A Comparative Study towards Maruti Suzuki

and Hyundai Motors

DONE BY,
V.SUNDAR,
MBA,
SRM EASWARI ENGINEERING COLLEGE
(AUTONOMOUS),RAMAPURAM,CHENNAI,INDIA.
 CONTENTS

 INTRODUCTION
 OVERVIEW OF AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY IN
INDIA
 THE CURRENT OUTBOOK OF AUTOMOBILE
 LITERATURE REVIEW
 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
 HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE
 ANALYSIS OF T-TEST
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES
ABSTRACT
This compare the consumer preference towards
passenger cars of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motors in Delhi Region.
Convenience sampling technique was adopted with the sample size of
150 respondents. The primary data for the study was collected using a
self-designed questionnaire. Independent T test analysis was used
to compare the preferences of consumers towards the passenger
vehicles of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motors. The brands were
compared on five attributes namely, colour, interior, price, after sales
service and re sale value. The key finding of the study was that there is
no difference in the consumer preference across these two brands on
attributes such as colour, interiors and after sales service. However, the
preferences of the customers varied on factors like resale value and
price. The key recommendation of the research is about adopting
innovative techniques by both these brands to distinguish themselves in
the market and establish higher brand equity.
Keywords: Automobile, Comparative, Price, Preference, Re-Sale Value.

INTRODUCTION:

Indian automobile sector is one of the heart industries of Indian

economy. Till early 1980s, there were very few players in the Indian
automobile sector & was suffering from obsolete & substandard
technologies. After 1991 the India government released tedious norms
and opened the Indian market for all. Currently the Indian
automobile market is crowded with lot of Indian as well as multinational
brands like Maruti, Honda, Chevrolet, Skoda, Renault, BMW, Hyundai,
Nissan, Audi, Fiat, Toyota & General Motors etc. This change and
increase in purchase behaviour is directly attributed to the increasing
urbanization and women moving into the workforce. The Indian
passenger vehicle industry has been progressing continuously since a
last decade except the recessionary phase witnessed during FY 2009.
Despite the recession in 2009, the Indian automobile market has
captured the major market share in domestic as well as in international
markets. In recent years the Indian automobile industry has achieved
splendid achievement. India is 11th largest passenger vehicle market and
is largest three wheeler market in world.

Overview of Automobile Industry in India:

Today environment and conditions have been changed in favour of the
automobile industry in various ways.Firstly, the knowledge and
technology is easy to share and adopt than any time in the past. Another
reason is the ability and autonomy that companies have to apply the
knowledge and analysis to devise means to attract new customers and
lure them to make purchases. There has been an unprecedented growth
in the sale of passenger cars in the past decade.The Indian automobile
sector emerges as the destination of choice in the world for design and
manufacture of automobiles and auto components with output reaching a
level of US$ 145 billion accounting for more than 10% of the GDP and
providing additional employment to 25 millions of people by 2017. The
Government of India takes necessary steps not only to maintain the high
rate of growth but also retain the attractive of Indian market for further
attractive the competitive strength of Indian companies. The
Government setup through the development council on automobile and
allied industries, constituted a task force to draw up a decade mission
plan for Indian automotive industry, the challenge was to give a shape of
innovative plan of action with full participation of stakeholders and to
complexity it into a mission mode to remove barrier coming in the way
of growth industry. Automobile industry to meet the customer demands
and changing business needs, they raise a strategy to accomplish the
demands of consumers as well as face the competitor’s challenge with
the aid of new technology and innovative ideas. The industry
service to the society next advance stage introduction of new electric
cars in the place of LPG, petrol and diesel cars due to continuous hiking
of fuel prices as well as to reduce the emission of toxic gases on
earth. The focus of the research enhances the passenger car
segments and how to develop with sophisticated technologies is used in
production of cars; sales of vehicles in the particular segment, revenue
generation etc and create millions of employment opportunities both
direct as well as indirect nature for rural and urban areas in this sector.
There are various reasons for the growth of the Indian automobile
market such as:
(a) The people have more disposable income as economy is growing.
(b) Increase in the need of mobility due to urbanization and leisure
travel.
(c) Car insurance options available from financial institutes at
reasonable rate of interest and length of repayment.
(d) Availability of service centers, spare parts across the nation in near
locality.
(e) Improvement in highway infrastructure and reduce cost of service
and time.

The Current Outlook:

With the Modi government in power, there are expectations of

increased focus on reforms and ramp up in infrastructure. Thus,
government spending on infrastructure in roads and airports and higher
GDP growth in the future will benefit the auto sector in general. It is
expected that there is going to be a slew of launches both in passenger
cars and Utility Vehicles (UVs) given that the competition has
intensified. The multi-year low interest rates and subdued petrol prices
augurs well for the Indian auto sector. Historically, the demand for the
passenger vehicles has been negatively correlated to the interest rates.
Further, the 7th pay commission payout will also play out well for the
auto Industry in FY17. Historically, the Indian Passenger car market has
been skewed towards small passenger cars. However, there is a
structural change taking place in the industry with demand for UVs
taking over the passenger car.
LITERATURE REVIEW:
The automobile industry has been a topic of interest amongst
researchers across the globe, especially in the recent past. This is
because of the unprecedented increase in the demand of automobiles
because of a dramatic shift in the demographic profile of the population
of the world in general. It has put purchasing of cars as the top most
priority for all income groups. It has surely become a highly competitive
market. According to Amita Girdhar, Suman Ghalawat and Kavitha C.
(2015), the major factors that affect consumer perception towards
different brands of car can be varied and secondly to develop a
model framework for various decision areas of consumers while
purchasing a cars imperative. The results of factor analysis reveal
five factors named as: product strategies, technology know-how, and
level of satisfaction, workshop features and lastly service orientation.
Factor analysis discloses that consumers were more influenced by
product strategies, technology know-how and level of satisfaction.
Hence consumers need USP of a commodity that makes a difference.
Further results of discriminant analysis reveals that consumers were
more influenced by product strategies, followed by technology know
how and up to some extent level of satisfaction and service orientation.
On the other hand consumers were least influenced by the factor
workshop features. In a study undertaken by Dr.T.Rajasekar and Dr.S.
Rameshkumar (2015), the objective was to analyze the factors
influencing the brand preference by the owners of passenger cars
in Madurai city. An in-depth discussion and interaction by the
researcher with the experts in this field and car dealers in Madurai City
was done. The records available with the Regional Transport Office
showed that there were 1624 cars registered in 2011. So, the
identification and analysis of the factors which were considered by the
consumers before making the purchasing decision were essential for
the manufacturers or traders for success which in turn ensures
International Journal of Management Studies ISSN(Print) 2249-
0302 ISSN (Online)2231-2528
http://www.researchersworld.com/ijms/
Vol.–V, Issue –3(6), July 2018 [86] survival in the competitive market.
For this purpose, the respondents were asked to rank the following
factors
according to their priority towards a particular brand of car like
brand image, maintenance cost, latest technology, fuel efficiency,
price, after sales service, resale value etc. The results of the study
showed that the price and fuel efficiency were the dominant factors and
the pick-up and comfort and the latest technology were the least and last
factors that influence the decision of the passenger car owners in the
study area. Dr. Vishal S.Rana and Dr. M.A Lokhande (2015)
researched the whole concept and study was based on the opinion of
respondents regarding Maruti & Hyundai brands in Marathwada region
with respect to after sales service, resale value, fuel efficiency, vehicle
satisfaction, opinion about price, source of information. There were
many factors which were included in the study which leads to the high
level of customer satisfaction: Products and services which were
customer focused. It was obvious that satisfied customers, satisfied
employees and satisfied shareholders all have one common
characteristic– they were positive and enthusiastic about the company
they were dealing with. The results showed that the companies
should develop an efficient system of receiving complaints and
encourage consumers to record their complaints as soon as they occur,
and efficiently resolve their complaints. For this constant meeting with
customers, dealers, telephone enquiry was found to be a good option.
In a research undertaken by Kusuma P (2015), the objective was to
identify the possible parameters that influence the consumer buying
behaviour patterns of passenger car owners in the State of Karnataka. It
was also aimed to develop a theoretical model, which influence the
consumer buying patterns of passenger cars. Companies were adopting
methods to find out, if smaller families using the two wheelers can be
converted into the car buyers. The factors such as size of the car, design,
price and resale value were found to be the dominant factors. In a study
by M. Akhila and Ali Ashar T Thayyullathil (2015) customer opinion on
cars in Maruti Suzuki, their awareness about various brands and models
of Maruti cars, their satisfaction and services provided by Maruti Suzuki
showroom in Coimbatore were studied. The results indicated that,Maruti
Suzuki cars are the best and fast moving cars. The demand for the cars
by customer shows increasing trend, at the same time they expected easy
handling, safety and security, higher performance etc. which forces the
brands to look for more innovative model. Arpita Srivastava and Mittu
Matta (2014) researched and the objective was to identify different
sources of information used by the buyers and their role while making a
purchase decision. The scope of the study was limited to certain
important behavioural aspects like information search and evaluation,
brand preference and brand loyalty and factors of motivation.Consumer
behaviour consists of all human behaviour that goes in making
purchase decisions. There are four major classes of consumer behaviour
determinants and expectations, namely, cultural, socio-economic,
personal and psychological. Customer demands are dynamic, but its
consideration is necessary for every company to make existence into the
market. Balasubramani S, Suganthi M and Suresh P (2013) took over a
research and the objective was to analyze the socio economic status of
consumers, level of satisfaction of consumers regarding various models
of Hyundai car, investigate the Hyundai brand of car owners preference
and behaviour pertaining to purchase and use of cars, the factors
influencing the buying decisions of Hyundai brand, identify the switch
over brand options. A total of 658 Interview schedules were prepared
and the results showed that satisfaction with Hyundai cars was
dependant upon the socio economic status of the customers. It was
further revealed from the analysis that there was highly significant
association between model and source of advertisement. It was also
observed that the majority of the respondents prefer the finance mode of
purchase (55.84%) rather than cash model. The research concluded that
there is a highly significant association between the model and mode of
purchase. The majority of the respondents prefer bank finance as a
source rather than the private finance was also concluded.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:

To compare the preferences of customers while buying Maruti Suzuki
and Hyundai brands over five dimensions namely colour,
interior/design/features, price, after sales service and resale value.

HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY:

H1: There is a significant difference in preference of customers towards

colour for both auto companies i.e. Maruti and Hyundai.
H2:There is a significant difference in preference of customers towards
interior/design/feature for both auto companies i.e. Maruti and Hyundai.
H3:There is a significant difference in preference of customers
towards price for both auto companies i.e. Maruti and Hyundai.
H4:There is a significant difference in preference of customers
towards after sales servicefor both auto companies i.e. Maruti and
Hyundai.
International Journal of Management Studies ISSN(Print) 2249-
0302 ISSN (Online)2231-2528
http://www.researchersworld.com/ijms/
Vol.–V, Issue –3(6), July 2018 [87]
H5:There is a significant difference in preference of customers towards
resale value for both auto companies i.e. Maruti and Hyundai.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The data was collected from primary sources. For valid and reliable
results, a random sampling method was undertaken in a sample size
of 150 respondents. A self-designed questionnaire was used as the
collecting primary data. The 5 point Likert Scale questionnaire
comprised 21 statements measuring respondents’
preference for purchasing car. The collected data was analysed using
independent T-test.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:
Demographic Profile:
The analysis of the buying preference of customers in the automobile
industry becomes more relevant and applicable in the light of the
understanding of the demographic parameters which help to understand
the causes in the variation of preference and choice across various
dimensions and what is the influence of the same on the choice of
automobile the customer makes. Here, the attempt is to understand it in
the light of the comparative analysis of Hyundai and Maruti, the two
leading brands. Questionnaires were distributed between both male and
female having the percentage 53% and 47% as for both the car brands
respectively. The respondents belonged to different age brackets. Some
of the respondents were single while some were married. The
demographic profile of the 150 respondents is summarized as follows
Demographic profile of the respondents of Maruti Suzuki

Age No. of Respondents Percentage

Below 18 years 0 0%
18 years – 30 years 34 45%
30 years – 50 years 30 40%
Above 50 years 11 15%
Total 75 100%
 50

45

40

35

30

25 no of respondents
percentage
20

15

10

0
Below18yrs 18yrs-30yrs 30yrs-50yrs above 50yrs

Gender No. of Respondents Percentage

Male 41 55%
Female 34 45%
Total 75 100%

no of respondents

Male
Female
Marital Status No. of Respondents Percentage
Married 36 48%
Unmarried 39 52%
Total 75 100%

60

50

40

30 no of respondents
percentage
20

10
percentage
0
Married no of respondents
Unmarried
Demographic profile of the respondents of Hyundai Motors

Age No. of Respondents Percentage

Below 18 years 0 0%
18 years – 30 years 53 71%
30 years – 50 years 19 25%
Above 50 years 3 4%
Total 75 100%
 80

70

60

50

40 no.of respondents
percentage
30

20

10

0
Below 18 yrs 18 yrs-30yrs 30yrs-50yrs 50 yrs

International Journal of Management Studies ISSN(Print) 2249-

0302 ISSN (Online)2231-2528
http://www.researchersworld.com/ijms/
Vol.–V, Issue –3(6), July 2018 [88]
Gender No. of Respondents Percentage
Male 38 51%
Female 37 49%
Total 75 100%
 60

50

40

30 no of respondents
percentage
20

10
percentage
0
Female no of respondents
Male

Marital Status No. of Respondents Percentage

Married 28 37%
Unmarried 47 63%
Total 75 100%

100%
90%
80%
70%
60% percentage
50% no of respondents

40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Married Unmarried
Descriptive Statistics
 N Min Max Mean S.D
Gender 150 1.00 2.00 1.4733 .50096
Marital Status 150 1.00 2.00 1.5733 .49625
Occupation 150 1.00 4.00 1.9667 1.09555
Income 150 1.00 4.00 1.8067 1.13337
Valid N(list wise) 150

Demographic Profile Analysis:

Majority of the respondents are youth and middle aged individuals.

Though the sample chosen was a convenience sample, but it appears
that both Maruti and Hyundai has fewer customers in the older age
group (above 50 years). The composition of the sample indicates that the
majority of the respondents are male with 53% as against female with
47%. 43% of the total respondents for the study were married and 57%
were unmarried as a total for both the brands.
Independent T Test: Preference of customers towards Colour between Maruti and Hyundai.

Levene’s
Test for Equality of Variances
F Sig . t. df Sig (2 Mean Std. Error Difference
-tailed) Differenc Differenc 95% Confidence
e e Internal of the
Difference
Lower Upper
Colour .784 .377 1.144 148 .255 .28000 .24478 .20371 .76371
EqualVarianc
e 1.144 147.717 .25 .28000 .24478 .20372 .76372
Assumed
EqualVarianc
e
Not assumed

Independent T Test: Preference of customers towards Design between Maruti and Hyundai

Levene’s
Test for Equality of Variances
 F Sig t. df Sig (2 Mean Std. Error Difference
-tailed) Differenc Differenc 95% Confidence
e e Internal of the
Difference
Lower Upper
Interior .001 .982 .458 148 .648 .13333 .29101 -.44175 -.44175
EqualVariance
Assumed .458 147.89 .648 .13333 .29101 .70841 .70842
Equal Variance 5
Not assumed

International Journal of Management Studies ISSN(Print) 2249-

0302 ISSN (Online)2231-2528
http://www.researchersworld.com/ijms/
Vol.–V, Issue –3(6), July 2018 [89]

Independent T Test: Preference of customers towards Price between

Maruti and Hyundai

Levene’s
Test for Equality of Variances

F Sig t. df Sig (2 Mean Std. Error Difference

-tailed) Differenc Differenc 95% Confidence
e e Internal of the
Difference
Lower Upper
Price .465 .496 2.918 148 .004 .81333 .27875 26248 .26238
EqualVariance
Assumed 2.918 144.605 .004 .81333 .27875 1.36418 1.36429
EqualVariance
Not assumed

Independent T Test: Preference of customers towards After Sales Service between Maruti and Hyundai

Levene’s
Levene’s
Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances
F Sig t. df Sig (2 Mean Std. Error Difference 95%
-tailed) Differenc Differenc Confidence
e e Internal of the
Difference
Lower Upper
ASS 5.026 .026 -.333 148 .740 -.08000 .24053 -.55532 -.55544
EqualVariance
Assumed -.333 147.324 .740 -.08000 .24053 .39532 .39544
Equal Variance
Not assumed

Independent T Test: Preference of customers towards Resale Value between Maruti and Hyundai

Levene’s
Test for Equality of Variances

F Sig t. df Sig (2 Mean Std. Error Difference

-tailed) Differenc Differenc 95% Confidence
e e Internal of the
Difference
Lower Upper
RV 3.234 .074 3.160 148 .002 .88000 .27844 .32976 .32945
EqualVariance
Assumed 3.160 138.357 .002 .88000 .27844 1.43024 1.43055
Equal Variance
Not assumed

ANALYSIS OF T-TEST:

Asthe p value in Table 5 is 0.255 which is more than 0.05, the null
hypothesis (H1) is accepted and alternate hypothesis is rejected. It
depicts that there is a no significant difference between the Color (H1)
preference for both auto companies i.e Maruti and Hyundai. Similarly,
there is no significant difference between the preferences for
Interior/Design/Features (H2) and After Sales Service (H4) of both the
auto companies, as the p value is more than 0.05 in
interior/design/features(0.648) and After Sales Service(0.740) (Table6
& 8) . Whereas, for Price (H3) and Resale Value (H5), the P Value is
0.004 and 0.002 respectively which is less than 0.05 so the null
hypotheses is rejected and alternate hypotheses is accepted and it
depicts that there is a significant difference between the price and resale
value (Table 7 & 9) of both auto companies.

CONCLUSION:

The stringent competition in the automobile industry cannot be ignored.

More the number of players, greater is the competition. Companies need
to be on their toes to devise means by which they can establish their
brand equity in the market. The dimensions on which this distinction is
possible are few and diminishing because of the augmented
level competition amongst the companies. But still, India still a male
dominated society and so it’s the man who is
the bread earner in most of the houses and hence requires automobiles
for the same purposes maybe. However, mostly youngsters whether
married or unmarried are inclined towards driving the cars with latest
technology. There was no significant difference that was analyzed
between the colour, interior/design/features and after sales service
preference factors for both the passenger cars of Maruti and
Hyundai; whereas there was a significant difference existing between
the price and resale value of both the cars. This showed that both the
companies have been successful in catering to the needs of their
respective customers. Both give the various specifications in terms of
colour, interior/design, price, after sales service. Maruti and Hyundai
both give cut-throat competition to each other in the automobile industry
and are well established and trusted by their users. So in order to get
ahead of their competitor they would have to opt for a marketing
strategy that is fresh and innovative enough to lure more customers
from the market since the customers that are already using their
respective services are well satisfied with each of their performances.

REFERENCES:

 Akhila,M., & Thayyullathil,A., (2015). A study on customer

satisfaction towards Maruti Suzuki in Coimbator. International
Journal of Management and Commerce Innovations, 583-587.
 Akila,R., Pamavathy,N., Balaji,S., & Senthilkumar,AB., (2015).
Brand preference and purchase behaviour of B-segment passenger
cars in vellore city.
 Balasubramani,S., Suganthi,M., & Suresh,P. (2013). An
empirical study on consumer preference towards Hyundai cars
in Salem city. Indian Journal of Research, 20-21.