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TABLE OF CONTENTS

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY..........................................................................................2

LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................................................3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY........................................................................................6

RESEARCH PROCEDURE AND ANALYSIS..................................................................9

CONCLUSION................................................................................................................15

REFERENCES................................................................................................................18

ANNEXURES

QUESTIONNAIRE.............................................................................................19

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OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
To understand the profiles of the respondents within the clusters on the basis of various
factors/parameters based on which they make their car purchasing decision.
The sole objective of this project is to find out and help the marketers to know about the various
characteristics of the respondents in the cluster preferring the Indian and foreign brand.
Marketers can understand different profiles of people opting for foreign and Indian car brands.
With the help of sorted data the respondents were profiled with respect to their demographic
variables which include Age, Gender, Region, Occupation, Income Slab, Family Size,
Preference for Indian/Foreign car based on which they can understand the markets and direct
their launch of new product effectively.

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LITERATURE REVIEW
The article (Smriti Bajaj, 2006) investigates the consumer attitude towards local and foreign
brand purchases against a background of factors like Culture, Country of Origin, Product quality
and services The study involves probability sampling and non probability sampling. A total of
80 respondents were interviewed face-to-face using a semi structured questionnaire in the city of
Mumbai and Indian students studying in the United Kingdom. The secondary data has been used
in the first part of the research which has been collected from company documents & outside
sources.
Primary data has been used in the second part of the research through interviewing, direct
observation, the analysis of artifacts, documents and cultural records. The interviews were
analyzed using the grounded theory approach recommended by Strauss and Corbin (1998). The
grounded theory approach allows for the identification of different concepts that emerge and
allows for a descriptive analysis of consumer preferences of global over local brands. This was
done by interpreting, segregating and combining responses pertaining to consumer perceptions.
Subsequently the anecdotal data transcribed was able to follow “pattern coding”. Pattern codes
are explanatory or Inferential codes, ones that identify an emergent theme, configuration, or
explanation. They pull together a lot of material into more meaningful and parsimonious units of
analysis. They are a sort of meta- code (Miles and Huberman, 1994). They usually turn around
four, often interrelated, summarizers: themes, causes explanations, relationships among people
and more theoretical constructs.
Research indicates that consumers tend to evaluate global brands in terms of better quality.
Consumers exhibited that global brands made them feel a part of the global consumer culture
and gave them recognition. It was also revealed that consumers preferred paying for brands

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which were recognized as they gave them a sense of ‘global identity. Not only did the
consumers associate global brands with quality but also trust and innovation and technological
advancement. For certain product categories local brands exhibited a higher level of satisfaction
and Trust. In terms of aesthetics consumers felt that global brands were more appealing than
local ones. From the above analysis it can be concluded customer satisfaction is enhanced by
product and service qualities which are found to higher in global brands. Indian consumers
demonstrate unique purchasing behavior due to these differences.
From our perception, since the study is analyzed on the basis of a concrete theory which is,
“grounded approach theory” that is done by interpreting, segregating and combining responses
pertaining to consumer perceptions and since the Pattern codes are explanatory and identifies an
emergent theme, configuration, or explanation. Therefore this type of methodology provides
credibility to the entire research undertaken.
This study (Thakor and Pacheco, 1997) provides an insight with regards to the effect of the
company’s origin on consumer’s perception regarding a particular car or any other product. It is
also called as country of origin effect. It is seen that these views differ from country to country.
But in general it is seen Japanese, German & American cars are rated highly. In a study it was
found that Americans favored Japanese cars. In another study conducted it was found that there
was a tendency to favor American cars over Japanese & more so if the company employed
American workers.
Thus another factor to be considered is the impact of ethnocentrism (the tendency to favor
products manufactured in one’s own country) when a survey is conducted. This is a unique
factor affecting the pre-purchase intentions of some consumers. In the developing nations it was
seen that people had an unfavorable view of with respect to products manufactured in their
country in terms of workmanship, reliability, durability, & other characters. It is however still
difficult to ascertain to what extent the country of origin really matters.
So from our perception “country of origin effect” do plays a vital role in pre-purchase decision
of the customers. This study provides valuable insights for conducting our study.
The research paper (Neelam Kinra, 2006) aims at investigating the numerous factors which
affect the preferences of customers based on which they decide to go for Indian car brand or
foreign brand. The author conducted the study where she investigated consumer attitudes in
India towards local and foreign brand names, against a background of increasing prevalence of
foreign brand names and stereotypes of countries of origin covering the range from positive to
negative. A structured questionnaire administered face-to-face to 112 consumers in the city of
Lucknow. The result of the findings indicated that the quality of foreign brands was perceived to
be generally higher and superior to local brands. Most consumers also associated greater
accessibility to foreign brands in the Indian market with better quality at lower prices. Despite
high levels of nationalism and preference for indigenous manufacture, as evidenced in high
factor ratings on an ethnocentrism scale, which might indicate a positive bias towards local
brands, Indian consumers were not prejudiced against foreign brand names. In fact, they

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evaluated them higher on technology, quality, status and esteem than Indian brands, and
attributed higher credibility to those countries-of-origin.
From the findings it appeared that consumer awareness of the increasing presence of foreign
brands in the Indian market for different product categories was high. The findings in this study
showed foreign brands of consumer goods to have a distinct edge over Indian brands, so far as
“technology”, “quality”, “status and esteem” attributes were concerned. Foreign brands were
perceived in this study, to be more reliable and safe by Indian consumers than their domestic
country brands. This was evidenced in the high ratings attributed to the “technology” and
“quality” parameters for foreign brand names. In contrast, the strongest point that Indian brands
had in their favor was their “value for money” while their major weakness was their lower
“status and esteem” value, indicating they were perceived to provide a somewhat lower degree
of social status, while a brand made in a developed country like the US or Germany had a
greater chance of positive brand image perceptions.
Attitudes to brands categorized as “foreign” or “Indian” were measured by seven-point
semantic differential scales, and consumer ethnocentrism by CETSCALE. Factor analysis with
varimax rotation was used to identify factors contributing to the observed degree of
ethnocentrism in brand choices.
We concluded that the sample size is large enough to represent a large enough population. Also
this study will help us in understanding the country of origin effect as it focus on this factor
basically.

The article (Shyamala Mathan Sankar 2006) investigated consumer perception of global
brands vs. local brands and to study the factors that effect consumer preference for global
brands. The research methodology followed was Qualitative research and the tool used was
Telephonic interviewing which lasted for 30 to 40 min. The sample size taken was 10 and it was
found that the respondents, who possessed global car brands, preferred their car brands due to
factors such as global presence, worldwide reputation, and quality of being a foreign make.
Prestige or status had a very little or no influence in their preference for global car brands.
Moreover, country-of-origin of the brand had a substantial influence in the respondents’
preference for global car brands. The respondents who owned a local car brand evaluated the
local brand in a favorable manner, wherein they tend to associate the brand to India’s strong
automobile sector that makes quality and technically efficient cars. These respondents also had a
sense of nationality and trust towards the local brands and felt safe in possessing them.
Respondents, who owned a local brand, also had a positive insight towards global brands. But
the respondents felt that the global car brands were expensive than the local brands.3 out of 10
respondents, who were interviewed, believed in status or prestige of possessing a global car
brand.
In our view, since this study was based on only 10 respondents hence the research seems to be of
less relevance to us as the sample does not represent the entire population as a whole. But we

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came to know the relevance of the interviewing method and got an idea of the questions to be
included in the development of the questionnaire.
The research paper (A.Veena, H.R. Venkatesha, 2008) studies the factors, which decide the
performance of the automobile dealers and the preference of the customers. The study used both
primary and secondary data. The sample size is restricted to one hundred. The survey used a
questionnaire, which had twenty-one statements. The responses were collected on a five point
Likert Scale ranging from 1 (Strongly\ Agree) to 5 (Strongly Disagree). Five point Likert scale,
being the simplest and easy to understand, is suitable for this category of respondents. Factor
analysis was used for analysis. The study also covers the strengths and weaknesses of the
automobile dealers. The study aims at understanding the factors which influences the consumer
preferences for the auto brands. With times, the consumer purchasing pattern & preferences are
changing at a rapid pace with the increasing number of choices provided by dealers for various
car brands.
On the basis of the above discussion the following conclusions tend to emerge. Automobile
dealers have a crucial role in marketing cars. The time has come for them to adapt to the
changing expectations of customers. From this study it is clear that Word of mouth and facilities,
promotion, accessibility, personalized service, acquaintance, and association with the dealer play
a very important role in customers' choice of the dealer. All dealers are not performing at the
same level. Different dealers have different strengths and weaknesses. The study reveals this
through perceptual mapping. This should help the dealers to manage the factors which
influences
Customer’s purchasing decision.
We conclude that the study helps us in determining the factors which dealers take into
consideration consumer’s purchase decision which provides us an aid in deciding between the
Indian or foreign car brand. The study is comprehensive in nature and useful insights can be
drawn from the research paper.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
DATA COLLECTION

Primary data has been collected through the application of questionnaire as research
instrument as a part of the study to generate the data required in the process. In order to find out
the profiles of respondents, we designed the questionnaire keeping in mind the profiling and
clustering variables that included the 22 variables based on our literature review.
The analysis has been done to throw light on the following areas:
1. Profiling variables included the following variables:
• Age

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 • Sex
• Region of the country
• Income Slab
• Family Size
• Occupation
• Indian/Foreign brand

1. Clustering variables included following variables:

• Vicinity of the service center
• Mileage of car
• Engine Power
• Price of a car
• Speed of the car
• Promotional Activities
• Comfort
• Appearance
• Longevity
• Financing Option
• After Sales Services
• Resale Value
• Affordability
• Sportiness
• Distinctiveness
Both Qualitative and Quantitative data was collected for the study. In qualitative data we
included the variables like gender, occupation, region to which the respondent belongs. And in
quantitative data we included the variables like price, engine power, mileage, safety and
promotional activities etc.
Rationale for including the variables in our study was based on our literature review. .A major
study undertaken by Thakor M & Pacheco B(1997) with sample size of 200 provides an insight
with regards to effect of “Company Origin on Consumer Perception” regarding a particular car,
also called as Country of Origin Effects. It is seen that this views differ from country to country.
The reason behind choosing variables like mileage, engine power, safety in the study is the
findings in the literature review by Neelam Kinra(2006) who administered face to face
interviews in the city of Lucknow. From her findings, it appeared that consumers give a lot of
importance to technology and quality of car.
The reason for including promotional activities is that consumer purchasing decision is affected
by this variable. The preferences change as they tend to associate themselves to the advertised
brand.

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Financing options plays a major role in the purchasing decision of a consumer (Smriti
Bajaj(2006).The population of India is largely middle class, which means the disposable income
is relatively low compared to our western counterparts. Thus the financing options provided by
various institutions/banks help the individuals who cannot afford to bear the entire price of the
car at once.
Another important criterion which a consumer looks for is the After Sales Services. Company
like Aiwa which entered India with a bang had to close down due to the poor After Sales
Services (A.Veena,H.R Venkatasha,2008) Easy availability of service stations plays a major role
here. Maruti which has its service stations all over the country is India’s largest car company. So
the After Sales Service forms an important part of a consumer’s decision while buying a car.
Price perhaps is one of the most criteria as it is known that the average Indian consumer is price
sensitive. This was one of the findings by Shyamala Manthan Sankar(2006).This is one of the
reasons why the volumes of small cars sold is much higher than the medium & luxury car
segment. The respondents preferring luxury cars will be less sensitive to price as they would like
to have the best features for which they are willing to spend.
SAMPLE SIZE

Sample size requires taking care in eliciting scientific objectives and in obtaining suitable
quantitative information prior to the study.
Determining sample size is very important from economic point of view because samples that
are too large may waste time, resources and money, while samples that are too small may lead to
inaccurate results. In many cases, we can easily determine the minimum sample size needed to
estimate a process parameter.
The sample size was selected from across the country as the survey was conducted online and
the questionnaire was submitted by the respondents from various regions. The rationale behind
the sample size of 219 is the formula of 10 *N, where N is the number of variables used in our
project.
The best way to avoid a biased or unrepresentative sample was to select a random sample, also
known as a probability sample which we have kept in mind while performing the study. This has
helped us collect unbiased & true data for conducting the analysis of our study.

RESEARCH PROCESS

Data Collection and Entry

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The data was collected online through questionnaire (Google Docs) . The Questionnaire was
sent to friends and relatives residing in various regions of the country. These respondents were
from various age groups having salary in different ranges with different overall backgrounds &
profiles. The sample size taken was 219.
Cluster Analysis
The data so collected was posted into the SPSS sheets and clustering of all the respondents using
different methods.
ANOVA Testing
After defining the clusters we found, ANOVA test was used to find out whether the clustering
variables are statistically significant across the clusters.
Profiling
The analysis was used to profile the respondents with respect to the various demographic
variables included in the study in the form of the clusters so formed. The respondents were
categorized on the basis of the results so found in the clusters.

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RESEARCH PROCEDURE & ANALYSIS
The following steps are used in our Research:
• Data Collection and Entry
• Running Cluster Analysis
• ANOVA Testing
• Sorting data in MS Excel.
• Profiling
Data Collection and Entry
The data was collected online (Google Docs). The Questionnaire was sent to friends and
relatives residing in various regions of the country. These respondents were from various age
groups having salary in different ranges. The sample size taken was 219.
Running Cluster Analysis
1. The data collected in the Excel Sheet of Google Docs was imported into the SPSS and
clustering of all the respondents was done on different distance measures-mainly squared
Euclidean distance and Euclidean distance and the various methods of clustering like
Average Linkage, Centroid method and Ward’s method.
The common outliers were removed with the help of the table given below:
Outliers Average Linkage Centriod method Ward’s method
Squared Euclidean 215-218 216-218 217-218
Distance (sed)
Euclidean distance (ed) 216-218 216-218 217-218

Two outliers were found to be common in all the methods and removed. These were respondent
number 217 and 218. These were determined by looking at the changes in the coefficients given
in the Agglomeration Schedule.

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 Agglomeration
Agglomeration Schedule
Schedule
Percentage Percentage
Stage Coefficients Stage Coefficients
change change

211 36.9 0.2 211 6.04129631 1.3

212 37.50601504 1.65 212 6.075418615 0.57
213 38.642978 3.04 213 6.112936429 0.62
214 43.03588517 11.37 214 6.484599693 6.08
215 43.71830986 1.59 215 6.535623032 0.79
216 44.98148148 2.89 216 6.64521203 1.68
217 45.24423963 0.59 217 6.667357471 0.34
218 60.81651376 34.42 218 7.746605613 16.19

between linkage/sed between linkage/ed

Agglomeration
Agglomeration Schedule
Schedule
Stage Coefficients Stage Coefficients

213 25.03559699 2.03 213 3.849084991 0.3

214 28.54048389 14 214 3.868764501 0.52
215 28.76398053 0.79 215 3.874773224 0.16
216 28.89641204 0.47 216 3.89816255 0.61
217 29.40028457 1.75 217 4.150139208 6.47
218 44.38805656 50.98 218 4.934095214 18.89

centroid/s
ed centroid/ed

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 Agglomeration
Agglomeration Schedule
Schedule
Stage Coefficients Stage Coefficients

214 2913.948424 3.67 214 547.936891 2.34

215 3039.060298 4.3 215 561.586856 2.5
216 3198.836797 5.26 216 576.683916 2.69
217 3374.22137 5.49 217 592.0460709 2.67
218 3625.589041 7.45 218 618.0388321 4.4

wards/sed wards/ed

2. After removing the above mentioned outliers the clustering was done again by various
methods and the drastic change in the coefficient was determined by exporting the
coefficient data into the Excel Sheet and accordingly the number of clusters were determined
by each method and the number of cluster occurring maximum number of times was
selected, for our project it comes out to be 3 as apparent from the table below.
Number of clusters Average Linkage Centriod method Ward’s method
Squared Euclidean 3 2 3
Distance
Euclidean distance 2 3 3
The relevant table has been given in the next page used for the calculation of the number of
clusters.
3. We again ran the cluster analysis with the Wards Squared Euclidean Distance method and
this time we clicked the Save option. When asked about the number of clusters we
mentioned 3 as given above and ran the cluster analysis again. This time each respondent
was clubbed in its respective cluster which was apparent in the data sheet wherein a new
variable named CLU3_2 was created specifying the cluster in which each respondent falls.

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Agglomeration Schedule Agglomeration Schedule
Stag Percentage Sta Coefficien Percentage
Coefficients
e change ge ts change

2735.13791 35.72134
210
6 210 503
2806.59697
211
7 2.62 211 36.6875 2.71
2904.68110 39.71827
212
4 3.5 212 411 8.27
3016.42201 41.70100
213
6 3.85 213 503 5
214 3150.174 4.44 214 42.25 1.32
3351.98292 45.05308
215
3 6.41 215 057 6.64
3659.95391 61.90277
216
7 9.19 216 778 37.4

sed/w 3 bw sed 3

Agglomeration Schedule Agglomeration Schedule

Stag Coefficien Percentage Sta Coefficien Percentage
e ts change ge ts change

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 5.913205 24.72428
210 593 210 571
5.953211 24.71323
211 01 0.68 211 645 -0.05
6.203758 26.45234
212 531 4.21 212 069 7.04
6.421752 27.73036
213 634 3.52 213 655 4.84
6.486575 28.32227
214 258 1.01 214 705 2.14
6.646290 28.90593
215 557 2.47 215 835 2.07
7.809752 45.16668
216 137 17.51 216 81 56.26

bw/ed 2 sed/c 2

Agglomeration Schedule Agglomeration Schedule

Stag Coefficien Percentage Sta Coefficien Percentage
e ts change ge ts change

3.806613 523.3771
210 429 210 119
3.803562 532.7168
211 268 -0.09 211 18 1.79
3.811452 542.2096
212 455 0.21 212 688 1.79
3.861468 551.9471
213 538 1.32 213 083 1.8
3.946418 566.9662
214 536 2.2 214 074 2.73
4.107250 588.4813
215 483 4.08 215 594 3.8
4.973317 617.6202
216 851 21.09 216 051 4.96

ed/c 3 e/w 3

ANOVA Testing

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Once we defined our clusters, we ran ANOVA test to find out whether the clustering variables
are statistically significant across the clusters. The results showed us that 3 variables viz. Engine
Power, Resale Value and Affordability do not differ significantly amongst the 3 clusters.

ANOVA
F Sig.
9.2028 0.0001
Vicinity 04 47

14.078 1.8E-
Mileage 14 06

0.1218
Power 2.1259 39

6.5428 0.0017
Comfort 85 46

19.764 1.33E-
Price 6 08

10.444 4.7E-
Safety 92 05

7.7003 0.0005
Appearance 19 9

3.2027 0.0426
Longitivity 68 06

38.314 5.98E-
Finance 92 15

After sales 3.9544 0.0205

services 84 86

0.1962 0.8219
Resale 5 55

Affordability 2.1141 0.1232

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 85 46

98.523 4.65E-
Sportiness 94 31

12.403
Distinctiveness 86 8E-06

11.001 2.83E-
Speed 68 05

Promotional 9.8933 7.77E-

activities 13 05

Sorting data in MS Excel

The data was sorted in Excel according to the cluster number (CLU3_2) so that it becomes
convenient for us to have an overlook of the spreadsheet.

Profiling
With the help of sorted data the respondents were profiled with respect to their demographic
variables which include:
• Age
• Gender
• Region
• Occupation
• Income Slab
• Family Size
• Preference for Indian/Foreign car

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CONCLUSION

Our study has revealed significant insights of consumer purchasing preference while making
decisions to buy a car.
In ANOVA test, 3 variables viz. Engine Power, resale value and affordability were not found to
have a significant impact between the clusters.

The other 13 variables had significant difference among the clusters.

• Vicinity of the car service centre
• Car mileage
• Comfort
• Cost /price
• Safety
• Appearance
• Longevity
• Availability of financing options
• After sales service
• Sportiness
• Distinctiveness
• Speed
• Promotional activities/Advertising

CLUSTER 1: 110 Respondents

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Age: The respondents belonging to the age group 20-30 is most prevalent depicting a 79.09% of
the total cluster population.

Gender: Out of the total cluster population, 67.27% of the population is male.

Region: The Northern region shows the maximum of 53.63% profile of the total cluster
population.

Occupation: The maximum profile is been showed by the private sector (47.27%) followed by
student profile (30.91%).

Income Slab: The slab of 2-5 Lacks shows the highest profile of 29.09%, followed by 5-7 Lacks
(25.45), then followed by 7-10 Lacks (24.54%).

Family Size: The 3-4 family size shows the maximum profile of 57.27% of the cluster
population.

Indian/Foreign Brand: 61.81% of the total population shows the preference for Indian brand, &
the foreign brand is been shown by 38.18% of the total cluster population.

CLUSTER 2: 64 Respondents

Age: The respondents belonging to the age group 20-30 is most prevalent depicting a 77.77% of
the total cluster population.

Gender: Out of the total cluster population, 76.19 % of the population is male.

Region: The Northern region shows the maximum of 38.09% profile of the total cluster
population.

Occupation: The maximum profile is been showed by the private sector (46.03%) followed by
student profile (30.91%).

Income Slab: The slab of 2-5 Lacks shows the highest profile of 46.03% which is followed by 5-
7 Lacks (30.15%)

Family Size: The 3-4 family size shows the maximum profile of 68.25% of the cluster
population.

Indian/Foreign Brand: 73.01% of the total population shows the preference for Indian brand, &
the foreign brand is been shown by 26.98 % of the total cluster population.

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CLUSTER 3: 44 Respondents

Age: The respondents belonging to the age group 20-30 is most prevalent depicting a 59.09% of
the total cluster population.

Gender: Out of the total cluster population, 65.90% of the population is male.

Region: The Northern region shows the maximum of 54.54% profile of the total cluster
population.

Occupation: The maximum profile is been showed by the private sector (45.45%) followed by
student profile (30.91%).

Income Slab: The slab of 5-7 Lacks shows the highest profile of 36.36%, followed by above
Lacks (27.27), then followed by 2-5 Lacks (25%).

Family Size: The 3-4 family size shows the maximum profile of 65.90% of the cluster
population.

Indian/Foreign Brand: 70.45% of the total population shows the preference for Indian brand, &
the foreign brand is been shown by 29.45% of the total cluster population.

Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3

Respondent
110 63
s 44
percentag No percentag percentag
Variable Range No. No.
e . e e

Age Below 20 2 1.9 4 6.4 2 4.6

20-30 87 79.1 49 77.8 26 59.1
30-40 13 11.9 9 14.3 10 22.8
40 and above 8 7.3 1 1.6 6 13.7
11
Total 100 63 44 100
0 100

Gender Females 36 32.8 15 23.9 15 34.1

Males 74 67.3 48 76.2 29 66
11
Total 100 63 44 100
0 100

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Region Northern 59 53.7 24 38.1 24 54.6
Central 11 10 7 11.2 4 9.1
Western 15 13.7 15 23.9 7 16
Eastern 12 11 12 19.1 6 13.7
Southern 13 11.9 5 8 3 6.9
11
Total 100 63 44 100
0 100

Occupation Banking 4 3.7 4 6.4 2 4.6

Government 1 1 7 11.2 1 2.3
Private 52 47.3 29 46.1 20 45.5
Self employed 19 17.3 9 14.3 14 31.9
Student 34 31 14 22.3 7 16
11
Total 100 63 44 100
0 100

Income Slab Below 2 lakhs 9 8.2 4 6.4 0 0

2-5 lakhs 32 29.1 24 38.1 11 25
5-7 lakhs 28 25.5 19 30.2 16 36.4
7-10 lakhs 27 24.6 14 22.3 5 11.4
Above 10
14 12.8 2 12
lakhs 3.2 27.3
11
Total 100 63 44 100
0 100

Family size Single 22 20 0 0 4 9.1

Two 10 9.1 7 11.2 3 6.9
3 to 4 63 57.3 43 68.3 29 66
5 and above 15 13.7 13 20.7 8 18.2
11
Total 100 63 44 100
0 100

I/F I 68 61.9 46 73.1 13 29.6

F 42 38.2 17 27 31 70.5
11
Total 100 63 44 100
0 100

REFERENCES
Research Papers:

• Neelam Kinra(2006), The effect of country-of-origin on foreign brand names in the

Indian market, Volume (24) Number: 1 pp: 105-3.

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 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?
Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0200160302.html

• Smriti Bajaj (2006), Consumer Perceptions of Global and Local Brands in the Indian
Retail Industry.
http://edissertations.nottingham.ac.uk/553/1/06MAlixsm12.pdf

• Thakor and Pacheco (1997), Foreign branding and its effects on product perceptions and
attitudes: a replication and extension in a multi-cultural setting.
http://edissertations.nottingham.ac.uk

• Shyamala Mathan Sankar (2006), Consumer Perception of Global vs. Local Brands: The
Indian Car Industry.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=bth&AN=44185880&site=ehost-live.VISION—The Journal of Business
Perspective l Vol. 13 l No. 2 l April–June 2009

• A.Veena, H.R. Venkatesha (2008), Dealers Performance and Customers Preference in

Passenger Car Marketing.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=bth&AN=43753236&site=ehost-live.Vilakshan, XIMB Journal of
Management; September, 2008

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 ANNEXURES
QUESTIONNAIRE
Questionnaire that we have used for our primary survey is as given below:
What affects your purchasing decision while purchasing a new car??

Top of Form

Sex

• Male

• Female

Your Age

• Below 20

• 20 - 30

• 30 -40

• 40 and above

The region of the country you belong to *

• Northen region

• Southern region

• Western region

• Eastern region

• Central region

Your position in an organisation / occupation * Specify if other

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• Private sector

• Government sector

• Banking sector

• Self employed

• Other:

Please tick the income slab under which you fall? * If you are a student then give your parents income slab

• Below 2 lakhs

• 2-5 lakhs

• 5-7 lakhs

• 7-10 lakhs

• Above 10 lakhs

What is your Family size ? *

• Single

• Two

• 3-4

• 5 and above

How important is the vicinity of a service centre while making a purchasing decision *

1 2 3 4 5

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Not important Essential

How important is the mileage of a car to you *

1 2 3 4 5

Not important Essential

How important is the engine power of a car to you *

1 2 3 4 5

Not important Essential

How important is comfort to you *

1 2 3 4 5

Not important Essential

How important is cost/price of a car to you *

1 2 3 4 5

Not important Essential

How important is safety to you *

1 2 3 4 5

Not important Essential

How important is appearance to you *

1 2 3 4 5

Not important Essential

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How important is longevity of the car to you * Life of a car

1 2 3 4 5

Not important Essential

How important is various financing options available while purchasing a car * Plz take into consideration the income slab

1 2 3 4 5

Not important Essential

How important is the after sales service to you *

1 2 3 4 5

Not important Essential

How important is resale value of a car to you *

1 2 3 4 5

Not important Essential

While purchasing you look for affordability *

1 2 3 4 5

Strongly disagree Strongly agree

While purchasing you look for sportiness *

1 2 3 4 5

Strongly disagree Strongly agree

While purchasing you look for Distinctiveness *

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 1 2 3 4 5

Strongly disagree Strongly agree

How important is acceleration/speed of a car to you *

1 2 3 4 5

Not important Essential

How important is promotional activities (Advertising) undertaken by the company to you *

1 2 3 4 5

Not important Essential

Would you prefer an INDIAN or a FOREIGN car brand * Please take into consideration the income slab in which you fall
in

• INDIAN CAR BRAND

• FOREIGN CAR BRAND

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