official Site) - Well thought out and organized and lots of flash and animation - speaks a lot about the broadband speeds in US - (I recently shifted to my apartment in Bangalore and it is 5 months since I applied to Broadband service from BSNL - I havent got a connection yet, lest, talk about speeds (grrr) ) - In general, the US web-sites are pretty good (even the German ones - BMW and Audi) - The Merc guys will never learn - If they put up such a PATHETIC website in US, I doubt they'll ever put anything better in India.

If we constitute the best and worst awards for auto websites, who should get the awards? Got me thinking....

What do you guys think?

(I am flying back to India from Korea tomorrow - This should give me some time to think - Btw, I have some pics of earlier generation Chevy SRV, Optra, Nissan Teana sold as Samsung SM5 and Hyundai i30 - Will post them as soon as I reach home!)

[Thad E Ginathom]

<rant alert>

Chevrolet Magnum is one of the very worst sites I've ever seen.

How long will it take designers to realise that they are the only people with the patience to wait while a Flash intro loads?

A site that plays music is my absolute worst, worst, biggest, biggest, dislike. Hello designers! If you want to work in TV, go work in TV!

I go to a car site to see pictures and specifications --- not to enlarge the ego of the people who designed it.

One 'gismo' that can be good is a 360-degree view interior and exterior.

Otherwise... leave out the Flash, and keep it simple. Please!

Phew! Thanks for the opportunity to get that rant off my chest!

[lamborghini]

I think on a whole, indian auto websites are quite poor.
They lack information about accessories and their prices, some technical data and some useful features that could be useful (like build and price your car) etc.
One website that i really liked was the mitsubishi USA website ( Mitsubishi Motors ) however its quite slow and takes time to load (and you should also check out the build and price your mitsubishi section, something that is offered on all US automobile websites). The website is a contrast to their indian website.

[Whenasked]

Originally Posted by GTO

Fiats website is much better now, than what it was before. But it still doesnt look as "professional". And who can forget the fiasco of unpaid bills?

Everyone knows that those are things of past. Why bragging about it in every post.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Whenasked

Everyone knows that those are things of past. Why bragging about it in every post.

I wouldnt brag since I wasnt responsible. And which "every post" are you talking about? The Fiat website episode goes down in the history books of Indian websites.

[extreme_torque]

BMW's site is just fine. One should also keep in mind the target customer which will opt for a beemer and it would be unlike the customer for say a Maruti and hence the difference in websites.

Lexus's website USA: this one's fantastic

Lexus: New Luxury Cars and SUVs from Lexus USA

Phaeton: Fantastic again

Volkswagen UK / The Phaeton / Discover more

[lambuhere1]

Originally Posted by Ram_NP

One thing I have noticed that except for Maruti, other website do not give details about the accessoires that are availible or can be fitted with a new car.

I believe trident and advait hyundai's site gives you the list of accessories along with their costing.

Used it to get a grip during discussions with sales guy