[PratikPatel]

Voted yes. Most people may not believe it, but I do believe that car brands or rather manufacturers have a design DNA. Therefore, while I have looked at options every time I have to buy a car, I still end up buying that same brand.

[PetrolRider]

We used to be. More of it was rather to do with lesser number of car available in market at those times. For 20 years, it was same brand for us.


But for last 8 years, we have experienced 3 cars from 3 different brands. In my recent purchased, I had the chance of going back to our old brand, but somehow I preferred a different brand.


It is more to do with ample of cars available in market at different price ranges with different set of characteristics and getting a car closer to our needs is getting easier.

[PYSO]

With 2 top brands (Maruti, hyundai) accounting for 70% - 75% of the total market, and the top 2 holding on to their positions (and market shares) since more than 15 years - it is obvious that brand loyalty is extremely high in the Indian market. Most people would buy a Maruti or hyundai blindly - that is what we can infer.

This poll seems to lead to a very different (and false?) conclusion.

[avdhesh15]

Originally Posted by PYSO

With 2 top brands (Maruti, hyundai) accounting for 70% - 75% of the total market, and the top 2 holding on to their positions (and market shares) since more than 15 years - it is obvious that brand loyalty is extremely high in the Indian market. Most people would buy a Maruti or hyundai blindly - that is what we can infer.

This poll seems to lead to a very different (and false?) conclusion.

This is a poll for folks within the community. Please note that total 600 odd people have voted whereas Maruti alone sells 100k+ cars monthly. Also, only market share wouldn't be a good marker for addressing this pole unless we know how many people are new buyers or repeat buyers.

[PYSO]

Originally Posted by avdhesh15

This is a poll for folks within the community. Please note that total 600 odd people have voted whereas Maruti alone sells 100k+ cars monthly. Also, only market share wouldn't be a good marker for addressing this pole unless we know how many people are new buyers or repeat buyers.

There could be lots of other explanations, than the one you have offered (small and biased sample size).

I think the most likely explanation is that people are unlikely to admit they are brand loyal (even if they actually are).

You would get the same kind of skewed poll results if you ask people whether they are dishonest, or whether they are below average drivers, or whether they are more foolish than the average person. It is not in the nature of people to admit some things either privately or publicly.

[Rajeevraj]

We just finalized the new car for my brother in law- The Tata Nexon. Got the realization how Brand Unloyal we are in the immediate family (Brother, Sister, Parents, In-Laws)

We have a Volkswagen (Vento), Ford (Ecosport), Toyota (Etios), Honda(Brio) and Tata (Nexon) between us. No Maruti, No Hyundai was an interesting state to be in. 5 years back it was almost all Maruti.

Am happy with the fact that we have gone from just looking at a brand to looking at a car based on it's individual merits and our requirements.

[anjan_c2007]

How loyal are you to a particular car brand ? While replacing your current car for a new one, would you prefer to remain loyal to the same brand or would you prefer to changeover from this one to another. With the multiple car brands and variants available in the market, the buyers generally search for the best options desirable and available to them in each car in the respective segment.

I have however been loyal to Hindustan Motors (now defunct), Mahindra and Mahindra and also to Maruti, as I currently own cars of these brands. I have been using Ambassadors since long, but now own a Landmaster. Also, I have been using Willys/ Jeep/ Mahindra MUV's since ages. Curently I own a Mahindra SUV. Besides, I own a 1987 Maruti 800 that has been loyal to me since 33 years. But who knows? Maybe, with a better package it may be so that I stick to Mahindra or Maruti or opt for some other brand in future.

Would be happy if friends are able to comment and post their views on the topic. Please also cast your vote option.

[lamborghini]

I have no qualms experimenting with brands.
Over time, more brands have entered India (and some left) so generally buying a car is more about which car offers the best set of qualities to fulfill the wishlist.
Of course, we have repeated brands several times : Ford (2 ikons, 1 fiesta), Toyota (2 corolla, 1 etios, 1 liva) primarily; and as competition increased swore off some brands : Maruti for instance for their lack of focus on safety, average build quality - however we were still open minded enough to check out the S Cross & bought it as well as it fit our needs well

Generally what makes us repeat is if the earlier ownership experience was pleasurable - as it is one of the factors I would look at when purchasing a car.

What's interesting are larger companies that have various brands under them - for instance, our experience with Skoda & was decent - shown improvement from earlier days, but blah with VW - so next time I have to decide between these two brands - I'll be going the Skoda way (Rapid over Vento, Kodiaq over Tiguan, etc.).
I'm sure many will have a similar experience when choosing between select Maruti v/s Toyota models, hyundai v/s Kia models, etc.

[haisaikat]

I believe we are currently in an era of transition and evolution with below things being under constant change
1. ICE to EV
2. Naturally Aspirated to Turbos in the Petrol Segment
3. Fully manual to Autonomous driving
4. Sedans to SUVs
5. Hatchbacks to Crossovers
6. Feature war from must have essentials to all nice to have one's including connected car tech
7. Better promise of warranty, buybacks
8. Last, but not the least, safety

The market is dynamic and ready to give chance to new comers if the product is promising as evident with the success of MG and KIA who did not have extensive service networks. But does it mean that the legacy players are making lesser numbers? NO. But when it comes to upgrading or changing, people are open minded to options.

I swayed away from Hyundai after 12 years since I wasn't happy with how they overcharge customers beyond 5 years with their products that seem to suddenly start ageing after 5-6 years. It has been only 1 year with Toyota so far and too early to comment, came to them for reliability alone, we still have one more hyundai in the family though.

So my vote goes with changeover given better options, brand loyalty does not always hold good.

[Rajeevraj]

Have absolutely no problem with changing brands. Don't consider myself partial or fanatic about any particular brand. I would always evaluate the choices based on my requirements and pick the one which meets those requirements. Brand does not matter at all.

Only caveat is that the qualities of the current brand may not reflect in some of the others which automatically remove them from contention.

[Jeroen]

Not at all. I buy what I like. There is not a single brand out there, that interests me as a whole. I tend to like specific types/models, not the brand as such.

I know brands tend to spend extraordinary amounts of money on being perceived in a certain way. But in my part of the world that usually backfires. Nobody is impressed when you drive a BMW or a Porsche. Most people think you are just a show off. And they will never ever let you pull in!

The brand value is only relevant for a small group of die hards that are appealed by owning a certain brands for the image they think it portrays. I test drove a Range Rover Sport this weekend. Got several fingers from cyclist, pedestrians and fellow car drivers. For no reason, other than they saw a RAnge Rover. I am quite sure that is not the image the Range Rover PR department had in mind

[Thermodynamics]

It is a relatively abstract topic and the poll can be deceptive. Unless one works for or has interests in a particular company, I don't know if there is any reason for loyalty or to not move to a more competitive brand. I think people stick to a brand mostly because of past pleasant experiences and reluctance to experiment new things.

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

How loyal are you to a particular car brand ?

I am extremely loyal, not just to car brands, but to any brand that I use, be it gadgets or FMCG. I bought a Fiat Palio as my first car after getting a job. When it was a time to change after the Palio was involved in a terrible crash, I wanted to buy another Fiat. But by that time there was no dealership in Kolkata and the partnership with Tata was still a few years away. So the next best option was Maruti as there were several already in the family, so bought the Baleno. In 2011 I was looking for a 4WD and Gypsy was the first choice. But Maruti dealerships in Kolkata were not willing to sell one and instead was trying to push the SX4! So I had to move on and buy the Bolero. Since the Bolero served us so well the next car was also from Mahindra in 2014, the Thar. After reading GTO's report on the new Thar, I am itching to go back to India and buy it!

Forgot to tell that we still have a 2004 Alto, a 2005 Zen and a 2007 Esteem. At one point we had two Esteems as well. In 2015, I sold both of them off. One of them was sold to my cousin which I bought back from him after 2 years
So, as I told at the beginning, I get attached to non-living things as if they have soul and in turn get attached to their makers!

Edit: It is difficult not be loyal to Mahindra after driving the Bolero LX 4x4 and the Thar!

[BMvW.Rajat]

I don't think I would be loyal to a brand. But there are a couple of brands that I would choose over most others, that is mainly because of the offering (it could be better features, driving pleasure or great after sales service), not an emotional attachment. I've always believed that if the tables were turned, most brands wouldn't be loyal to their customers and do what is best for them, for example Chevrolet, they just packed up and left. Imagine the plight of someone who just invested a big chunk of their savings in a Cruze, forget about warranty they wouldn't get any decent service and would have to keep it for a long time because resale value is out the window. Big corporations don't really care about us, even if they do something kind, it's to maintain a good public image so that they can get better profits in the future and not out of the kindness of their heart. That is just my personal opinion and there might be very very few exceptions.

[AshBabu]

Voted for Changeover, given better options. To start with I owned a Maruti 800 and then switched to Hyundai Santro. The next car was Toyota Etios followed by Honda City. Present ride is Hyundai Creta. It depends on my requirements. Fortunately for me, the experience with all the Dealers and service has been good. And most of the service being done in authorized service station