In an effort to tackle the issues facing the car rental industry, Droom has launched its new product, Droom Rental. The company, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary, announced the addition of a new category that employs technology and artificial intelligence to provide over 25,000 cars in over nine categories, including cars, buses, coaches, helicopters, planes, yachts, ambulances, scooters, bikes, and bicycles. In just one week since its introduction, Droom Rentals has reportedly acquired more than 1,500 listings from more than 100 rental providers in more than 25 cities.
Car Rentals a Highly Unorganised Sector in India
According to a statement from the firm, the $23 billion car rental market in India is currently very disorganised, with a significant lack of trust, opaque pricing, and non-standard experience, as well as a limited adoption of AI and technology. Other rental categories like daily rental, corporate rental, wedding rental, employee transportation solution, event rental, etc., remain largely unorganised, inefficient, and full of fragmented providers, despite the ride-hailing segment’s successful integration of cutting-edge technology and streamlined operations, Droom stated and expressed its intention to tap into the unorganised rental market.
According to Sandeep Aggarwal, the founder and CEO of Droom, the car rental industry has long been a source of frustration for him because it lacks transparency, trust, standardisation, a vast or diverse fleet, or premium fleet options. He said that the company will shortly be introducing a state-of-the-art technological stack for employee mobility, corporate rental, and all other rental kinds, bringing India’s car rental market up to, if not better than, international standards.
Connecting Used Car Dealers with Customers
Sandeep Aggarwal founded Droom in 2014, and it provides an online marketplace that links buyers and used car dealers. Through its partnerships with banks and NBFCs, the startup also offers financial backing. To date, the firm has raised a total of $296.00 million. Spinny: A Gurgaon-based marketplace for trading used cars, Spinny was founded in 2015. It lets people buy cars, schedule test drives, and choose cars online. Droom’s rivals are Spinny, Cars24, and CarDekho.
The startup’s main sources of revenue include advertising fees, vendor subscription revenues, and buyer commissions. In terms of finances, Droom’s India division cut its loss in half for the fiscal year that concluded on March 31, 2023. From INR 137 Cr in the previous fiscal year to INR 62.1 Cr in FY23, the company was able to reduce its net loss by 55%. But throughout the reviewed year, its operating revenue also fell. In FY23, Droom recorded operating revenue of INR 253.2 Cr, a 34% decrease from INR 384.6 Cr in FY18.
Zoomcar is India’s first self-drive rental company. The concept of enjoying a car drive without actually buying a car was fascinating for Indians.
Today, Zoomcar has over 10,000 cars in the fleet. It has a market share of 60% and has gained massive popularity. The company has 91,00,000+ happy users.
But, how did this company grow so much over the years? To find an answer to this question let’s understand the business model of Zoomcar in detail.
For the people who are living under a rock, using Zoomcar you can rent a car on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis.
It was founded in 2013 by Greg Moran and David Back. The company is headquartered in Bangalore and currently operates in 45 cities. The tagline of this company is Never Stop Living.
Operating Model and Key Products and Services of Zoomcar
To book a car using Zoomcar you first need to be a Zoomcar member.
You also should be 18 years or above. You must have a valid Light Motor Vehicle (Non-Transport) Indian license.
If you are an NRI then you should have an international driver’s license. In the past seven years, you shouldn’t have any kind of alcohol or drug-related driving violations.
Target Audience of Zoomcar
The target audience of Zoomcar is mainly middle-class people between 18-35. They are targeting the people who travel a lot.
If we dive deeper they target teenagers and businessmen. Many young YouTubers have promoted Zoomcar. As we know teenagers follow YouTubers which helped the company to grab a lot of young individuals.
Zoomcar follows a business model where it buys 75% of the cars on loans from the bank. The remaining are bought on lease from big companies like Avis Budget Group. Now, let’s understand other core elements of their business model.
1. Partnerships:
Zoomcar has tied up with various companies to include more cars on their website and to make profits. One of the major partnerships includes Ford & Mahindra.
This helped them become the first rental company in India to offer electric cars (Mahindra REVA E2O and Ford’s REVA E2O) for rent.
They have also smartly tied up with Tata Motors. This helped them to add 50 brand new Tata Nanos. To secure parking and pick-up points they have tied up with several hotels, universities, and real estate developers.
Zoomcar has also partnered with Nissan for a vehicle subscription programme. Customers can subscribe to Nissan Magnite and Nissan Kicks.
In November 2013 they also launched a month-long campaign named RideSmartBLR to spread awareness about drunk driving. This campaign was launched in partnership with Uber and the Ashoka Foundation.
2. Additional Benefits:
Apart from rental services they also give additional benefits which make them a better option. They are as follows:
Mostly the vehicles available on Zoomcar have all India permits.
All the vehicles are strategically placed so that customers can pick up the vehicle conveniently.
If you want you can also get doorstep delivery of the vehicle.
Rates available on Zoomcar have free fuel, taxes, and insurance.
Their call centers are open 24/7 to help customers solve their queries.
What is Unique about Zoomcar’s Business Model
Today, if I tell you to rent a car you would immediately open Zoomcar’s website or app. This shows how much popularity they have gained in these years.
But, apart from them, other companies like Drivezy, SelfDrive, U-Drive, Letmedrive, Carzonrent, and LeasePlan offer similar services.
Why they are not so popular? You might have not heard the names of some companies mentioned above. Let’s understand what unique things Zoomcar did which helped them to reach such heights.
1. Performance Marketing and CRM:
Zoomcar’s marketing strategy is majority focused on performance marketing. This means that the company pay the marketing companies only when a specific task is completed like sales or getting leads or clicks.
Zoomcar’s business and revenue model are straightforward. They rent you a car according to your preferences and earn money out of it.
In the financial year 2017-18, their revenue was $19 Million. But, the company was at a loss as its revenue was less than its expenses. To tackle this they launched ZAP Subscribe.
ZAP Subscribe:
This is an interesting program launched by Zoomcar which helps them to make profits. ZAP Subscribe is actually an extension of the previously launched ZAP Program.
Using this program individuals can subscribe to a new car on monthly basis. You can subscribe to a car from Rs 16,000 to Rs 50,000, depending on the car size.
This will help you to save the subscription fee. The subscription comes up with tenures of 6, 12, 18, and 24 months.
Conclusion
Zoomcar needs to give more benefits to its customers to be in this race for a long time. Their aim, for now, is to grow their business in other parts of the country. They have to give more reasons to their customers to subscribe to a car instead of buying one.
FAQ
When was Zoomcar founded?
Zoomcar was founded in April 2012 by Greg Morgan and David Back.
What is the revenue of Zoomcar?
In FY21, the startup’s total revenue stood at INR 103.6 Cr as against the INR 293.7 Cr it recorded in FY20
Who is the target audience of Zoomcar?
The target audience of Zoomcar is mainly middle-class people between 18-35.
With over 1.3 Billion people, India is the second most populated country in the world and when there are so many people, almost everything is larger than life here. So naturally, it is not a surprise that India is the fifth largest automobile market in the world in terms of sales. Brands like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors are already a hit in this country and are making heads turns of their customers with their amazing automobiles.
While some brands experience immense success in the country, some of them got exposed to failure as well. In this industry, some automakers failed to make a place in the fifth-largest automobile market in the world. This article will talk about all those automakers that failed to set their foot in India and the reason behind it. So without any further ado, let’s get started.
“Car designers are just going to have to come up with an automobile that outlasts the payments.”
Why Automakers are Struggling to Succeed in India?
Two brands that can set their name on the top automakers’ list with their powerful performance in the country are Honda and Hyundai. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that they are ruling the Indian market.
On the other hand, there are some of the automakers who are struggling in our country to lay their foundation. Some of the reasons for this are listed down below:
Increasing fuel price is said to be one reason.
It is also revealed that some concessional GST rate was not allowed by the Government.
One of the reasons is also the higher road taxes.
India is a price-sensitive market and people mostly focus on small cars here, for their needs. A company has to be very precise about this.
Planning of the products by the automakers was poor and naturally, they were not able to adapt to the market.
Another reason is some of the companies are not able to judge the growth of India’s automobile market.
India is a country where a single company dominates more than a quarter of its sales. Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai are the top two companies that dominate the automobile industry. There are some global known brands who failed to set their foot in India and we are here to discuss them.
Harley Davidson
Harley Davidson
The legendary American Cruiser bike was not able to set up its brand in the Indian market. It is said that in 10 years, Harley Davidson was able to sell a little more than 27,000 units in the country. While its competitor Royal Enfield sells double the number of bikes every month. Some of the reason for this is down below:
Not the Right Market
India is a country that is considered one of the biggest two-wheeler markets in the world, but it is not a market for big bikes. In India, over 90% of two-wheelers are small motorcycles and scooters as they are easy to maintain as well.
Expensive Offerings
Another vital reason has to be the price; the most affordable bike from this brand costs somewhat 4.7 Lakh. That kind of pricing is extremely high for the people living in a country like India.
Tough Competitors
Royal Enfield proved to be a better companion for the Indian customers over Harley Davidson, in terms of price, lighter in weight, and easier to maintain.
High Repair Cost
India’s roads are somehow filled with potholes and Harley Davidson bikes are quite expensive to repair if it is damaged by potholes.
General Motors
Chevrolet by General Motors
This American multinational automotive manufacturing company is considered as one of the best and biggest manufacturers in the country but unfortunately, it was not able to establish its power in India. When General Motors first came to India, it was able to sell quite a decent number of cars but with time, the average popularity started declining. So, General Motors 2017 decided to close its operation in India. Some of the reasons that it failed in India are:
Failed Business Strategy
The management of a company is one of the most important factors for its survival. As per reports, decisions regarding the company took a lot of time which resulted in not being able to reach a proper strategy for the business at a time.
Weak Dealership Networks
The dealership networks of General Motors were quite weak. The customers’ main issue was with the dealerships as they were not that confident regarding the products of GM.
Bad Resale Value
GM launched over 20 different models in 20 years and also withdrew 10 of them. Naturally, the change of the model lineup affected the resale value badly, and the customer service was also not up to the mark.
Fierce Competitors
General Motors’ technology was not that modern. Reports said that there are cars that barely pass the emission tests. Other brands focused on updating the technology of their car and were quite fierce competitors for GM.
Failed to Attract the Right Audience
GM never introduced top models that are famous in other countries in India. Naturally, it was not able to attract the attention of people in India.
Ford
Ford
Probably one of the biggest shocks the Indian automobile market got when Ford decided to stop making cars in India. The products were well made and were affordable to buy as well. Still, it failed to crack the Indian market, and the reasons are down below:
Sudden Rise in the Price Factor
The sudden rise in the price factor of Ford is one of the reasons, the company lost its place in the Indian market, the maintenance cost started rising of the new models. This high ownership cost became a problem for the customers; which also resulted in decreased sales.
Not Concentrated on the Right Models
Ford didn’t concentrate on SUV when it started getting momentum. Thus it misses out on a great opportunity to use the model to encourage the brand in the Indian market.
Wrong Investment Decisions
The cost structure is another problem, Ford invested where it was not needed, for example, they invested in world-class factories. It was not able to meet the expectations of its potential customers.
Lack of Proper Marketing
Ford slugged in making its brand big in India, while other brands like Hyundai worked 24/7. This is one of the reasons, plus the aggression that was needed for marketing, was missing in Ford’s startegy.
The Automobile market in India is a huge one, one needs to concentrate on various structures to make their brand a successful one in the country. The automakers that failed in this country are a big lesson for those automakers that wanted to make the 5th largest automobile market a hub for their brand.
FAQs
Which Indian car companies are closing?
Ford, General Motors, Fiat, and Harley had exited the Indian automotive market.
Which car company stopped making cars in India?
Ford India closed its operation in 2021 due to huge mounting losses.
In the same way that we think about flying vehicles now, the self-driving automobile was once considered future technology that was decades away. Entirely self-driving cars are already commonly accessible for usage. Several automotive behemoths have announced the debut of completely autonomous vehicles in the last four years. Driverless car developers want to provide a hands-free experience without compromising human safety by using the most sophisticated 3D imagery and AI available. To name a few features, these high-tech vehicles have speed maintenance systems, brakes, traffic recognition, lane maintenance systems, and adaptive cruise control.
Automobiles and cars are getting more intelligent and more connected in various ways, and these advancements will usher in some of the most exciting improvements in mobility and transportation in the next year and beyond. So without further ado, let’s look at top car companies that will bring out their self-driving cars in 2022.
Cruise’s team is merging self-driving car technology with ride-sharing technology to create on-demand driverless transport modes that are cleanly engineered to cut fuel pollution.
The company’s automotive products are combined with cutting-edge robotics and AI technology and put through rigorous simulation testing before being on the market to verify that they adhere to all applicable road laws and safety procedures.
In 2022, Cruise’s driverless car division plans to launch a completely automated taxi service in San Francisco. Cruise has already started testing self-driving cars in the city, picking up General motors employees for test drives without someone in the front two seats.
The corporation now has a permit to run vehicles in the town without a human on board at night speeds up to 30 mph. Cruise can also charge for delivery services but not ride-hailing services. In addition, in 2022, the business will introduce its ‘Super Cruise’ technology, which will be available in six cars.
Waymo
Waymo – Top Self Driving Car Companies
Google began working on its self-driving vehicle project in 2009 to drive independently for ten consecutive 100-mile journeys. Waymo, a self-driving technology startup, was acquired by Alphabet in 2016, and Google’s self-driving project became Waymo.
Waymo produces a range of autonomous vehicles to fulfil the mobility demands of people around the country, including commuter cars and self-driving trucks that may be used in both personal and business settings.
The company now provides tested and validated self-driving technology that responds swiftly and effectively to environmental elements and human interaction. Waymo launched its robotaxi services outside of Phoenix in August 2021. Riders will now be able to use the Waymo One app in San Francisco, where they will be able to hail a Waymo-powered Jaguar I-Pace EV.
Waymo made an appearance in Manhattan in November 2021 for a test. It is yet to be seen whether Waymo’s self-driving cars will work successfully and make any growth in 2022.
Pony.ai
Pony.ai – Top Self Driving Car Companies
Pony.ai was founded in 2016, and since then, it has manufactured drones, robotic taxis, and self-driving automobiles. It has become one of the most valuable unicorns globally when it comes to AI technology development.
Pony.ai began testing self-driving cars on public highways in California in June 2021, with ambitions to provide commercial service in 2022.
In Fremont and Milpitas, the company is testing autonomous vehicles with human safety drivers behind the wheel. Pony.ai is also testing its self-driving cars in Guangzhou, China. Following a reported crash in Fremont on October 28, the California Department of Motor Vehicles told Pony.ai that it was suspending its driverless testing authorization on November 19.
However, Pony.ai’s permission for testing with a safety driver is unaffected by the ban. This summer, Pony.ai also wants to relaunch a public carpool service in Irvine, employing autonomous vehicles with a human safety driver. Its objective is to have a completely autonomous service available to the public by 2022.
Optimus Ride is a completely automated shuttle service designed to bring entire communities to their destinations as quickly as feasible. To assure security and comfort, the end-to-end mobility solution provides a rider-first experience and actual road-ready safety features.
In March 2021, the business announced a partnership with Polaris, a producer of power sports vehicles, to bring completely autonomous GEM electric cars to market. The two companies are working on a new Polaris low-speed car that will completely incorporate Optimus Ride’s autonomous software and hardware package.
In Brooklyn, California, Northern Virginia, and Boston, Optimus Ride has deployed roughly 30 Polaris GEM cars equipped with Optimus Ride autonomous technology for commercial ride-hailing operations.
Rides are now restricted to a limited set of residents in riverfront apartment complexes, similar to when the service debuted in the DC region at the Reston-based Halley Rise mixed-use development. Passengers can reserve a ride up to a week ahead of their trip by downloading the Opti Ride App.
Uber
Uber- Top Self Driving Car Companies
Uber is the world’s most popular ride-hailing and ride-sharing service, assisting individuals from all over the world in getting to where they need to go in quick time. On occasion, Uber has dabbled in self-driving vehicles, most notably partnering with Motional to investigate new methods to introduce self-driving technology to Uber’s network.
Motional is a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Co. and Aptiv Plc that combines Aptiv’s self-driving car technology with Hyundai’s automobile manufacturing expertise.
In 2020, Uber sold its self-driving vehicle section to Aurora Innovation Inc. and acquired a share in the company, abandoning its plan to build a fleet of self-driving taxis. The Uber Eats trial programme will deliver meal packages from select restaurants in the Santa Monica region of Los Angeles via the Uber Eats app. By early 2022, Uber Eats customers will be able to buy restaurant meal kits and have them delivered by one of Motional’s modified all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 robotaxis. The Hyundai cars employed in the testing had never been used to deliver anything before.
Although self-driving vehicles will be used in the pilot programme, the service will begin with safety operators present in the vehicles and not be fully autonomous.
By 2030, these services will account for up to 25% of all shared mobility travels, according to predictions. These self-driving cars will be shared, resulting in less traffic, more parking places, a cleaner environment, and, most importantly, fewer deadly automobile accidents.
That day is not too far when all of our vehicles are automated and self-driven.
FAQs
What are the car companies to bring Self-driving cars in 2022?
Some of the car Companies to bring self-driving cars in 2022 are:
Cruise
Waymo
Pony.ai
Optimus Ride
Uber
What companies make AI for self-driving cars?
Top companies that develop AI for self-driving cars are:
Cruise
Waymo
Agro.ai
Neuro
Pony.ai
Zoox
Robotic Research
TuSimple
Momenta
nuTonomy
Which are the Top 10 Self-Driving Startups in India?
The Electric Vehicle industry is expected to boom in the next 5 years in India with a lot of companies coming up with EV vehicles both 2 wheelers and 4 wheelers. Even the global EV giant Tesla has entered into the country. Recently Tata Motors and Tata power have jointly set up a solar carport and are making a mark in the EV infrastructure. Let’s look at how the solar carport is going to benefit the EV industry.
Tata Motors and Tata Power have joined together in order to set up one of the largest grid synchronized, behind the meter solar carport of the county. The carport is located in Pune at the car plant of Tata motors.
The company has said that the 6.2-megawatt carport is the largest solar carport in the country. The project that is developed in the plant of Tata motors will be able to generate around 8.6 million kilowatts of electricity and would reduce an estimated amount of 7,000 tonnes of Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and around 1.6 lakh tonnes over its lifestyle.
The project is spread across 30,000 square meters and can also be used as the parking space for the cars that are manufactured by Tata motors. Even after the crisis faced by the country due to the Coronavirus Pandemic both the companies were able to develop the carport with a record period of 9.5 months.
This carport is expected to be a part of the company’s net zero carbon goals by the year 2039 and Tata motors had entered into a Power Purchase agreement with Tata power in regards to the goals.
Tata Solar Car port
Tata motors on Solar Carport project
Shailesh Chandra who is the President of the Passenger Vehicle Business Unit of Tata Motors had conveyed that, the company has always advocated sustainability in every aspect of our business by checking more meaningful ways to reduce the impact we create on our planet by providing existing products and sustainability solutions to the customers.
He added that the company has always been conscious of the need for energy consumption and is also working towards achieving a 100% renewable source of energy for all the operations.
How Tata Solar Carport project will benefit the EV Industry
The Electric Vehicle industry of the country will be the most benefitted sector from this project. One of the disadvantages of the EVs in the country is the lack of infrastructure and the adaptability and this project is considered to be the first step towards the infrastructure facilities provided for the Electric Vehicle industry.
Tata Motors already have their set of EVs and this will add as an added advantage for their cars. Some of the other advantages are that the Solar carport will reduce the expenses of the company as they will not have to buy the energy from the power supply companies and can generate their own electricity.
Tata Power on its Solar Carport project
Praveer Sinha who is the MD and CEO of Tata Power has conveyed that as one Tata initiative and added that they are proud to partner with Tata motors. He added that the partnership is a proof of our collective efforts in order to reduce the carbon footprint in the society and to provide solutions for the future that are concentrated into the green energy solutions.
He added that the company would focus and continue to explore new ways to generate energy through clean resources and provide them to the customers and their partners.
Tata Power also has a solar powered carport which is the first ever carport in the country that was established in the year 2017 in Delhi. Tata Motors has also committed to shifting to 100 % renewable energy consumption by joining the RE100 initiative. Tata Power also has a solar carport established in the Kochi airport in the year 2018.
FAQ
What is size of Tata solar carport?
The Tata solar car port spans across 30,000 square meters and is located in Chikhali, Pune.
How much electricity will the Tata solar carport project generate?
The project that is developed in the plant of Tata motors will be able to generate around 8.6 million kilowatts of electricity and would reduce an estimated amount of 7,000 tonnes of Carbon dioxide.
Where is the Tata solar carport located?
The carport is located in Chikhali, Pune at the car plant of Tata motors.
Maruti Suzuki India which is one of the largest manufacturers of the four-wheeler segment in the country has seen a decline in the sales during the month of May. The company has been a pioneer in the consumer market segment of four-wheeler sales in the country. Let’s look at the reason for the decline in the number of sales.
On 1 June 2021, Maruti Suzuki had reported that there was a decline of around 71% in the sales of the largest carmaker in the country on May 2021. The carmaker has seen a decline of 71% when compared to the sales on April 2020 as during the month of April the sales were around 1,59,691 compared to the sales of May which amounted to just 46,555 units.
Maruti Suzuki India had also conveyed that their domestic dispatches to their dealers in the month of May amounted to around 35,293 units which saw a decline while compared to the month of April which amounted to around 1,42,454 units.
Segment wise Decline in sales of Maruti Suzuki
The sales of mini cars of the company such as S-Presso and Alto saw a decline of around 81% during the month of May which amounted to 4,760 units when compared to April which amounted to 25,041 units.
The sales of the compact segment vehicles such as Swift, Baleno, Dzire and Ignis saw a decline of around 72 % during the month of May which amounted to 20,343 units when compared to April which amounted to 72,318 units.
The sale of the mid-sized sedan which is Ciaz saw a decline during the month of May which amounted to 349 units when compared to April which amounted to 1,567 units. The sale of Utility Vehicles which include Vitara Brezza, Ertiga and S-Cross had also seen a decline of around 75 % during the month of May which amounted to 6,355 units when compared to April which amounted to 25,484 units.
As per the report received from Maruti Suzuki India, the company has also seen a decline in their export segment of around 35% which amounted to 11,262 units in the month of May when compared to the 17,237 units in the month of April.
Reason for the decline in Sales of Maruti Suzuki
One of the major reasons for the decline of the sales for the largest carmaker in the country was due to the shutting down of their manufacturing units. It is seen that the company had shut down the production process in the month of May 2021 from 1st to 16th.
The production process was stopped by the company in order to divert the oxygen from the industrial usage for the medical purpose across the country. There was a nationwide crisis as the majority of the hospitals have been facing a lack of oxygen supply for the patients and a lot of them losing their lives.
Soon after that, the major places in the country had gone under lockdown and not having a proper production process for the entire month has affected the sales volume of May 2021.
Maruti Suzuki Sales compared to May 2020
About Maruti Suzuki India
Maruti Suzuki India is a subsidiary company of the Japanese based automotive manufacturer Suzuki. The company was formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited and was owned by the Government of India in between 2981 to 2003. In the year 2003, the Government of India had sold it to the Japanese company Suzuki Motor Corporation.
The company has a market share of around 53% in the Indian car passenger market. The company has its headquarters located in New Delhi, India.
Conclusion
Maruti Suzuki India has conveyed that due to the shut down of production for the supply of oxygen and disruptions faced due to lockdown, the normal production hasn’t taken place in the past two months and hence the sales volume of May 2020 is not comparable to the one that of May 2021.
FAQ
Who is the CEO of Suzuki?
Osamu Suzuki is the current CEO of Suzuki.
When was Maruti Suzuki founded?
Maruti Udyog limited was founded by the government of India in 1982.
Is Maruti Suzuki most selling car in India?
Yes, Maruti Suzuki has been consistent in selling most number of cars for fourth consecutive year.
According to the data from an online retailer, there has been an increase in the sale of used sports cars during the period of March to May. That was when the Covid-19 lockdown had implemented globally. Let’s look at the further details on the reasons for the increase in the sales of sports cars during 2020.
The rise of the sale of sports cars instead of a steep decline in the sale was not surprising said the CEO of CarShop Nigel Hurley. He also said that the increase in the sales is due to the restrictions laid down on the people during the period because of the lockdown.
He also added on saying that he was not surprised to see an increase in the sale of sports cars across England and Wales because he feels that sports cars were a source of relief for people during the distressing time of coronavirus lockdown. People were looking for something fun, positive and exciting to help themselves to get distracted from the situation of lockdown and the Covid-19 cases.
Holidays were stopped, vacations were canceled, weddings were postponed and family gatherings were cut down, and amid all these why wouldn’t one treat themselves, Asked the CEO of CarShop Nigel Hurley.
There was an unusuality in the data around the sales of sports cars in the West Midlands, North West and the East of England because the residents of these regions are largely from the rural areas. According to speculations the people in the rural regions might practically already own a vehicle.
They would have seized the opportunity of the lockdown to buy something which would provide them a bigger enjoyment factor. The sports cars would be something they could use to drive along their beautiful countryside and the surrounding areas.
This could be a replacement for the people instead of the stopped vacations and postponed weddings to create a sense of fun and enjoyment.
The sale of used sports cars had skyrocketed to an increase of 82% from March to May. In the West of Midlands, the sales of used sports cars increased up to 200% according to the data provided by CarShop.
The North West of England saw an increase in the sales by 185% and the East of England saw an increase in the sales by 159% respectively. This increase in sales was during the time where driving was banned except for any essential reasons when the Lockdown was announced.
The company has told that they had also seen an increase in their website for the sale of SUV segment of cars. They said that it was less surprising because there is an ongoing love in the western world for the SUV car segment.
SUV sales had an increase in their sales by 17% but this is not so dramatic compared to a large number of sales by Sports cars.
Value of Cars
The value of cars bought during the time of pandemic has increased which is quite notable as the pandemic and the nationwide lockdown had affected the economic situation globally. It had led to unemployment and depression worldwide.
The average amount a consumer paid in the UK last year that is 2019 was around 10,000 Euros from which it increased to 11,219 Euros during June and August in 2019 according to the data received by CarShop.
Global luxury car market size from 2010 to 2020
Popular Used Sports car
According to the research, the most popular used sports car was the Mercedes Benz SLK. It is a compact roadster and the production of this car was started in 1996 and later it was rebranded to SLC. The car was later discontinued because of the increase in the competition from other players.
27% of the Mercedes Benz SLK’s sold were the ones which were released in the year 2015 and 23% of the SLK’s sold were released during the year 2014. It is said that more than 95% of these cars had automatic transmissions.
In the Indian automobile market, Italian Automobile Lamborghini has reported that it had seen an increase of sales up to 60% in the year 2019. The company had told that they were going to concentrate on the super luxury segment market in India.
Some of the few reasons for the growth of the company in India was because of the spread of the demand towards Tier I and Tier II cities and a lot of entrepreneurs emerging in the country.
The company has also said that they were seeing an increase in the women buyers in India and added that more than 5% of the buyers were women in India.
FAQ
Which is the best used car website?
According to Investopedia, AutoTrader is the best overall website for used car sales.
What is the #1 selling car in the world?
Toyota Corolla is one of the best selling car in the world.
What is the fastest car in the whole world?
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport is the fastest car in the world with a top speed of 304.7mph.
Conclusion
These are some of the reasons for the increase in sports car sales during 2020. It is said that most of the cars sold were second hand sports cars.
BMW i Ventures is a venture capital fund that is based in Europe. BMW i Ventures invests resources and money in startups in the fields of e-mobility, artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, digital car and automotive cloud, sustainability, and so on. The firm has already partnered with innovative companies such as Alitheon, Chargepoint, Tekion, and many more.
BMW i Ventures invests in all stages of a startup from seed and incubation to growth companies. The company is all set to invest in a startup called Boston Steel which would produce carbon dioxide-free steel.
Why BMW decided to Invest in CO2 Free Steel Production
The BMW Group is systematically trying to implement its goals to avoid depletion of natural resources. They are trying to focus on maintaining ecological balance through its new method. BMW Group is investing in a company that has an innovative method to produce Steel that is free of carbon di-oxide.
It is a method developed by an American Startup called Boston Metal. BMW is providing venture capital funds to the Boston Metal through BMW i Ventures.
The company has plans to expand its production of steel which is free of CO2 at an industrial level in the coming years. BMW is investing in the startup as its method to reduce the emission of CO2 within its suppliers’ network.
BMW has said that they were significantly trying to maintain ecological balance and working towards sustainability. They were trying to identify the raw materials and components in their supplier network which produces a high amount of CO2 and that was steel.
Steel is very important for the production of cars and even if they were planning to produce electric cars which run through green energy. The company will still have to use the steel for manufacturing. It will be important even for future car productions.
Steel will always remain an important raw material for the production of cars and other parts in it. BMW group press plants in Europe produce more than half a million tones of steel every year and they have continuously been trying to reduce the CO2 emission from their productions.
Dr. Andreas Wendt who is a member of the Board of Management of BMW AG who is responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network. He told that by 2030 they are trying to reduce the CO2 emissions to be lower than two million tones compared to the present.
In the general method of production of steel, the blast furnaces are used which would generate carbon dioxide. But the startup Boston Metal uses a new technology through electricity. The company uses an electrolysis cell that will produce molten iron. This molten iron is later converted into steel.
If the electricity used for this process is through a renewable source of energy, then the steel produced will be free of carbon dioxide. The startup is set to build the demonstration facilities required for the production of steel in the coming years and later has plans to expand it to the industrial level.
Tadeu Carneiro who is the chairman and CEO of Boston Metal has said that they have investors across the steel value chain who are from the top iron ore and mining companies to the end customers. He says that they validate and support the innovative process of production of steel at high quality and cost competitively.
Methods taken by BMW Group towards Sustainability
BMW group has said that they have ambitious targets to increase the use of green energy and innovative technologies to increase sustainability. They said that investing in projects like Boston Metals is one of the steps they are taking to meet its steel supply chain. BMW group has said that for every contract low-carbon production is an important award criterion.
BMW Group has also said that it is important for their partners also to be committed towards sustainability and to use new technologies which have low carbon emissions. They added that the use of green power is really important and that they have already been working with suppliers who use green power for the steel they produce for them.
BMW group has said its goal to safeguard the reserves of raw materials by reusing the raw materials. It has plans to increase the percentage of the use of recycled raw materials by 2030. All the steel wastes during the production process are recycled and reused as direct material or it is sent back to the production cycle and used as new steel.
The recycling of the waste steel would reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, it helps in conserving the natural resources and reduces the amount of energy required for the production of new steel.
FAQ
Who are the founders of BMW?
Karl Rapp, Camillo Castiglioni, Gustav Otto, Franz Josef Popp are the founders of BMW.
When was the first BMW made?
First BMW was made in 7 March 1916, in Munich, Germany.
Is Rolls-Royce owned by BMW?
Rolls-Royce was bought in 1998 by the Volkswagen Group, but they neglected to acquire the rights to the Rolls-Royce name. BMW bought those rights that same year, and took over production of Rolls-Royce cars in 2003.
Conclusion
The BMW Group had maintained a close relationship with Boston Metals from last year through its own research activities and through the BMW Startup Garage. BMW startup garage shares ideas with around 1,000 startups every year.
It is mainly focused on seeking innovations that will benefit the products and services of the company. BMW startup garage helps the BMW Group in having an early access to innovations before it is available to the market.
Tesla Inc. is a US based Electric Vehicle manufacturing and clean energy company which is located in California. The company was founded in the year 2003 by American entrepreneurs Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. It is named after Nikola Tesla who was an inventor and an electrical engineer. Elon Musk is the CEO of the company since 2008.
The main aim of the company is to increase and improve sustainable transport and energy. Tesla has entered India and has registered its company in January. Their manufacturing unit is located in Bangalore, Karnataka.
Tesla has appointed David Jon Feinstein who is a Global senior director of Tesla, Vaibhav Taneja who is a Chief accounting officer, and Venkatarangam Sreeram who is an entrepreneur as the directors of the Indian subsidiary.
Buying Tesla in India has been a hard task with just a few people in the country owning it. Mukesh Ambani who owns a Tesla Model S, Riteish Deshmuk who owns a Tesla Model X, and Prashant Ruia who owns Tesla model X.
When Tesla announced model 3 in 2016 to the world, they had considered India and started accepting reservations from the country. Vishal Gondal and many others had registered it from India. They paid an amount of $1,000 for the registration.
Back then India’s import duty was high that is up to 100% import duty for any car costing above INR 27 lakh and any car which cost lesser had an import duty of 60%.
The cheapest model of Tesla is Tesla Model 3 which would cost around INR25 lakhs in the global market. In India, there would be an additional 60% import duty on the vehicle. This will make the car costlier and unaffordable in India.
However, later it was found that having a plant in India and importing around 15% would help in reducing the price. The government also reduced the GST on Electric Vehicles from 12% to 5% and on charges which were 18% reducing it to the rate of 5%.
Elon Musk the CEO of Tesla said that the current changes in the sales tax give them hope for the changes in the future. This led to the registration of the company Tesla in India.
Best-selling electric vehicle models worldwide in 2020
Tesla Model 3 is believed to be launched by June 2021 with an ex-showroom price of INR 60 Lakhs. In India, it is expected to be launched in two variants namely Standard Plus and Long Range. Standard Plus would have a range of up to 423 km on a single charge. Long range would have a range of 568 km on a single charge.
Tesla Model S
Tesla Model S is a sedan that is believed to be launched in India by the end of July 2021. The ex-showroom price of this sedan model would be around INR 1.50 Crores. It is expected to have three different variants namely long range, plaid, and plaid+.
Long range would have a range of up to 660 km on a single charge and it comes with a dual-motor setup. Plaid would have a range of 627 km with a tri-motor setup and plaid+ will also have a tri-motor setup with a range of 837 km in a single charge.
Tesla Model X
Tesla Model X will be an SUV, it is expected to be launched in India by January 2022. The ex-showroom price of this SUV model would be around INR 2.00 Crores. It has 5 seating, 6 seating, and 7 seating models. It is expected to have two variants namely long range and plaid.
Long range would have a range of up to 579 km in a single charge and it comes with a dual-motor setup. Plaid would come with a tri-motor setup and have a range of up to 547 km in a single charge.
In the United States of America in the year 2020, out of all the vehicles sold only 1.3% were Electric Vehicles, and out of that 1.3%, 90% were Tesla models. The key reason for such demand for vehicles is their electric charging stations.
Tesla’s electric charging stations provide fast charging facilities and that is the unique selling point of Tesla vehicles. While other Electric Vehicles may take hours to charge, Tesla provides its charging station which provides fast charging facilities.
Tesla may come up with the fast-charging stations in India as well. India can expect it in the coming years after the launch of their different vehicle models. The government has plans to install one e-charging point in 69,000 petrol pumps.
There is an increase in air pollution and fuel prices are rising in the country. Hence there is a need for the government as well as the consumers to shift to Electric Vehicles. This act as an advantage for Tesla in India.
FAQ
Who is the Founder of Tesla?
Tesla was founded in 2003 by American entrepreneurs Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.
Who was the first CEO of Tesla?
Martin Forest Eberhard was the first CEO of Tesla till 2008.
What companies has Tesla bought?
Tesla owns SolarCity Corp, Maxwell Technologies Inc, Grohmann Engineering, Perbix Machine Co. Inc. and Hibar Systems Ltd.
Conclusion
Tesla has a wide range of products. Tesla is not just a car manufacturing company. They provide different products which include Powerwall which helps to store solar energy and energy from renewable resources, solar panels, and solar roof tiles which can be used instead of a normal roof. Solar roof tiles help in generating solar energy.
Historically, people used to prefer manual cars for the feel. And lack of traffic could also be the reason for not adapting automatic cars. But through the passage of time, the manufactures realized that the change in the system is necessary to adapt to the evolving world.
Generally, users prefer things that are convenient and easy to handle. Driving a car is a perfect analogy. With proper training, it’s easier to learn how to drive a car with an automatic transmission. Not only that, it allows people to speak on their phones if urgent, search for music, or look at their GPS all while driving in the driver’s seat (mostly should avoid these things). When you keep on shifting the gears into heavy traffic, that increases the risk of meeting with an accident due to distracted attention. The automatic transmission car helps in decrease of confusion while driving and also reduce the tension. Hence, the growth in sales of Automatic car is tremendous.
History of Automatic Transmission
Users were initially dedicated towards driving the manual car. Even now some of them follow the ancient belief, which were similar in principle to today’s stick-shift vehicles. The first automatic car was invented by a Canadian steam engineer, Alfred Horner Munro in 1921. The technology came along at an exciting time in history as Americans were celebrating the victory of WW2 and building up steam for the post-war boom.
The first automatic transmission design using hydraulic fluid was developed in 1932 by two Brazilian engineers, which was later sold to General Motors. One of the primordial examples of hydraulic fully automatic transmission is the Hydramatic, developed by General Motors in 1932.
The most remarkable improvements in automatic transmission car design till date are the number of forward gears transmissions it currently consists. The switch from mechanically to electronically controlled transmission operations efficiently for the drivers. Mechanically controlled automatic transmissions have reached their limit in terms of future improvements while electronically controlled automatic gearboxes have only touched the surface of the possibilities.
Then the 1948 Oldsmobile was the first model to use a true automatic transmission. By the time of 1950, the automatic transmission was ascended to the North American market and continued to grow in abundance till this day.
Automatic transmission, especially, have some impressive features and capabilities. First of all, they’re often quicker for acceleration in comparison to manual. Automatic transmissions are completely in sync with these systems. The systems last longer, shift faster, and do a better job of keeping the vehicle performance up to the mark for the conditions you’re driving in.
The working of Automatic Car
Why should you choose Automatic Car
There are numerous advantages of Automatic transmission cars in the modern world.
The primary advantage of an automatic transmission to the driver is there is no clutch pedal and manual shift pattern like there is in normal driving. This allows the user to drive or manage the car with as few as two limbs, it also allows individuals with disabilities to enjoy driving.
Automatic transmission also reduces the attention and greater effort required inside the cabin, such as monitoring the tachometer and taking a hand off the wheel, allowing the driver to ideally keep both the hands on the wheel at all times and to focus completely more on the road. This gives an experience of driving leisurely and carefully at the same time to the driver.
Control of the car at low speed is lot more easier with an automatic transmission cars. As these cars does not have any clutches,this condition makes the car to move slowly either forward or reverse on its own while in a driving gear called idle creep, even at idle. Because it never really disengages.
The automatic transmission parts of many vehicles have the same or better miles-per-gallon than the manual models.
The younger generations are more into driving a Automatic transmission car, as they tend to learn the most advanced one. There is really no economic reason to choose manual, since automatics are far more widely available. After all, the car dealers wouldn’t keep a large stock of manual vehicles if no one is really interested to buy them. Technological advances are made for smoother and affordable driving experience in an automatic.
If you live in a metropolitan cities where engaging in traffic is a casual fact of life, constantly shifting gears to stop and start really gets annoying. Even if you live in a smaller town or city, you would drive shorter trips or halt for multiple stops. Therefore, automatic cars are easier to operate with frequent use.
Automatic Transmission cars
Growth of automatic sales in India
Automatic transmission cars have become a more dominant segment in recent years. The factor behind the drifting away from manuals is the growing number of women drivers in India, who are majorly comfortable with Automatic transmission. Hence, there’s greater demand for automatic transmission models, which makes up about 25 % to 30% of total sales.
This has led to companies like Renault, Datsun, Hyundai and Tata Motors to follow suit and launch their own Automatic transmission version in their cars.
The percentage sales of automatic transmission in overall car sales has increased from under 5% before 2014 to around 12% today. By 2025, the share of Automatic cars alone in the overall car market is expected to rise to at least 20%.
There is immense growth of Automatic Transmission in India. Maruti Suzuki is committed and working on bringing the best of automatic technology to the Indian market. It has sold over 5 lakh cars with automatic transmissions since 2014.
At Volkswagen, one in every three cars that it sells in India is an Automatic Transmission model.
Volvo Cars operates in the luxury car segment. All of the cars are automatic by default that are sold in India.
At Tata Motors, the automatic car sales goes around 25% of the sales of those models where the automatic transmission option is available.
According to a report, the automatic car sales would take up around 15% of the total sales, which is inclusive of manual cars too.
Growth of Automatic Transmission cars
Some of the best Automatic cars in India are:
Maruti Suzuki Swift AMT, Maruti Suzuki Celerio
Baleno CVTwhich provides a variety of features for low cost and also decent driving experience.
Glanza CVT which is an Automatic transmission from Toyota.
Hyundai Grand i10 Nios AMT
Hyundai i20 and Honda Jazz
Tata Tiagoand Tigor AMTs are both value for money providing driving experience with decent amount of features. Can also wait for Tata Altroz AMT
Nitin Konde
