"India's Auto Irony - Rs.1-l car to jostle for space with Rs.8-l super bikes."
...so goes the headline in the ET dated 7th July 2007. Definitely an irony The article spoke about an irony of a car being so cheap and a bike being so expensive. A car meant for the masses and the bike for the classes.
What however, strikes me as an irony is this: A 1 - L car looks at a HUGE market in India. Every Tom, Dick and Harry can pride itself with being a car owner. But, do we have the roads to drive the car. I am not very technically aware of the specifications of the car - but from the look of it, it gives me a feel that it is meant for driving small distances (within a city) and not really long ones. And if this assumption of mine is correct - then it makes me wonder if we have the roads to drive them on. Having seen the traffic in Mumbai and Bangalore, I don't wanna see more people commuting by their own cars. Then again, if its about the Tier2 and Tier 3 tows. Do they have a sound enough traffic systems, bot in terms of roads and traffic control to handle mass customers for a car!!!!
Coming to the bikes... Rs.8-L for a bike!!! Well, we do have a huge number of roadies I assume. But, would they be ready to pay Rs.8-l lacs for a bike. And the only place they would be able to ride such a bike would be a smooth long road, and not the roads of Mumbai. 1000cc, 1670cc on Mumbai roads could be both a pitiful and hilarious site. So where does it leave the company in terms of the market they are looking at.
Well, but if it is about TATA, Yamaha and Suzuki - I think they have done their homework well. And the Govt. authorities in India should be working on the roads, the traffic control, the parking, the accidents and the endless list of complications.
If nothing maybe, TATA as a part of their social responsibility could help build some good roads in Mumbai.
Lemme kno if any of my assumptions are wrong. If nothing the Govt. would definitely try and stop or delay the launch of these cars...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
hmmm... 1st the issue.. of infrastucture & luxury of ppl.. is goin hand in hand...
It is like tht chicken or egg thing.. vch came first... hear the problem is.. vch should come first...
Gov. may stay in the state of denial... as to y to improve the infra.. they hav started..but.. if 1L car is launched the proposed infra may also fall short..
But v need to understand... tht India is growing @ 9% .. & v arent walkin anymore.. v r running.. so these r typical problems of a develping country becomin a developed 1...
So.. ur rite problem wud b there.. & better b aware of it than in a state of denial..
Hope.. if our gov wakes up & has a foresight
Anvita, well u r spot on...
however a few points... did we know there is market for Mercedes? so much space for Malls to come in? Mobiles costing 30K plus and computers costing less than 20K..
The point is simple... in a growing economy each product creates its own market.. its own space..
and if i can say on..
its own resources and its own infrastructure..
so dont worry..
the cars will not cause any execesive traffic... and bikes will have thier set of customers...
keep writting...
yes, its ironical that on one hand Tata plans to launch a 1 lac car (which it announced 4-5 years back and after accounting for inflation & interest rates, even if it comes out with a price tag of 1.5 lacs...it'll be fine..!! ) and on the other hand there's a buzz about a 8 lac bike..!!
And ofcourse, there's a market for both the products.
Further, Maruti & Honda have refused to come out with sub 1.5 lac car coz they think that they cant produce it. Maruti has one of the best operational efficiency in the world (Japanese partners...!!) and to produce a car at that cost, it has to be through some technological innovation, which in the long run might be good, both for the industry & the environment.
Also, your reasoning that there's not enuf infra in cities like mumbai & b'lore to accomodate these vehicles doesnt justify why these vehicles shudnt be produced or bought by the junta...!! this is why I think so.....
- Lack of infra, be it roads, parking space etc. is all an excuse that middle & upper class people like me & u, who already have a car, who are enjoying/ benefiting from it, provide coz its us who'll be effected the most. We'll have to fight for that given amount of limited space.
- But y should this stop people who have the money to buy a car from buying it. Till now they were deprived of the pleasures/ benefits of possessing a car but now they have car which they can afford and maintain....y shudnt they..?? Did u or ur parents think about it wen u bought a car...?? We never did...!! the day we had the money...we bought a car...we never cared how the roads where or where we will park it.
- Infra is not our problem. Thats the govt's job. Either they should provide us an alternative mode of transportation which is as comfy, safe & smooth as our own car or provide us the infra. Mumbai or B'lore didnt had the infra that the have today, 15 years ago. Alrite....the pace was slow but still some growth was there. Why did the govt construct a bridge over the sea in mumbai...?? because they have to provide the infra....thats y the govt. exist.
- Delhi got metro...which is as good as traveling in own vehicle. Mumbai & b'lore metro is coming up too...!!
- If at all people like us are concerned, then we shud first give up our cars, move around in public transport and maybe create more space for kids to play....!!
- But thats tuff or maybe inpractical....so what do we do....look for excuses...MY CAR, MY PARKING.....
You're right ...all hell would break loose if the masses started buying cars ....But then I don't know if that would happen ...ok , the initial cost is low ...but the fuel prices are still so high ...maybe people would just buy this instead of a maruti ... anyway a second hand maruti car costs about a lac..
Yes ..definitely ...not only TATA but all the major auto companies should help out with the road improvement ...then we could get somewhere ..
This "budget car" as I like to call it, will find a face amongst the lower income groups.
I guess the rural market will also be tapped herein and subsequently the demand for (better) roads will crop up at the Govt's doorstep. Soon enough, the metro's will start eyeing this development and demand their share of improvement in the infrastructural enhancements.
If no public body acts in time, the private players will have to either provide some CSR front or shut down their plants.
Wow.. did that make sense?
Post a Comment