[EightSix]

When we buy cars these days, do we consider them to be commodities or aspirational purchases?

Is a car still a status symbol? Well, a ₹60 lakh Mercedes is, but what about a new Alto or even a Wagon-R?




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All the big luxury marques — the German trio or even Lexus or Volvo — do they have any aspirational value? On the streets of Mumbai, Mercedes’s are all over the place. Now if the average Deepak buys a wagon-R, he would just buy it to get his commute done from point A to point B — so the aspirational value is lost.

Would you strive for some car in the present day, like — work hard all your life and walk into the showroom one fine day with the ‘I want this car only’ expression?

I believe cars were all about aspirations few decades ago, but now they are just not the same anymore. It’s not just the story of how a farmer from Tamil Nadu bought his first car — the three pointed star after falling in love with it since school. Even people who bought Santros and Safaris and Wagon Rs back in the day considered them to be aspirational.

There is, one particular brand which is really pushing this ‘aspirational’ factor in the global car scene — Tesla. Everybody wants to own one. Other manufacturers don’t seem to be working on this factor.

Another concept I can connect this to is the dilution of brands. Brands that dilute themselves by trying to be an all in one place for different types of cars just end up loosing their aspirational value. What if, a Mercedes were as small as a Baleno and could be bought at the cost of a MG Hector?

I see BHPians posting car advertisements from 10/20 years ago and talking about how they influenced them to love the car. What happened to those TV commercials that connect with the heart? These days I mostly see TVCs about apps to connect to your car!

Which car has a unique selling point these days that you can buy with a budget? There is not a single car that I love and also afford.

Financing options, lease schemes etc, have made it easier for many people to buy a car these days so I think what people do is just get a car that they need. Not that they want.

Is it the manufacturers who are at fault for not being able to make that connect with the aspirational consumer? Very few cars are actually desirable.

All of this makes me wonder if the desirability factor doesn’t matter in today’s car purchases.

[lonetraveller89]

Why not both? For the average Indian, a vehicle is, at most times, BOTH an aspirational purchase as well as a purposeful commodity. Exceptions could include commercial and beater cars.

Is a car still a status symbol? Well, a ₹60 lakh Mercedes is, but what about a new Alto or even a Wagon-R?

Yes and yes! As this is purely subjective. But can one compare the aspirational value of a Maruti 800 in the 80s to that of an Alto today? Probably not.

[Strangerintown]

I would say that completely depends on the buyer, his social / economic background as well as his personal philosophy. I don't think there is a one size fits all answer here. For some people, a vehicle may be purely functional. For others, the dividing line between functional and aspirational would probably depend on the economic status of the buyer. For someone from a well to do back ground and having grown up with multiple cars in the house, a German luxo-barge may be aspirational (for example) while a C or D segment sedan may be utilitarian. For another buyer from a back ground of no cars in the family, a Maruti 800 may well be aspirational. So in my opinion it is very relative!

[viXit]

It was always inevitable, santros and Altos were aspirational purchases one day, but as more and more people are able to afford it, it's not the same anymore. Aspirational purchases are decided by many factors, exclusivity being on of them. And exclusivity cannot be maintained over time.

There is, one particular brand which is really pushing this ‘aspirational’ factor in the global car scene — Tesla. Everybody wants to own one. Other manufacturers don’t seem to be working on this factor.

Tesla isn't as much as an aspirational purchase, as much as it is a way of showing people you're an advocate of future technologies. It's for people who buy promises and not cars. A promise of an electrified future. It's a gateway for people who want to feel sophisticated and advanced. All the above is Relative to being an aspirational purchase. It may be faster, torquier and feature rich, but for old school petrolheads like many of us, not necessarily most, I don't think electric cars can cut it. I hope this changes when I drive one.

All that said, there's still no getting behind the terrible terrible quality control, extremely poor paint finishes and unintuitive interiors with everything controlled through screens. And the pricetag isn't something that resembles that of a normal car either. IDK about this one chief, but it's never going to be an aspirational purchase for me. Me, I like being surrounded by buttons and leather upholstery and all that shebang that the Luxury cars have. The only time I'd find anything else aspirational is if it's for pure driving pleasure. But even without all this, the unethical shit they push is simply not for me. I don't want to start a rant on the service policies.

p.s : A line or two stolen from Linus Sebastian

EDIT: How did I forget about the subscription based approach for everything. The * heated seats also were a subscription. Elon Musk is cool, and Teslas are just selling because YouTube and rich people see it as a trendy purchase to make.

[Kosfactor]

There are vehicles that sell for pure utility alone - like an Ambulance, Garbage truck etc. Remaining vehicles are all aspirational vehicles, including a Hero Splendor.

As per Niti Aayog, there are ~ 22 cars per 1000 Indians! Its important to know who these Indians are.

The aspirational value of may cars are totally over rated, there maybe cars people are interested in as a curiosity but certainly have no interest in buying, else all luxury cars will have the highest resale value in our country, which isn't the case.

People who can very well afford to buy luxury cars either new or used, simply do not. We are a rather modest bunch of people for the most part.

[aargee]

May be I'm more of a motorcyclist, though I don't regret buying SCross, I have a regret in corner of my mind to have forgone Versys 650 for a car. That way I aspire for a motorcycle for a car. May be Adv 390 KTM in near future; now that's aspiring

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by Strangerintown

I would say that completely depends on the buyer, his social / economic background as well as his personal philosophy. I don't think there is a one size fits all answer here. For some people, a vehicle may be purely functional. For others, the dividing line between functional and aspirational would probably depend on the economic status of the buyer. For someone from a well to do back ground and having grown up with multiple cars in the house, a German luxo-barge may be aspirational (for example) while a C or D segment sedan may be utilitarian. For another buyer from a back ground of no cars in the family, a Maruti 800 may well be aspirational. So in my opinion it is very relative!

Well said- I would also add that it depends on the generation. Today's generation (I feel) is less enamoured by a German luxobarge than it is by a vlogging experience. Even someone like me in mid-40s would go for a Tiguan-Allspace than a MB/BMW if I had the means.
But my parents would love it if I would buy a Merc or BMW -not that they haven't experienced it, but its just their generation still holds them in much higher regard.

[BANDHAV]

The thread has taken a different path altogether but from a simple standalone perspective.

Toyota Fortuner

This car has caught the fancy of buyers from differnet backgrounds like anything.

[lamborghini]

In my opinion yes!

If cars weren't aspirational, what would be the need to go beyond the very minimum required (as in the case of commodities).

Many aspire for that sedan : which gave rise to the sub 4M-sedan space that is flourishing today; similarly for the SUV market : where image is key!

[GJ01]

Originally Posted by EightSix

When we buy cars these days, do we consider them to be commodities or aspirational purchases?

Is a car still a status symbol? Well, a ₹60 lakh Mercedes is, but what about a new Alto or even a Wagon-R?

Well firstly, the thread title and the question asked are different. The title says "Which Indian . . . " - whereas the poll is a Yes / No question asking "If" cars today are aspirational purchases for us Indians.

I dont think that cars as such are seen as status symbols, atleast not in my family, friends and colleagues circles. The car brand however, may be seen as aspirational if it happens to be a luxury badge.

[aaggoswami]

For the first time buyer, Alto/Wagon R is a success statement, a proud feeling of finally owning a car. An equally good moment is arrival of a sedan, social status of sedan just cant be touched so soon. The fact that cars like City/Ciaz and D-segment sedans becoming rarer amidst pool of SUV further adds to their status symbol.

However, in my opinion, the real aspirational purchases are the following :
1. Toyota Fortuner
2. Thanks to the new avatar, Ford Endeavour
3. E-class/5-Series
4. Imported SUVs
5. Ford Mustang/Imported high end sports cars

If I were to put forward only one car's name, it would be Toyota Fortuner. Its a statement nobody can match. Only the now discontinued Tata Sierra, Tata Safari, Mahindra Classic came close.

[Amit_breakfree]

Depends on a lot of factors including the economic strata one belongs to and your current mode of transportation. For a person on motorcycle Alto is an aspirational purchase and at the same time Mercedes C class is an aspiration for someone driving a Honda City.

A few Indian cars which I feel could be purchased as an aspiration are:
1) For entry level/first time buyers: MS Swift
2) For upgrading from a hatchback: Honda City (Back in the day if you are driving a City meant that you have arrived in life)
3) Entry level luxury: Merc C Class (Can't go wrong with the 3-pointed star)
4) Rural transport sector: Mahindra Bolero
5) SUVs: Toyota Fortuner

And if you think, a well maintained example of these cars will still turn heads.

Lastly, I would say that as the years pass on cars as an aspirational product will go down as the next generation believes in spending money on varied other avenues.

[TrackDay]

I voted 'No', although the poll seems to be in a favor of 'Yes'.

I grew up in the middle east and was exposed to nearly every brand that was on offer World wide. This was in the late 90's and early 2000's. Back then cars were aspirational ! Yes, they tugged at your heart. Each manufacturer had a distinctive design language and something that seemed aspirational in terms of features etc. Even Indian cars like the Esteem, Safari, Lancer were aspirational. Today in the mindset of Indian car market, everything seems rather the same with the exception only to engine power and certain features.

Take a Swift/Polo for example. One can load accessories and kits to make it a complete car. Even connected car tech can be added on later. Insane customization levels are present. The only thing that seems aspirational could be perhaps that insane power one can get from higher end car say like a BMW 5 series or something like that.

[V.Narayan]

The poll question and the title are a little out of sync with each other. Nevertheless I don't wish to fuss over it.

A luxury car purchase may not be aspirational to a buyer purchasing his second or third luxury car while a second hand Alto could be deeply aspirational for a first time buyer. In 1982 I acquired a pre-owned Lambretta scooter. I was proud as hell about my two wheeled lass and devoted time on every Sunday cleaning her up. And in 1990 when my wife and I bought our first car a Padmini with bucket seats and floor shift we would go off for a drive just for the heck of it! And our hearts swelled with pride that after all these year we were finally on the hallowed strata of car owners. Today an S500 is not likely to stir my loins in the same way. It is all relative to where you are.

As for utility, yes if you are a family with over one car then it is possible that the 2nd or 3rd or 4th one was purchased strictly with a function in mind. India has become rich enough for that today. Functions could be - the beater car for chores, the fun zippy car for weekends, the 4WD for off-roading. There was a time not so long ago when owning a scooter, just one Bajaj was aspirational in our country. :-)

[avaneesh.]

I still aspire to buy a new car every day . Recently I have been luring over advertisements of old Indigo XL, although I know all of them I find will be in a battered condition. It's just that today we have a lot of cars on the road in tier1 and tier 2 cities, hence buying one purely for the sake of status has been lost. (especially the ones in the lower end of the food chain).

Moreover, as most of the fellow members have put, it depends on the individual. Every time I drive past a white Karizma ZMR, I regret the decision of selling one. Still looking for one in a good condition.