Women Are Buying Used Cars in India and choosing the right brands such as VW, Nissan and Honda who offer great cars, which don’t appeal to mass market much
Women are, apparently, becoming evident across the businesses and the automobile sector and it is no exception. Like their male counterparts, females are exercising logic, showing discernible behavior, and making decisions based on facts while purchasing the car. Even in the evolving second-hand car market, women have emerged as a force to reckon with. This phenomenon is further accelerated by the digital revolution, easy availability of the finance, and changing perception towards the women professionals. The industry has witnessed a steady growth in the number of women buyers under the age of 35 who are intelligently investing the money for their personal transportation.
The share of women in car buying has almost doubled from 10-12% to 25% which is itself a testimony to their growing influence and purchasing power. More importantly, this has also induced the car manufacturers to come up with features which are relevant for the women too. A study conducted in this regard titled “Women Automotive Buyer Study” finds that the features like automatic transmission and rear camera parking system are favorites among the women while in terms of brand, female prefer names such as Volkswagen, Honda, and Nissan over others. No Surprise, most of the manufacturers today are including clutch-less transmission and various parking aids to attract more women buyers to their fold.
Even in the highly fragmented used-car market, female consumers are playing an important role to whip up the growth. Of note is the fact that women customers change their cars more frequently and are more likely to buy a used car rather a new one. While safety aspects, engine, and transmission, reliability, value for money, etc, are important, women also play close attention to the condition of the used car, review of the fellow customers, resale value, and deals offered by dealerships before taking a final buy call. This comprehensive evaluation makes the women customers very discernible yet impactful segment in the auto market.
The segment of used car in India has experienced exponential growth with an annual CAGR of 54%. It has grown 20 times in size in the last 6 to 8 years and expected to retain high CAGR of 25% in the near future. Various estimates suggest that the used car market in India will reach 7 million units by the year 2020. Some other crucial factors which are expected to help boost the second-hand car volumes include widening social acceptance, lower GST tax rates, shrinking ownership cycle, the rise in women buyers, and evolution of digital platforms providing information regarding sales, loans, and dealerships. Going by the current scenario, we hope to witness robust sales trend to continue in used-car business in future too.
