Automotive

Helping automotive (PVs / CVs/ 2Ws/3Ws/ EVs/ Tractor and farm equipment / auto component manufacturers) & mobility solution providers (auto classifieds & aggregators) to improve their business performance through actionable and data backed insights collected using sophisticated research tools

Capabilities

What we do

23 capabilities

Capability

Dealer NPS diagnostic

Questions we answer

How likely is the dealer to stay as channel partner for the OEM?
How likely is the dealer to promote the OEM as a preferred partner to other dealers?
What are the drivers for dealer loyalty and NPS?
What are the key reasons for becoming a detractor?
Does OEM support in dealer operations such as e-commerce enablement, digital operations etc. play a role to improve dealer NPS?
What are the industry and competitor dealer NPS benchmarks?
What is the dealer’s feedback on trade terms provided by the OEM? Are there any areas to improve?
What are the potential triggers that could make the dealer shift to another OEM?

Capability

Vendor NPS diagnostic

Questions we answer

How likely is the vendor to stay as partner for the OEM?
How likely is the vendor to promote the OEM as a preferred partner to other vendors/suppliers?
What are the drivers for vendor loyalty and NPS?
What are the key reasons which could make them a detractor?
Does OEM support in vendor operations such as production enhancement play a role to improve vendor NPS?
What are the industry and competitor NPS benchmarks?
What is the vendor feedback on trade terms provided by the OEM? Are there any areas to improve?
What are the potential triggers that could make the vendor shift to another OEM?

Capability

Employee NPS diagnostic

Questions we answer

How likely is the employee to stay with the OEM? For how long?
How likely is the employee to promote the OEM as a preferred employer to peers/friends/ex colleagues?
Which category/groups by hierarchy have low NPS and are at-risk for the OEM ? e.g., production staff, mid-management etc. and what are the reasons for the same?
What are the drivers for employee loyalty and NPS? E.g. healthcare & insurance, leave policy, work life balance etc.
Does OEM provide support to the employees to improve their performance? E.g. Career development/progression tracks, learning & skill development opportunities etc. Does this play a role to improve employee NPS?
What are the industry and competitor employee NPS benchmarks?
What are the potential triggers that could pull down the employee NPS?

Capability

Customer NPS diagnostic

Questions we answer

How likely is the customer to stay as a loyal customer of the OEM?
How likely is the customer to promote the OEM to other potential customers?
What are the key drivers for customer loyalty and NPS?
What are the key reasons which could make them detractors?
What are the industry and competitor Customer NPS benchmarks?
What is the customer feedback on various aspects like product quality, sales process, after sales process & service quality etc.?
Which of these potential triggers could lead to potential loss in NPS?

Capability

Market potential assessment

Questions we answer

What is the size of the addressable market (TAM, SAM)?
What are the key growth drivers and inhibitors?
What are the different customer segments and how does the demand vary across these segments?
Who are the key players in the market and what are their offerings?
What are the key unaddressed pain points of customers across segments?
What are the Government regulations and what is their potential impact on the market?
What is the potential business upside/ risk across customer segments?
What are the current and future trends that can impact market potential?

Capability

Vehicle features prioritization research

Questions we answer

What are the current standard and high-end features offered in the vehicle models?
What factors impact the prioritization of these features in the vehicle? E.g., Customer demand, government norms, application usage area of vehicles etc.
What is the play between the pricing & features and the related prioritization?
Which customer profiles are more conscious of which features?

Capability

Auto finance process benchmarking

Questions we answer

What is the typical Auto finance process at a dealership?
Who are the key stake holders in the process & what is the role of each stake holder?
What are the loan eligibility criteria for different customer segments? How do they vary across banks?
What are the typical issues faced from customer in auto finance process? E.g: Turnaround time in obtaining finance, potential rate of interest offered?
What are the typical interest rates & the EMIs and how do they compare across vehicle models and banks?
What is the typical processing fee and how does it compare across vehicle models and banks?
What are the consideration factors for the dealerships to tie up with banks?
What are the criteria for banks to tie up with dealerships for auto retail financing?
What are the documents that the buyer needs to submit for auto finance?
What is the typical processing time for document verification, loan approval and loan disbursement?

Capability

Competitive benchmarking

Questions we answer

Who are the key competitors of the OEM? What are their offerings to various market segments?
How big are the competition players with respect to – product / application spread, geographic spread (regional/national/international client base), total customer base, sales & revenue by volume and value, Y-o-Y Growth etc.
What are the USPs of the competition products/solution compared to client OEM?
What are the various marketing strategies used by competition OEMs? How do they perform compared to client OEM’s strategies?
How do the vendor’s rate the competition? (Vendor NPS)
How do the dealer’s rate the competition? (Dealer NPS)
How is the talent pool of the competition? Count of employees, qualifications etc.
How does the talent pool rate the competition? (Employee NPS)

Capability

Marketing effectiveness

Questions we answer

What are the current marketing strategies adopted by key competition players?
What are the different channels of marketing that are currently engaged? e.g., print media, social media etc.
What % of revenue is invested in marketing?
What is the % split of marketing revenue within different channels engaged in?
What are the metrics employed to track the effectiveness of the marketing initiatives?
What are the new innovative marketing initiatives that the competition is using?
What can be learnt from the competition to improve the client OEM’s marketing engagements and their effectiveness?

Capability

Car clinic

Questions we answer

How many car clinics need to be conducted for the target vehicle model?
At which locations should the car clinics be conducted? E.g., Metros only, Metro & Tier 1 cities etc.
Who should be invited to be a part of the car clinic and why? E.g., potential customers, industry experts, corporates / institutional buyers or retail users etc.
How big should be the area of the car clinic facility?
What are the infrastructural facilities required for conducting the car clinic?
How should the responses of the visitors/participants be recorded and analyzed for generating actionable insights?
On what parameters should the overall success of the car clinic be measured?

Capability

New product launch effectiveness

Questions we answer

What are the parameters that define an effectiveness of new product launch?
How many enquiries are generated for the new product & its contribution to overall enquiries.
How many bookings are made of the new product & its contribution to the overall bookings?
What has been the rejection ratio (lost customers)?
What are the key reasons/areas which are cited by the rejectors? E.g., product design. Product features, product performance, cost of ownership etc.
What is the perception of the new product in the customer’s mind?
What is the opinion of industry experts on the new product?
How does the new product compare with its competition counterparts in design, features, performance etc.
What are the key reasons for the success/failure of the new product and what can the OEM learn from it?

Capability

Sales mystery shopping

Questions we answer

What are the SOPs for Sales Process? Are all the sales SOPs followed during a customer visit?
Is infrastructure of the showroom as per the standard SOPs?
Is the salesperson aware of customer information if it was previously shared?
Does the salesperson do a detailed customer needs analysis?
Are there adequate number of vehicles by models available in the showroom for a test drive?
Are the test drive routes defined in advance? How is the appropriate route decided for the customer?
Does the salesperson provide the customer with a proforma invoice?
Does finance person provide adequate information about financing schemes & options?
Does the car valuation person provide the customer with resale value of the car (if applicable)?
Is the car delivered as per the promised delivery date?
Is PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) done for every car before delivery?
Does the customer care executive call for post sales feedback?

Capability

After sales mystery shopping

Questions we answer

Does the customer care executive give the customer a service reminder call?
Is the option of car pick-up provided (as per guidelines) and implemented?
Does the service advisor do a complete check-up of the vehicle with the owner and create detailed job card?
Does the service advisor provide the customer with an estimate of the services / spares bill and the estimated time of delivery?
Does the service advisor confirm the final amount with the customer along with his approval before servicing the vehicle?
Does the workshop ensure same day delivery or deliver the vehicle in the agreed turnaround time?
Is the final billing amount same as confirmed by the service advisor? If not, what is the typical delta?
Does the customer care executive call the customer for post service feedback?

Capability

Brand tracking / perception analysis

Questions we answer

Awareness & familiarity - What is the level of awareness of the OEM brand? e.g., Not aware, familiar, highly aware etc.
Brand Association - What does the user associate the OEM brand with? E.g., Sturdiness, High Performance etc.
Brand Reputation - How does the user rate the reputation of OEM brand with respect to competition? e.g., equal, better etc.
Brand Quality - How does the user rate the quality of OEM vehicles with respect to competition?
Brand Performance - How does the user rate the performance of OEM vehicles with respect to competition? similar, better etc.
Brand Pricing - How does the user rate the OEM vehicles with competition brands with respect to pricing? Very highly priced, competitively priced
Overall perception of Brand - What is the user’s overall perception of OEM brand?
Brand promotion & influence - Would the user recommend OEM vehicles to peers?
Brand improvement initiatives
What are the challenges that users face with OEM vehicles? e.g., Spare part availability, frequent breakdowns, high cost of ownership.
What should OEM do to mitigate these challenges?

Capability

Category needs assessment

Questions we answer

What is the typical profile of a vehicle buyer? Demographics: Age, Gender, Occupation, Education, Income, location etc., Psychographics: Personality, Values, Attitude, Interest, Lifestyle etc., Others - First time owner, repeat buyer, fleet owner etc.
What are the customer needs / motivations for vehicle purchase decision? Functional- e.g., ease of travel, less commute time; convenience of personal transport as against other modes; more vehicle space required for family member, Non-functional - e.g., personal image, social status, resale value etc., Occupational - e.g., Transporter business- fleet owner of commercial vehicles
What are the considerations for vehicle design selection? i.e., PV- Hatch back, sedan, SUV, CV- tipper, truck, pick up etc? Use cases- - PV (city drive, off roading etc.) CV (application, type of load etc.), Family size, Self-drive v/s Chauffeur or driver etc.
What are the operational features considered for purchasing the vehicle? E.g., Mileage, pickup, navigation system, suspension etc.
What are the design features considered for purchasing the vehicle? E.g., engine power & torque, sturdiness & built quality, safety features like air bags etc.
What are the typical customer anxieties with respect to purchase? E.g., high maintenance cost, spare part availability etc.

Capability

Dealer sales comparison

Questions we answer

What is the average waiting time (variant / model wise) for vehicle delivery and bookings: delivery ratio of vehicles?
What is the number of complaints received at call centre and average time taken to resolve by Customer Care manager (CCM) ta dealerships?
What is the attrition rate at dealerships?
What is the marketing spend and the spend as a part of total revenue and average revenue from sales of spares and accessories sold?
At what frequency should each of the above metric be tracked?
How do the metrics trend across time (month or quarter)across geographies & across various vehicle models?

Capability

New dealer need assessment, identification & performance evaluation criteria

Questions we answer

What is the supply and overall demand estimation for the area/ geography?
How much is the sales potential of the considered area /geography?
How many dealers does the competition have in the considered area / geography?
How much sales is collectively done by the competition?
Will there be a business need for appointing another dealer in that area / geography?
What is the financial capacity (turnover, revenue and profit trends, net-worth, balance sheet, P&L) of potential players?
Does the potential players have prior experience and skill to run the dealership successfully?
Does the considered player have partnership with any competitor OEM - type of partnership, conflict & exclusivity clauses, payment structure etc.?

Capability

After-sales service performance assessment

Questions we answer

What are the typical operating costs, margins & profits pool available?
What frequency should each metric be tracked at?
How do the metrics trend across time (month or quarter), geographies, vehicle models etc.
What is the manpower capacity and skills (both technical as well as behavioural) – is it in line with competition? Are there are any major gaps? What is the plan to bridge them?

Capability

Vendor identification study

Questions we answer

How long has been the vendor operational? Who are the current customers (other OEMs) of vendor? How long have been those OEMs associated with this vendor?
What are the various certifications, awards won by vendor? What is the technical competence of the potential vendor players? E.g – Past history of successfully delivery with repeat orders from OEMs
What are the credit limits comfortable to vendor? Is it in line with OEM credit limits? Is there any default reported by vendor?
What is the pedigree of senior management of vendor- track record & reputation in automotive domain?
What is the capacity plan for manpower and labour at vendor end? What is the level of R&D, innovation at vendor end? How sensitive is the management towards continuous improvement and innovating new products?
What is the current product portfolio of vendor? What are the current on-going new products initiatives at vendor end (E.g: R&D, launch of new products planned etc.)
What is the track record of vendor – delivering quality products on time? What are the typical complaint levels registered in past against the vendor?

Capability

Unit economics benchmarking

Questions we answer

What is the typical CAC & LTV of the dealership? What is the margin structure?
How do the metrics compare with other dealers (same OEM or competitors)?
How does the unit economics respond to change in each of the fixed and variable parameter? What is the degree of sensitivity analysis?
What are the initiatives that the dealership should undertake to improve their unit economics? Within the areas impacting the unit economics, where is the competition doing better compared to OEM?
What are the best practices that can be adopted by the OEM to improve unit economics?

Capability

Rejecter research

Questions we answer

What is the typical ratio of lost customers / total enquiries i.e., Rejection Ratio?
What are the typical reasons of vehicle rejection by the customers?
At what frequency is the rejection ratio tracked? Monthly, Quarterly etc.
At which different levels is the rejection ratio tracked? E.g., Dealer, showroom / outlet, vehicle model / variant etc
What is the competition rejection ratio in comparable terms e.g., dealer, geography, comparable car model/variants etc.
What are ways to retarget the lost / rejected leads subsequently? What is the engagement process followed to re-connect with lost customers?
What are some of the leading practices followed at dealership level to manage/ track rejector ratio?
What is the competition doing to bring down it’s rejector ratio?

Capability

Booking cancellation research

Questions we answer

What is the typical ratio of # of bookings to # of cancellations?
What are the typical reasons for booking cancellations?
At which levels is the booking cancellation tracked? E.g., Dealer, showroom/outlet, vehicle model / variant etc
What is the competition cancellation ratio in comparable terms e.g., dealer, geography, comparable car model / variants etc.
What is the competition / competition dealers doing to bring down their booking cancellation ratio?

Capability

Product improvement research

Questions we answer

What are the current best practices (domestic and international) in each step of the product improvement cycle?
What is the typical R&D spend on product improvement, as a part of total revenue and total expenditure?
How do OEMs identify the improvement areas? E.g., product trials, customer feedback etc.
What is the frequency of product assessment for improvement?
What is the competition doing for product improvement initiatives?
What are the current key design features of the product/model of vehicle of the client OEM? -Engine design & power, Quality of build & sturdiness, Safety features like child lock, air bags, Performance features like mileage, pickup etc.
How do these features compare with the competition?
Where are the gaps and what are the improvement areas for the client OEM vehicles?
How can best practices be incorporated? E.g., manufacturing/ technology/design partnerships etc.
How should the customer feedback be recorded, analyzed & utilized for product improvement?
How should the pilot testing of the improved product be conducted and who should be the target audience?
What are the typical challenges in Product improvement and what are the solutions to it?

Related Case Studies

View all

AutomotiveMay 19, 2021

Assessment of reefer truck market in India

Objective

The client is a leading international automotive manufacturer and was interested to know the refrigerated truck (reefer truck) market in India

Methodology

PGA Labs conducted a detailed secondary research to understand the industry dynamics of reefer truck and cold chain requirements of various industries. It further conducted detailed in-depth discussions with consumers of cold chain services like F&B, Pharma etc. to understand their need of cold chain services
PGA Labs also conducted competition discussions to understand the models, features as well as trends in reefer truck segment with respect to customer demand and government regulations

Impact / Outcome

The client was provided with an understanding the cold chain and reefer truck market in India
The client was able to make strategic decisions on their reefer truck initiatives after understanding the consumer cold chain applications and logistic services in India

AutomotiveMay 31, 2021

Competitive Benchmarking for a 4W Passenger Vehicle OEM

Objective

The client is one of the leading OEM in 4W segment and wanted to get a 360-degree view of its next biggest competitor

Methodology

PGA Labs conducted detailed in-depth discussions with key stakeholders across various departments like product design, marketing, dealer management, vendor management etc.

Impact / Outcome

The client was provided detailed insights about each competitor in the area of product design - Key product features, USPs etc.
Marketing – Marketing strategies & channels used, measures of effectiveness.
After Sales- Number of workshops (owned, dealer workshops, Authorized standalone workshops), their geographic spread, typical size e.g., number of bays, number of Job cards in a month and other key metrics.
Dealer Network Management- Dealer count & geographic spread, dealer identification process, dealer appointment, channel performance monitoring and benchmarks etc.
Vendor Management- Key vendors and their locations, key products supplied to the competition OEM, payment terms etc.
Business strategy- New products to be launched, new markets identified for entry, customer centric programs etc.
The insights generated through the study helped the client get a detailed understanding of its closest competitor

Showing 1–2 of 6 case studies · Page 1 of 3

Connect with our experts

Leadership profiles coming soon.