Car makers are realising the damage that strong association of a product with the taxi segment does to the long-term demand from private buyers. Companies are making conscious attempts to differentiate the same product to cater to taxi and the personal segment simultaneously.
Hyundai, the second-biggest player in the domestic car market, is kickstarting a new brand strategy exclusively for the cab and taxi segment. A new brand, Prime, has been created as a mother brand for the taxi segment and aggregators. All cars being sold to this segment will be branded as Prime and will have some differentiation. Its nearest rival, Maruti Suzuki, had introduced the Dzire Tour for commercial segment some years ago. But this was limited to just one of its many vehicles that are used in the taxi segment.
“India has always seen a challenge when it comes to managing customer expectations and aspirations in products which are available to an individual as well as a commercial buyer. Most of the time, any product that has gone into the commercial space such as taxi, has lost its appeal to the individual buyer. Either it sells in commercial or in individual space. A success in both is far and few,” said Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice president (sales and marketing) at Hyundai.
The Korean car maker wants to use existing products but brand them separately. Prime will have the Grandi10 and Xcent to begin with. But it can have more products in future. Such a strategy is being done for the first time by Hyundai anywhere in the world. Hyundai gets 17 per cent of its India volumes from the commercial buyers. Srivastava said the product for commercial segment could also be slightly different.
Japanese auto major Toyota was facing the challenge with its Etios sedan which was being increasingly identified as a taxi. Last year in September, the company made a conscious attempt to reposition the Etios. “We retained the old look for the taxi segment and brought a new look Platinum Etios for the personal buyers,” said N Raja, director and senior vice president (sales and marketing) at Toyota Kirloskar Motor. Platinum Etios has been given a bold new design, better safety features and stylish look.
Mayank Pareek, president of the passenger vehicle business unit at Tata Motors, which was at one time getting bulk of its car sales from taxi segment says the company will look at tailor made solutions for aggregators. “Historically, taxi segment was looked down upon. One of the reasons was that these cars were badly maintained. But aggregators’ cars are well maintained and are used by customers with a good profile. We will focus on the total ownership cost for this segment. Within the existing vehicles, we will offer tailor made solutions to aggregators,” he said.