Fuel efficiency, quality issues dog Indian car buyers

Chennai, Nov 30 (IANS) There is a gap between the promises made by car sellers during the purchase and actual fuel efficiency of the vehicles experienced by owners on the roads, finds a study.

“In 2012, 67 percent of new vehicle owners reported that their vehicle’s fuel efficiency was less than what their salesperson communicated to them during the purchase process, an increase of five percentage point since 2008,” said the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2012 India Initial Quality Study report released Friday.

Mohit Arora, executive director at J.D. Power Asia Pacific, Singapore, said historically, fuel efficiency has been one of the key drivers of model consideration and purchase in India and that Indian car manufacturers have to work on fuel efficiency perceptions of buyers.

“As technological advancements make vehicles more sophisticated, clearer communication during the purchase process will help set more realistic owner expectations on product performance. It would be prudent for automakers and their dealer networks to continue efforts to bridge the gap between expectations and reality on product performance,” he said.

The study also finds that there is a rise in the overall quality problems that new vehicle owners experienced during the first two to six months of their ownership in 2012 as compared to 2011.

The study states the incidence of initial quality problems reported by new vehicle owners in India is slightly higher in 2012 than in 2011.

The J.D.Power study is in its 16th year and measures problems owners experience with their new vehicle during the first two to six months of ownership and examines more than 200 problem symptoms covering engine and transmission; vehicle exterior; driving experience; climate control features, controls and displays; vehicle interior; seats; and audio, entertainment and navigation.

IANS 2012-11-30 19:02:15