Indians want fuel-efficient vehicles as they want to save money and surprisingly being more eco-friendly comes as the second-best reason
More than 67 percent of Indian consumers expressed that fuel economy is more important than power according to a survey conducted on behalf of Ford Motor Company in June 2016. The survey took place across the Asia Pacific region in 11 markets to 9,500 drivers including 1,023 Indian respondents. When asked about the significance in prioritizing frugality, about 72 percent of the car drivers in India said they wanted to save money.
More interestingly, the second prioritized reason would be that they want to be more eco-friendly (71 percent) and 64 percent said they conserve fuel due to the rise in petrol and diesel prices. Another group of 52 percent regretted buying powerful-engined cars because they cannot eke out more mileage from their vehicles, said the survey. As drivers are sensitive to fuel costs, fuel efficiency emerges as top concern and this survey was conducted to understand the magnitude in which the economy is important for the car owners and drivers said Kevin Tallio of Ford Asia Pacific.
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One fourth of the drivers play tricks with brimming their fuel tanks as they wait for the prices to come down. In the event of saving fuel, more than 40 percent of consumers suggested that they will change their driving behaviors, like maintaining a certain speed and short shifting, to use minimum fuel and 37 percent opted to take public transport more often. Another one third said that they are planning on driving less over the next one year as well.
The Ford survey went on to say 66 percent convinced that if they saved 20 percent on fuel every month, they would put the extra money toward their savings while another 53 percent they would use the saving for the welfare of their family. The survey further highlighted the unwariness of Indian buyers in terms of long-term strategies for money saving.
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More than half 57 percent admitted that they do not consider the total cost of ownership when buying a new car like vehicle maintenance and aftersales expenditures. Furthermore, only one in three said that they invest more money at purchase time on efficient engine to save money on future fuel costs.
However, the trend has started shifting as 56 percent plan to buy a vehicle with a more fuel efficient engine in the next year, 34 percent plan to downsize to a smaller vehicle and 17 percent plan to buy a hybrid or electric vehicle.