What is the demand for such cheap cars?
There is clearly a tendency towards bifurcation. Cars are not just about status, they are also about mobility. Even those who can afford an expensive car may prefer to buy a cheaper car and spend the extra money on a good vacation. Take a look at those attending this conference (CII Connect 2007). Half of them carry a Mont Blanc pen, while many would carry a use-and-throw-away pen like the one I am using. Even a surging economy like China, where VW and Audi have done well, is moving towards smaller cars… China has seen a middle-down approach, starting with expensive sedans and moving to compacts. In India, it has been a bottom-up approach. You will find a correlation to the pattern of purchase. In India, 80 per cent of the vehicles are financed by banks, while in China this accounts for only 30 per cent. You had spoken about the lack of R&D investment leading to lower Intellectual Property Rights ownership as a possible problem for India’s automotive outsourcing space. Is that someth
