Rudolf Diesel and cars in Semi-Urban/Rural India It all began with a conversation with my colleague. He had just returned from a visit to his native (a small town in TN) in India.
Colleague: “Have you heard of Swift DZire?”
Me: “Yes I have. (After a brief pause) What about it?”
Colleague: “I heard it gives 28kmpl o highways and 26kmpl in the city!”
Me: “Is it? Who told you?”
Colleague: “A friend of mine runs a travel agency. He told”
Colleague: “He says that it is available for taxi registration only in the Metros!”
Me: “Oh is it!”
Having a Swift D in my family for the past two years, I told him:
Me: “My father has been driving the same car for about two years. He gets about 20 on highways and about 16 in the cities. It’s the same car minus the boot”
Colleague: “(with a disbelief on his face) But I heard that Dzire is a new model!”
Me: “It is relatively newer, but it’s the same car. These days even the Palio, Indica and other cars come with the same engine. It’s a Fiat engine.”
The conversation pretty much ends here. My colleague’s facial expression said it all. What I concluded from his expressions:
01. He wasn’t really buying what I was saying. I guess the travel agent friend is more believable!
02. He didn’t even agree that Swift D and Dzire share the same engine!
03. "...Fiat Engine..." was the last nail in the coffin. He pretty much ignored all words there on!
04. So many different cars with the same engine is hard to believe!
I know what you guys might be thinking. “How come you didn’t explain it better?”, “How come you didn’t mention about the engine manufacturing license from Fiat?” etc.
There was pretty much no point discussing these things with someone who is not interested in cars. He represented a large portion of the Indian consumer coming from the Semi-urban and rural areas. Honestly what difference does it make in knowing that the inventor of Diesel engine was Mr. Diesel!
This conversation highlighted a few point to me:
01. Word of mouth publicity works best for people in these parts of India (“…28kmpl…”)
02. The best image builder for a car is it’s Fuel Efficiency (28 kmpl, though incorrect)
03. People carefully observe the taxi segment in these parts and consult the owners for feedback.
04. Having a taxi image is not a deal breaker.
05. Maruti and Tata are the most trusted brands in these regions.
06. There is a strong desire (Dzire?) to shift to Diesel powered vehicles.
07. The "Numbers" are not important - Power, Weight, Torque, 0-100, 40-80 blaa blaa blaa. FE and price are the primary numbers.
Last edited by sushanthr77 : 1st November 2009 at 13:16.
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