Factors Affecting Willingness of Indian Consumers to buy Pre-Owned Cars

Abstract

In India, the competitive scenario in the car market has witnessed a radical change with the ‘used car market’ being 20% higher than the new car market last year. This has also led to the increase in the organized players in the market as opposed to the earlier year trends wherein the market was mostly unorganized. Thus, the objective of this study was to dig deep into the rationale behind this changing market dynamics. The testing of certain variables was carried out which influenced willingness of an Indian consumer to choose a preowned car for purchase. The variables were extracted via rigorous literature review and the responses to those variables were taken. The Data was gathered by forwarding a structured questionnaire to available & legitimate consumers residing in metro cities of the country. The respondents were mostly in their 30’s and had healthy mix of both genders. There were certain in-depth interviews as well to explore the underlying & hidden aspects of customer. At the end, the study identified two underlying factors namely- Car Dealership attributes and Car Manufacturer’s Brand Equity which governed the purchase decision of a consumer who intends to buy a preowned car.