CHAPTER -1

INTRODUCTION

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Introduction

The most basic concept underlying marketing is that of human needs. The task of any business is to

deliver customer value at a profit. In a hypercompetitive economy with increasingly rational buyers faced with

abundant choice, a company can win only by fine –tuning the value delivery process and choosing, providing,

and communicating superior value. Consumers’ need and wants are fulfilled through a marketing offer-some

combination of products, services, information, or experiences offered to a market to satisfy a need or want.

Marketing offers are not limited to physical products. They also included services, activities or benefit offered

for sale that are essentially intangible and do not result in the ownership of anything.

Services have been studied extensively since 1980s. The idea of linking service value and customer

satisfaction has existed for a long time. Customer satisfaction has been studied and recognized as an important

factor in the management literature for the past few decades. Studies indicate that there are links among

customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and profitability. During recent years, there have been studies that

have established mechanisms that attempt to link customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Many studies

additionally attempt to establish connections between service quality, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty,

and profitability. Many organizations spend millions of dollars annually on marketing research because it can

be used for various purposes. Marketing researcher can help an organization improve the quality of its

customer service, identify new service opportunities and gain a competitive edge over competitors. Service

organization can use different approaches to conduct market research.

Customer Satisfaction

In general, satisfaction is a person’s feeling of pleasure of disappointment resulting from comparing a

product’s perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectation. Whether the buyer is

satisfied after purchase depends on the offer’s performance in relation to the buyer expectations. If the

performance falls short of expectations, the customer is dissatisfied. If the performance matches the

expectations, the customer is satisfied. If the performance exceeds the expectations, the customer is highly

satisfied or delighted.

Developing a customer satisfaction program is not just about carrying out a survey. Surveys provide the

reading that shows where attention is required but in many respects, this is the easy part. Very often, major long

lasting improvements need a fundamental transformation in the company, probably involving training of the

staff, possibly involving cultural change, the result should be financially beneficially with less customer churn,

higher market shares premium prices, stronger brands and reputation, and happier staff. However, there is a

price to pay for these improvements. Costs will be incurred in the market research survey. Time will be spent

working out an action plan. Training may well be required to improve the customer service. The implications of

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customer satisfaction surveys go far beyond the survey itself and will only be successful if fully supported by

the echelons of senior management.

Customer satisfaction surveys are often just that – surveys of customers without consideration of the

views of lost or potential customers. Lapsed customers may have stories to tell about service issues while

potential customers are a good source of benchmark data on the competition. If a survey is to embrace non-

customers, the compilation of the sample frame is even more difficult. The quality of these sample frames

influences the result more than any other factor since they are usually outside the researchers’ control. The

questionnaire design and interpretation are within the control of the researchers and these are subject where they

will have considerable experience.

Although the customer-centered from seeks to create high customer satisfaction, that is not its ultimate

goal. If the company increases customer satisfaction by lowering its price or increasing its services, the result

may be lower profits. The company might be able to increase its profitability by mean other than increased

satisfaction ( for example, by improving manufacturing processes or investing more in R & D). Spending more

to increase customer satisfaction might divert funds from increasing the satisfaction of other ‘partner’.

Ultimately, the company must operate on the philosophy that it is trying to deliver a high level of customer

satisfaction subject to delivering acceptable levels of satisfaction to the other stakeholders, given its total

resources.

Marketers must be careful to set the right level of expectations. If they set expectations too low, they

may satisfy those who buy but fail to attract enough buyers. If they raise expectations too high, buyers will be

disappointed. Customer value and customer satisfaction are key building blocks for developing and customer

relationship. Many marketers go beyond merely meeting the expectations of customers they aim to delight the

customers

Customer satisfaction is doing what our customer expects- in a sense, being adequate. Most organization

provides adequate service. The do precisely what they say they are going to do not less and, usually, no more. In

most of the cases, customer doesn’t talk about bad products or services. Instead, they tell anyone who will listen

about really bad service or really delightful service. Customer delight goes beyond satisfaction. It ensures that

each contact with our customers reinforces their belief that our organization is truly special. The best at what we

do. Companies with satisfied customers have good opportunity to convert them into loyal customers, who

purchase from those firms over an extended period.

Understanding Customer Requirements

A major challenge for service providers lies in assessing customer expectations, which are known to

change constantly. Customer satisfaction is dependent on the extent to which the service provider is able to

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meet customer expectation. The satisfaction levels of customers change when either of the two takes place –

there is change in customer expectations or in the performance of the service provider. Performance of the

service provider is within his own control. Therefore, service providers should watch out for changes in the

satisfaction levels of customers and respond to the changes accordingly. If there is an increase in customer

satisfaction, Companies should make efforts to find out what it is that they are doing right and continue to do it.

Conversely , if there is decrease in customer satisfaction, companies should try to identify the faults in the

system and rectify them.

Customer satisfaction also depends on their perception of a service provider’s performance. How service

providers perceive their own performance may differ from how customers perceive it. Customer dissatisfaction

occurs when there is a difference between what the customer desires and the service provider delivers.

Customer Expectations

Customer expectations play a key role in company’s success and have a deeper meaning in service

marketing than being more requirements of a customer. They may also involve customers’ predictions of what

will happen in a service encounter or what the customers desire to happen. Customer expectations are based on

customers’ experience with the product or service feedback received from friends, colleagues, and relatives; or

may be based on their present needs. At the same time, service organizations cannot offer a completely

standardized service as some customer prefer a customized service offering to suit their needs?

Types of Service Expectations

To deliver quality service, it is essential to understand customer expectations. To assess the quality of

service, customer compares their expectations with their perception of service provider’s performance. If

service providers want to gain customers’ loyalty, they should constantly meet customers’ expectations by

performing consistently. Wrong interpretation of customers’ expectations will cost the service provider heavily.

Therefore, service providers should take due care to minimize lapses in meeting customer expectations.

Customer expectations of service can be two types: desired and adequate

Desired Service: It is defined as the service that a customer desires and hopes to receive. In other words, the

desired service expectations of a customer are a combination of what he/ she feels that a service provider can

offer and should offer. Customers are delighted when service performance exceeds their desired service

expectation. Desired service expectations of a customer increase when the customer is experienced and has

good knowledge of what to expect in the service.

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However, it is always happen that the desired service expectations of a customer are met or exceeded by

the service delivered by service provider. Often, customer has to compromise on their service expectations and

accept an adequate level of service, which is slightly lower than the desired level.

Adequate service: Adequate service is a minimal level of service that a customer is willing to accept from a

service provider and is based on the customer’ perception of what level of service acceptable to him. Customers

are dissatisfied if the service provided by a service provider does not meet the adequate service level

expectations

Predicted Service: It is the service level between the desired and adequate service level of a customer and lies

in the zone of tolerance.

Zone of tolerance: It is the gap between a customer’s desired service expectations and the adequate service

received. This zone varies for each customer and for the same customer it differs in different situations.

Customer Perception

Perception is the process of making a meaningful picture by selectively organizing a set of stimuli. In

the marketing of services, perception can be defined as a customer’s judgment about the service experience and

pertains to the aspects of value of service delivery, service quality and customer satisfaction. Perceptions

change over time, differ from person to person, and from one culture to another.

Importance of prompt service

Time plays an important role in the service sector. A customer does not wait beyond a certain period of

time for a service to be delivered. If a service provider exceeds a certain time limit, the customer feels

dissatisfied and looks for another service provider. However, the tolerance limits also tend to vary depending on

the type of service.

Customer Service Satisfaction

Customer service satisfaction research has become an intricate part of the customer service strategy for

virtually all large and many medium sized companies. Where customer service satisfaction questions were once

appended to a company’s more general customer satisfaction program, they have became independently

executed and funded programs dedicated exclusively to achieving quality customer service. Often referred to as

interaction or transaction satisfaction surveys, customer service satisfaction programs differ from general

satisfaction surveys in structure and design, for example, by mapping to a specific experience and reporting

results down to the store/ call center/ employee level.

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Even though there are many studies in the area of services, after sales services and after sales activities

generally have represent an overlooked area of the management literature and only a few researchers have paid

attention on it. For the most part, issues related to after sales activities and after sales services have been given

only partial attention in those studies. Nevertheless, the importance of after sales service can be significant to

customer satisfaction, particularly in the business-to business environment, if the customer’s capital expenditure

on the equipment is significant. It is expected that the importance of well-managed services in after sales phase.

i.e., care phase will increase, particularly in environments where high capital investments are required and such

investments are made over longer periods of time.

Managing Service Quality

One of the major ways a service firm can offer differentiate itself is by delivering consistently higher

quality than its competitors do. Like manufactures before them, most service industries have now joined the

customer driven quality movement. And like product marketers, service providers need to identify what target

customers expect concerning service quality. Unfortunately, service quality is harder to define and judge than is

product quality. Customer retention is perhaps the best measure of quality- a service firm’s ability to hang on to

its customers depending on how consistently it delivers value to them.

Unlike product manufactures who can adjust their machinery and inputs, until everything is perfect,

service quality is always vary, depending on the interaction between employees and customers. As hard as they

try even the best companies will have an occasional late delivery, burned steak, or grumpy employees.

However, good service recovery can turn angry customers into loyal ones.

Measuring Service Quality

The intangible and perishable nature of services makes it difficult for organizations to measure their

quality, identify the loopholes and take necessary steps to improve the quality. Service organizations therefore

evaluate certain components of a service to determine its quality. According to Gronroos, any service has two

important components- functional and technical

Functional: This component involves interactions between the customer and the service personnel.

Technical: This component refers to the output of the service operation. The technical component of service is

easier to evaluate then functional component.

Strategies for improving service quality

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It is not too difficult for companies to improve service quality. What is required is that right strategy to

do it and the commitment by all members of the organization. The following are some of the strategies that

should be followed by service organizations to enhance the quality of service offered to customers.

A service provider should aim at achieving zero defects or error free service. This can be achieved by

having a management that believes in 100% perfection, providing the necessary infrastructure that

facilities error free service, and by testing and retesting service processes at various stages to eliminate

any loopholes. This will also help them improve continuously to set and achieve new standards

Internal communication promotes better understanding among employees of each others’ task and

responsibilities, and the difficulty involved, and enhances cooperation and coordination which

eventually results in better service to customers. Also, organizations should be equipped with modern

training equipment and techniques to simulate real work environment and train employees to deliver

quality services.

Service providers should always test a service prior to launching it in the market place

Sometimes, service providers fail to deliver the service despite all the precautions they take to prevent a

failure. At such times, customers’ perception of service quality depends on the service provider’s ability

to resolve the problem immediately. To enable effective service recovery and regain customers’

confidence, service providers should train employees in recovery techniques and empower them to

resolve the problem immediately.

Customer does not expect service providers to fulfill all their requirements but only that they deliver what

they have promised. They want to get a fair deal for the price they pay for the service. Customer service

expectations can be measured along five dimension of service quality: assurance, empathy, reliability,

responsiveness and service tangible. Expect for the dimension of reliability, which is associated with the service

outcome, all other dimensions associated with the service process.

Some Additional General customer service satisfaction dimensions and factors

Overall customer service

Helpfulness

Friendliness

Support staff that solves problems quickly

Provides poor support

Very talented professionals

All the necessary resources to service you

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A very valuable service resource

Competent

Unprofessional

People that are easy to deal with

Dishonest

Support staff which gives you a hard time

Staff which is interest in your comments and suggestions

Phone calls returned quickly

People answering the phone are polite

People on the answering the phone are cheerful

Knowledgeable operators

Listening to the customer

Attentive to customer complaints

Close to its customers

Unwilling to go to the extra mile for its customers

Ignores customer suggestions

Impossible to get satisfaction unless you go to the top

In tune with the needs of its clients

Prompt in dealing with customer complaints

Efficient

Easy to get information on the phone

Poor customer phone support

People who answer the phone have clear, easy to hear voices

It takes a long time to reach the right person on the phone

You are often put on hold for a long time

Telephone support personal who do not seem to have time for you

Attention to detail

Helpfulness

Available support offerings fir your needs

Phone support quality overall

Ease of gaining access to support

Time to reach technical personnel

Effectiveness of answers/ workarounds

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Access to technical support

1.1REVIEW OF LITERATURE

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION – A BRIEF OVERVIEW

Satisfaction is the level of a person’s felt state resulting from the company’s products performance

(outcome) in reelection to the person’s expectations. As the definition makes clear satisfaction is a function of

perceived performance and expectations. If the performance falls short of expectations, the customer is

dissatisfied. If the performance matches exceeds expectations the customer is highly satisfied or delighted.

Many companies are aiming for high satisfaction because customers who are just satisfied still find it easy to

switch when a better offer comes along. Those who are highly satisfied are much less ready to switch. High

satisfaction of delight creates an emotional affinity with the brand. It’s just rational preference. The result is

high customer loyalty.

Customer’s expectations are influenced by their past buying experience, friends and associates advice,

and marketers and competitions, information and promises. If marketers raise the expectation too high the buyer

is likely to be disappointed. In addition to tracking their customer’s expectation, perceived company

performance and customer satisfaction, companies need to monitor their competitor performance as well.

For customer centered companies, customer satisfaction is both a goal and a marketing tool. Companies

that achieve high customer satisfaction ratings make sure that their forget market knows it.

Marsha Peter (2OO2) examines temporal changes in post-purchase product satisfaction for a durable

goods purchase. Involvement and satisfaction variables were measured in a cross-sectional and a

longitudinal study of car owners. Overall, consumers with high product involvement showed slightly

greater satisfaction with their cars than low-involvement consumers over the term of ownership.

However, in the 2-month period after purchase, consumers with high product involvement showed a

decline in satisfaction, whereas low-involvement consumers' satisfaction increased. The role of

disconfirmation in these changes was investigated. Benefits and problems disconfirmation were found 9

to make independent contributions to satisfaction judgments, and the strength and form of

contribution varied with product involvement. These findings suggest that benefits and problems

disconfirmation need to be measured separately in satisfaction research.

Diane Halstead (1993) studied the Focuses on a group of unsatisfied car owners. Examines the roles of

the car warranty and the post-purchase service received during the complaint process in terms of their

effects on customers' satisfaction with complaint resolution. Presents some suggestions for customer

service policies, complaint handling procedures, and warranty fulfillment service.

Richard Oliver (2000) Response determinants in satisfaction judgment, examines that the effects of five

determinants of satisfaction are tested as well as individual differences in satisfaction formation.

Manipulations of attribution, expectancy, performance, disconfirmation, and equity are written into stock

market trading scenarios in a full factorial design. Results show that all main effects and four ordinal two-way

interactions are significant. Then, an individual-level analysis is performed on the repeated measures data.

Three clusters of subjects sharing similar response tendencies (disconfirmation, performance, and equity) are

identified and related to investment attitudes, outcome attitudes, and demographics. No consistent

relationships are discovered, suggesting that the response differences reflect deeper behavioral tendencies.

Implications of this approach for satisfaction paradigms, satisfaction theory, and individual satisfaction

response orientations are presented

TOOLS FOR TRACKING AND MEASURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Complainant and Suggestion System:-

A customer centered organization makes it easy for its customers to deliver suggestions and complaints.

Many are restaurants and hotels provide forms for guests to report their likes and dislikes. A hospital could

place suggestion in the corridors, supply comment cards to existing patients, and here a patient advocate to

handle patient grievances. Some customer centered companies – Procter & gamble, General Electricals,

Whirlpool establish customer hot lines with toll free 800 suggestions, or complaints. These information flows

provide these companies with many good ideas and enable them to act more rapidly to resolve problems.

Customer Satisfaction surveys:

Studies show that while customers are dissatisfied with one out of every four purchases, less than 5% of

dissatisfied customer wills complaint. Most customers will busy less or switch suppliers rather than complaint.

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Therefore companies cannot use complaints levels as a measure of customer satisfaction by conducting periodic

surveys. They send questionnaire or make telephone calls to a random sample of their recent customers and ask

if they were very satisfied, satisfied, indifferent, somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with various aspects

of the company’s performance. They also solicit buyer’s views on their competitor’s performance

While collecting customer satisfaction data, it is also useful to ask additional questions to measure the

customers repurchase intentions; this will normally be high, if the customer’s satisfaction is high, it is also

useful to measure the customer’s likelihood or willingness to recommend the company and brand to other

person. A high positive word-of-mouth score indicates that the company is producing high customer

satisfaction.

Ghost Shopping:

Companies can hire people to pose as potential buyers to report on strong and weak points

experienced in buying the company’s and competitor’s products. These shoppers can even test the company’s

sales personnel handle various situations.

Lost Customer Analysis:

Companies should contact customers who have stopped buying or who have switched to another supplier

to learn why this happened.

Focus Groups:

Focus groups can be held on an informal or formal basis. On an informal basis, consider having a group of

users meet for coffee or lunch to discuss their satisfaction with services being evaluated. On a more formal

basis, a facilitator with experience in leading focus groups can work with personnel to plan questions and

activities to elicit perception of value and satisfaction from Participants

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CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEYS HELP TO:

1. Improve customer, client, or employee loyalty.

2. React quickly to changes in the market.

3. Identify and capitalize on opportunities.

4. Beat the competition.

5. Retain or gain market share.

6. Increase revenue.

7. Reduce costs.

Post sales follow up

PSF’s are done in order to get the first hand feedback form the customer about the experience that they had

during the sales and delivery process.

The first PSF is done within the 72 hours of delivery and the voice or exact wordings of the customer are

recorded. The next PSF call is made after 15 days after the vehicle is delivered. The feedback form system is a

very important tool to obtain customer’s feedback on the experience that the customer had during the

purchase of his/her car.

Steps followed after receiving customer complaint:

Firstly customer acre manager gives a control number to all complaints received and records the same in the

customer complaints control register.

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Then customer manager gets in touch with the customer over the phone and expresses regret on the

inconvenience faced by the customer

Immediate action is taken to ensure that the customer complaint is resolved and writes a letter of apology

The customer care manager along with the concerned DSE, then visits the customer, hands over the letter and

takes satisfaction note from the customer

Then he sends a copy of the letter and the satisfaction note to MARUTI SUZUKI Ltd. And also files a copy of the

same in the customer complaints register/file.

Then the CCM discusses the customer complaints in the weekly meeting with the general manager on SSI with

the entire showroom staff. Necessary counter measures are taken to ensure that such complaints are not

repeated in future.

All sales staff and managers review customer care activities on daily, weekly and monthly basis. The SSI review

meet is conducted regularly.

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CHAPTER 2

INDUSTRY PROFILE

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HISTORY OF AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

The history of the automobile actually began about 4100 years ago when the first wheel was used to

transportation in India. In the early 15th century Portuguese arrived in china and the interaction of the two

culture leaded to variety of new technologies including the creation of a wheel . By the 1600’s small steam

powered engine models had been developed but it was another century before a full sized engine powered

vehicle was created. In 1769 French Army Officer captain Nicolas joseph Cugsnot built what has been called

the first automobile cugnots parel wheeler steam powered vehicle carried four person. Designed to move

artillery pieces. It has a top speed of a title more than 3.2km/h and had a stop every 20 minutes to build up a

fresh head of steam. As easily in 1801 successful but very heavy steam automobile type introduced in England

laws barred them from public road and forced their owners to run them like train or private tracks their owners

to run them like train or private tracks in 1802 a steam powered coach designed by British Engineer. RichardT

rethvick journed more than 160km from corn wall to London . Steam powered caught the attention of other

vehicle builders. In 1804, American inventor Oliver Evans built a steam powered car in 1828.

British inventor a valter Handcock build a series of steam carriages in the mid 1830’s thus were used for

the first omnibus service in London. By the mid1800’s England had an extensive network of coach line. Horse-

drawn stage coach companies and the new rail road companies pressured the British parliament to approve

heavy its on steam-powered road vehicles. The tolls quickly drove a steam quickly drove a steam coach

operators out of business. During the early 20th century steam cars were popular in the United states. Most

famous was the Stanley steamer, built by American Twin brothers Freelan and Francis Stanley. A Stanley

steamer established a world land speed record in 1906 of 205.44 km /h. Manufactures produced about 125

models of steam powered automobiles, including the Stanley until 1932.The first successful self propelled road

vehicle was a steam automobile invented in 1770 by the French engineer Nicolas Joseph Cugsnot.

INDIAN CAR INDUSTRY CURRENT SCENARIO

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India car industry reported the best ever March, with 281.831 registrations, the highest ever single

month in India. Now the first quarter closed at 784.622, the best ever quarter for this market. With this

volume India closed the quarter in 5th position (behind China, USA, Japan and Germany) just 12.000 units over

Brazil. The Indian market is traditionally a "small cars market" with 85% of car sold smaller than 3.8 meters. It

is dominated by local producer Maruti, owner by the Japanese Suzuki and by Tata and Mahindra. Moreover is

the country where the Korean Hyundai is able to perform better than any other, achieving one of best share of

market achieved outside of its boundaries. In spite almost all global players are present in the market; it is still

heavily concentrated in the hands of Top 4 brands. During full year 2011, 77% of volume was achieved by

Maruti, Hyundai, Tata and Mahindra. However, Maruti dominated with a share around 40 percent (it was

38.8% in full year 2011).

After several months of uncertain trend with consumer demand depressed by high interest rate and

increasing fuel cost, the start of the 2012 calendar year was finally positive.

Moreover, the customer orders portfolio increased considerably in last quarter, due to the diesel engines huge

demand (now Diesel is over 50% of total engine's mix) and the short supply of all small cars diesel versions (4-6

months of waiting list for Maruti and Hyundai).In the first quarter 2012, Maruti achieved 40.8% market share,

followed by Hyundai at 13.9 (2.2 down on full year 2011) and Tata at 13.6 (0.8 up).

In the table below, Top 10 Brands volumes in the first months of 2012:

Rank Brand Jan Feb Mar Ytd March

1 Maruti 100.807 107.409 112.263 320.479

2 Hyundai 33.756 36.658 38.883 109.297

3 Tata 34.669 34.832 37.101 106.602

4 Mahindra 19.325 19.972 22.236 61.533

5 Toyota 17.394 16.640 18.199 52.233

6 Chevrolet 7.905 8.490 10.293 26.688

7 Ford 8.919 7.935 8.637 25.491

8 Honda 1.503 8.098 10.275 19.87616

9 Volkswagen 5.402 6.013 7.848 19.263

10 Nissan 3.710 4.396 3.348 11.454

In the table below, the Top 10 Brands share ranking in the first months 2012:

Rank Brand Jan Feb Mar Ytd March FY 2011 FY 2010

1 Maruti 41,5% 41,3% 39,8% 40,8% 38,8% 43,9%

2 Hyundai 13,9% 14,1% 13,8% 13,9% 16,1% 16,2%

3 Tata 14,3% 13,4% 13,2% 13,6% 12,8% 13,2%

4 Mahindra 8,0% 7,7% 7,9% 7,8% 9,2% 9,8%

5 Toyota 7,2% 6,4% 6,5% 6,7% 5,9% 3,4%

6 Chevrolet 3,3% 3,3% 3,7% 3,4% 4,7% 4,5%

7 Ford 3,7% 3,1% 3,1% 3,2% 4,2% 3,4%

8 Honda 0,6% 3,1% 3,6% 2,5% 2,0% 2,2%

9 Volkswagen 2,2% 2,3% 2,8% 2,5% 3,2% 1,3%

10 Nissan 1,5% 1,7% 1,2% 1,5% 0,9% 0,3%

Four Maruti models in the Top 4 market positions: Alto, Swift, Wagon R and Dzire. Hyundai i10, dropped from

3rd position achieved in 2011 at 6th, mainly due to diesel shortage. Great performance in this quarter has

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been achieved by Hyundai Eon (6th from 26th last year), Nissan Sunny (25th from 52nd) and Honda Brio (27th

from 62nd).

In the table below the Top 30 models ranking:

Rank ModelYTD

MarchShare Jan Feb Mar

2011

Ranking

1 Maruti Alto 101.119 12,9% 32.965 32.909 35.245 1

2 Maruti Swift 60.016 7,6% 18.756 20.739 20.521 4

3 Maruti Wagon R 42.377 5,4% 14.888 12.900 14.589 2

4 Maruti Dzire 40.156 5,1% 8.637 15.068 16.451 6

5

Tata

Indica/Vista33.378 4,3% 11.534 10.424 11.420 5

6 Hyundai i10 31.225 4,0% 10.744 10.324 10.157 3

7 Hyundai Eon 30.324 3,9% 7.344 10.480 12.500 26

8

Mahindra

Bolero28.259 3,6% 9.338 8.843 10.078 7

9 Tata Nano 27.415 3,5% 7.723 9.217 10.475 13

10

Tata

Indigo/Manza26.162 3,3% 9.272 8.595 8.295 10

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11 Maruti Omni 22.527 2,9% 7.668 7.641 7.218 8

12 Ford Figo 21.127 2,7% 7.508 6.546 7.073 12

13 Toyota Innova 19.830 2,5% 6.794 6.271 6.765 16

14 Maruti Ritz 17.385 2,2% 5.212 5.782 6.391 14

15 Hyundai i20 17.147 2,2% 6.068 4.844 6.235 9

16 Hyundai Santro 16.109 2,1% 4.826 5.924 5.359 11

17 Maruti Eeco 15.653 2,0% 4.771 5.664 5.218 15

18 Chevrolet Beat 14.712 1,9% 4.416 4.675 5.621 18

19 Toyota Etios 14.538 1,9% 4.844 4.590 5.104 19

20 Hyundai Verna 12.949 1,7% 4.311 4.506 4.132 20

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Mahindra

Scorpio12.675 1,6% 4.309 3.972 4.394 17

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Toyota Etios

Liva11.501 1,5% 4.030 3.437 4.034 32

23 Honda City 11.475 1,5% 1.503 6.052 3.920 22

24 VW Polo 11.038 1,4% 3.259 3.839 3.940 21

25 Nissan Sunny 10.499 1,3% 3.218 3.130 4.151 52

26 Tata Sumo 10.450 1,3% 3.453 3.366 3.631 28

27 Honda Brio 8.401 1,1% 0 2.046 6.355 62

28 VW Vento 8.225 1,0% 2.143 2.174 3.908 23

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Mahindra

XUV5008.211 1,0% 2.286 2.729 3.196 46

30 Mahindra Xylo 7.464 1,0% 1.863 2.796 2.805 25

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2.1 ABOUT MARUTI SUZUKI

In 1981, when there were basically only 2 car models running on the Indian roads :Ambassador and

premier Padmini, a fledgeling company was setup that had a stake from the Indian government and a small

Japanese manufacturer in those days. With the setting up of this indigeneous company gave the birth to the

Automobile revolution in India. The company that made history year after year since its first model known as

the 800, Maruti has defined the modern Indian automotive industry.

The History:

Maruti Company – named after the son of Hanuman- Marut- the GOD of the Wind, has truly created a

sandstorm in the Indian Automotive world after its inception in 1981. Initially supported by late Sanjay Gandhi,

son of the late Prime minister, Indira Gandhi and borrowing the Japanese technology from its parent Suzuki

motors ,Maruti Udyog started manufacturing cars from 1983, Since then Maruti has overtook every rival and

has been the leader of the car manufacturing in India in terms of production, revenues and profits.

With over 15 models ranging from the Grand Vitara (which is completely imported SUV from Japan ) to

the new models such as the A star, ritz and the Swift series, Maruti continues its unimaginable dominance in

the indian subcontinent. In 2007 , the Suzuki motor corporation increased its stake in the share holdings and

Maruti udyog was renamed as Maruti Suzuki. Suzuki motors being a global leader in manufacturing compact

cars at one time was actually manufacturing lesser cars than the Maruti Suzuki itself. As of now Maruti Suzuki

remains a subsidiary of the Suzuki motor corporation from 2007 onwards and the government of India does’nt

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have any stake .With its largest plant in Gurgaon (Haryana) ,followed by Manesar , Maruti produces the largest

number of cars in a year .

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL, formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited) is a subsidiary of Suzuki

Motor Corporation, Japan. MSIL has been producing cars in India since 1983. Maruti’s revenues totaled

approximately 73.3 billion rupees in 2009-2010. It’s operating profit as of 2009-2010 is 75 billion rupees while

its net profit comes to 6.8 billion rupees.

The company has two manufacturing facilities located at Gurgaon and Manesar, south of New Delhi,

India, which have an annual combined capability to produce over a 12 lakh (12, 00,000) passenger car units.

The company is planning to invest 17 billion rupees in the Manesar plant.

Maruti is known for its hatchback cars, especially the Maruti 800. Other popular hatchback models

include the Maruti Zen and the Alto. It offers fifteen brands and over one hundred and fifty variants - Maruti

800, Omni, Eeco, Alto, Alto-K10, A-star, WagonR, Swift, Ritz and Estilo, Gypsy, SUV Grand Vitara, sedans SX4

and Swift DZire. Maruti Suzuki introduced factory fitted CNG option on 5 models across vehicle segments.

These include Eeco, Alto, Estilo, Wagon R, Sx4 and ertiga. Maruti Suzuki has an employee strength over 7,600

(as at end March 2010).

In 2009-10, the company sold a record 10,18,365 units including 1,47,575 units which we exported primarily

to Europe, the remaining 870,790 sold in India. In the third quarter of 2009-2010, the company sold 258, 026

units. Thus, in March 2010, Maruti Suzuki had a India market share of 53.3 per cent of the Indian passenger

car market of 16,33,752 passenger car units.

Maruti Suzuki will be investing around Rs.1,250 crore (Rs 12.5 billion) on capacity expansion of the K-series

engines between 2010 and 2012. The expanded annual capacity will be over 7 lakh units from the present 5

lakh units of K-series engine cars. This will be a progressive investment to be completed by 2012. It has a sales

network is 802 centers in 555 towns and cities across India. The customer service support network comprises

of 2,740 workshops in over 1,335 towns and cities.

In 2008, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, unveiled a National Road Safety Mission under which it would train

500,000 people in safe driving in 3 years at 61 Maruti Driving Schools and 4 Institutes of Driving Training and

Research (IDTR) in Delhi, Dehradun and Vadodara.

21

Company History

In 1981, Maruti was launched. The company was started by the Government of India and was initially

called Maruti Technical Services Private Limited. The first Managing Director of the company was Sanjay

Gandhi, late-Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s son.

During the period of 1985 to 1996, a few other significant developments took place including Suzuki

taking up 50% stake in Maruti, leading to a 50-50 joint venture between Maruti and the Government of India

and over 60 per cent of its parts being produced in India leading to lower costs of production as the parts

didn’t have to be imported from abroad. When asked why Suzuki was chosen as the partner of this established

corporation, the chairman of Maruti, Mr. R. C Bhargava said that the company went to Japan and none of the

companies out of Nissan, Mitsubishi and Daihatsu were ready to bring 40 per cent equity in India. Suzuki was

the only company which agreed to bring 26 per cent equity in India and raise it to 40 per cent thereafter.

The first car that the company produced was a four-door Maruti 800 and the second car that the

company produced was a Multi-Utility Vehicle called the Omni.

Between 1994 and 1996 Maruti released the Esteem, the Gypsy, the Omni, the Gypsy King, Zen and

Esteem. It also opened a second plant in Manesar whose capacity at the time of opening was 2,00,000 units.

In 2000 Maruti launched a call center. This was the first time a car company had ever launched a call

center in India. In this year, Maruti setup a website for its Wagon-R car, introduced a new model of the Zen,

got the IRTE National Award for its safety initiative, traffic management and environment protection, launched

the Baleno and the Wagon R with electric power steering, joined hands with Sumitomo for providing after-

sales service and introduced the Suzuki Alto. The Gurgaon plant had stopped production due to a strike by the

employees.

Maruti introduced its first CNG car in 2001. In the same year Maruti invested 550 crore rupees in

manufacturing cars.

In 2002, Maruti launched Maruti Finance to offer financial services like extended warranty and finance

for car insurance. It also hiked its car prices and launched the Versa. This was a good year for Maruti in exports

as it produced 16,000 cars for an order to Europe.

22

In the next few years Maruti got into collaboration with various companies to launch car-selling

schemes. They partnered with State Bank of India to launch a scheme where each branch of the bank would

sell a Maruti car. The company also tied-up with Reliance Industries Limited for lease and fleet management.

This was the same year Kumar Mangalam Birla joined Maruti as an independent director.

From 2005 - 2007 Maruti became the market leader of Indian cars and in 2006 unveiled the new

Wagon-R in Punjab. In 2007, Maruti launched the SX4 sedan.

Company Milestones

1970: The Indian government launched a new car company called Maruti Technical Services Limited which

created competition for the existing Ambassador Car Company.

1971: The government changed the name of the company to Maruti Limited. Indira Gandhi’s son, Sanjay

Gandhi became the managing director of the company.

1977: The Company was liquidated as a result of corruption. There was a Maruti Scandal in 1978 where the

court issued a notice to Maruti. Sanjay Gandhi passed away.

1981: The Company was re-established when the founders’ mother, Indira Gandhi took charge. The Company

was now called Maruti Udyog Limited. After partnership with Japanese giant Suzuki Motor Corporation in a

Joint Venture Agreement, the company was called Maruti Suzuki Company.

1983: Maruti produced its first car, the Maruti 800. It took the company thirteen months to produce this car.

This changed the landscape of the Indian car market as Maruti 800 was the most cost-effective and fuel-

efficient car in India.

1984: Maruti produced a large mini-van called the Omni that seated up to eight people. This was an addition

to its existing offering of the Maruti 800.

Between 1985 and 1995: Maruti launched the Gypsy, the Maruti 1000, the Zen, the Esteem, and the Maruti

On Road Service, a 24-hour service which gives customers 24-hour access to technicians and vans who are

ready to help with any problem of the car round the clock. In 1987, the company made its first export sale,

selling 500 cars to Hungary.

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1996: This was a prominent year for Maruti as five new models of its cars were launched including the Gypsy

(E), Omni (E), Gypsy King (E), the automatic Zen and the Esteem in a 1.3 litre engine. Gypsy has the engine

from the Esteem. The engine had a horsepower of 65 bhp.

2000: Maruti launched India’s first call center and the Altrura, a luxury car. It also introduced the 16-Valve

MPFI G13BB engine in the Gypsy and the power increased to 80 bhp.

2002: The WagonR Pride, Esteem (diesel version), Alto Spin LXi were introduced. Maruti Finance was started

diversifying the company from its initial product offering of only cars to finance. Maruti also inaugurated a

children’s park in Delhi as part of it’s Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative.

2003: Maruti launched the Grand Vitara.

2005: Maruti launched the Swift.

2006: Maruti had produced up to six million cars.

2007: Maruti launched the SX4, Swift Diesel and the company was renamed from Maruti Udyog Limited to

Maruti Suzuki India Limited.

2008: Maruti launched the Swift DZire, the A-Star and inaugurated the K-series engine plant in Gurgaon.

2009: The Company shipped the first batch of A-Star cars from the Mundra port.

2011: Maruti Suzuki India unveiled its much awaited sportier and stylish car, the all new 'Swift'.

2011: On march 15, Maruti Suzuki India rolled out its 1 Crore (ten millionth) car.The historic 1 Crore car, a

Metallic Breeze Blue coloured WagonR VXi (Chassis No 243899) rolled out from the Company's Gurgaon plant.

2010: Maruti Suzuki has been ranked India's most Trusted Brand in Automobile Sector by India's leading

Business newspaper The Economic Times.

2009 - MSIL adopts voluntary fuel disclosure.First shipment of A-star leaves Mundra Port-jan 10.A-star

bags,Zigwheels”car of the year award”A-star rated best small car of the year-autocar-UTVi.

2008 - World Premiere of concept A-star at 9th Auto Expo, New Delhi.

24

2007 - Swift diesel launched.New car plant and the diesel engine facility commences operations during 2006-

07 at manesar,Haryana.SX4-Luxury Sedan Launched with the tag line “Men are black”.Maruti launches Grand

Vitara.

Vision & Values

Maruti is India’s leader in the automobile industry. It believes that the customer is king. It is making sure that

performance, after sales service and customer support are really good in India. Here are some key points from

Maruti’s vision statement:

Modernization of the Indian Automobile Industry

Developing cars faster and selling them for less.

Production of fuel-efficient vehicles to conserve scarce resources.

Production of large number of motor vehicles which was necessary for economic growth.

Market Penetration, Market Development Similarly Product Development and Diversification.

Partner relationship management, Value chain, Value delivery network

Maruti has two values – capability and commitment. Maruti’s vision is to appear as a Learning Organization.

There are three processes that are critical to develop, reinforce and cascade a positive, transparent,

supportive and high performing work culture, systems and practices across the company. The first process is

the top level management’s ability to walk the talk –the manager’s ability to deliver on time and at high

efficiency levels. The second is a rewards and recognition program that helps in assessment. Each member of

the organization from the shop floor level to supervisors to the managers to the lower staff is recognized and

rewarded for their efforts. These include monetary benefits and in-kind benefits. Employees are given the

career development and career growth rewards. The third process is using communication techniques like the

Newsletter and the Monthly magazine to highlight expectations and achievements of all the team members.

This three-tiered approach of walking the talk, rewards and recognition and communication techniques is the

three-pronged approach Maruti is taking to ensure that it’s visions and values are met with the topmost

standards and that there is a high execution quotient in their work.

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Maruti defines it’s vision statement on it’s website to include the following five areas: Customer Obsession:

Making sure that the customer gets what he desires.

Fast, Flexible and First Mover: It produces and sells cars as a rapid pace.

Innovation and creativity: It introduces new technologies and new models at a rapid pace

Networking and Partnership: It believes in partnering with various companies from producing parts to hosting

car shows.

Openness and Learning: People working in the company are given a chance to experiment and explore.

Manufacturing Facilities

In August 1986, Maruti produced 1,00,000 cars. By 1993, the company produced 1, 96,820 cars, mostly

Maruti 800s. Cumulative production reached 1 million in 1994, 2 million in October 1997, approximately 4

million in 2003, 4.7 million in 2004, 5 million in 2005 and 6 million cars by 2006.

Maruti Suzuki had surpassed its Japanese parent, Suzuki Motor Corporation in overall production

during 2009, when Maruti Suzuki rolled out 9,66,399 units in 2009, while its parent Suzuki Motor Corporation

produced only 9,08,302 units.

Maruti’s two production plants in India are at Manesar and at Gurgaon. In 2009, Maruti expanded its

capital expenditure in the Manesar plant on the lines of 2,000 crore. The company launched a three-lakh unit

line in Manesar to increase production capacity by about 1.3 million units. The Manesar plant is responsible

for the production of the Swift, Swift DZire, A-star and SX4. The remaining Maruti cars are manufactured in

Maruti Suzuki's Gurgaon Plant.

During 2010, Maruti sold 8, 36,893 units in the domestic market, and 1, 30,688 units in exports. Maruti

has a growing production of cars in the domestic market to meet the growing demand of consumers in India.

The Alto and Wagon-R brought in maximum revenue to the domestic market with Alto selling 2.4 lakh units

and WagonR selling 1.4 lakh units of cars. Today, Maruti sells more in the domestic market of India than in the

export market.

Technology

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Maruti Suzuki uses an innovative Compressed Natural Gas technology – the Intelligent Gas Port

Injection (iGPI) on five of its models – the SX4, Eeco, WagonR, Estilo and Alto. The iGPI technology delivers

more power and runs like a petrol-filled engine while achieving fuel-efficiency. The iGPI technology uses

injectors for each cylinder and a particular amount of CNG is injection in the engine through gas ports. The

Engine Control Unit controls the amount of CNG needed for each ride.

Two components used by Maruti in cars such as the Maruti Omni to help increase fuel economy are

the crankshaft sensor and knock sensor. They control the ignition timing and fuel injection. The crank shaft is a

part of the car’s engine that translates its linear motion into rotation. The sensor is part of the internal

combustion engine which monitors the position and rotational speed of the crankshaft. The knock sensor is a

part that’s linked to the car’s engine-when the car’s engine is not working it knocks on it and usually you hear

the knocking sound. The knock sensor will send a signal to the Powercontrol Car Module (PCM).

The Maruti Swift has a Direct Diesel Injection System engine. This engine has efficient combustion,

higher torque and cleaner emissions. It is an extremely light engine and has a 75 bhp, 190 Nm of torque

capacity. It has a five-step multi-injection technology that makes the car run more smoothly than other cars. It

also has a Double Over Head Camshaft that gives the engine a quick run. It also has a Chain Drive Timing

System. This engine is way better than the Maruti 800 engine which has a Single Over Head Camshaft and only

two valves per cylinder while the Swift has sixteen-valve cylinder.

According to the company, they will use K-Series engines in all car models. India’s largest car

manufacturer Maruti Suzuki decided to implement the K-series petrol engine in all the models for at least five

years according to a company report. The K-Series engine is a straight four cylinder engine that comes in Single

Overhead Camshaft and Double Overhead Camshaft variants. This engine will be made in the Maruti Manesar

plant in Haryana for the A-Star car which is produced in India and sold in Europe. The K-Series engine is Euro 4

and Euro 5 compliant and is the most advanced of engines. The engine has a CO2 emission of 109 gm/km and

plans to reduce it further. The engine is extremely fuel efficient.

Awards & Recognition

As one of the top Indian brands of cars, Maruti Suzuki has won many national and international awards

since it began production.

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Some of the major accomplishments of Maruti are listed below:

Maruti Suzuki Alto received the TNS Voice of Customer Award in 2008. TNS Global is a market research

firm. In the same year Maruti received the CNBC-Autocar India Award in the category Best Value for Money

Car for the SX4. It also received the CNBC-Autocar India Best Mid Size Car Award and the CNBC-Autocar India

Car of the Viewers’ Choice Award for the SX4. Maruti Suzuki India Limited received The Car Manufacturer of

the Year Award in 2008.

In 2009, Maruti won the JD Power Asia Pacific Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Survey award, the JD

Power Asia Pacific Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Survey award, the Most Preferred Car Brand Award at CNBC

AWAAZ Consumer Award, the Golden Peacock Eco-Innovation Award, and the Gold-Award by India

Manufacturing Excellence Awards (IMEA).

In 2010, Maruti won the CNBC-TV18 Overdrive Manufacturer of the Year Award and the Autocar

Manufacturer of the Year Award.

Alto’s “Boondon Mein” campaign won the Silver medal of the prestigious “Effie Award” in 2006 and

2007.

Alto won the “Car of the Year” and “Most Exciting New Car of the Year” by India’s automobile

magazine in 2000.

Some of the international awards that Maruti has won include the following:

Japan – It won the Car of the Year award by the Automotive Researchers' & Journalists' Conference,

the 2005-2006 Car of the Year, the Goof Design Award by Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization and

the 2005-2006 Carview of the Year Award.

Iceland & Ireland – Maruti Suzuki won the Car of the Year 2006 given out by the BIBD Association of

Automotive Journalists, the Samperit Irish Car of the Year 2006 given out by the Irish Motoring Writer’s

Association.

New Zealand and Australia – Maruti won the Fairfax AMI Small Car of the Year Award by Autocar, the

National Business Review Small Car of the Year Award by The National Business Review and the 2005

Carsguide Car of the Year.

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Malaysia – Maruti Swift was the winner in the NST Mastercard Car of the Year 2005 “Small Car”

category.

China – Maruti Swift won the 2005 CTV COTY “Economical Car” by CCTV.

International Operations

Maruti Suzuki is a global company with over 8,500 employees engaged in sales, customer service,

manufacturing, and distribution in many countries across the world. It is partly owned by the government of

India and partly owned by the Japanese company, Suzuki Motor Corporation. Suzuki Motor Corporation, the

parent company owns 54% of Maruti’s shares.

Maruti’s cars are of European style but custom-made to cater to the local markets. Maruti Suzuki has

launched the Grand Vitara, SX4 and the Swift as part of the worldwide strategy. Maruti Suzuki not only

provides hatchbacks, mid and small level cars but also luxury cars. Maruti Suzuki has also launched another

concept car called Kizashi which was showcased in the Frankfurt Motor Show and is now available in India.

The Grand Vitara, which is an SUV and Kizashi, which is a sports sedan are imported from Japan as

completely built units(CBU).

Maruti Suzuki is sold in China by Jiangnan Auto. The company has launched the car at Rs. 1.24 lakhs.

Four companies that produced the Maruti 800 in China are: Chang’an Auto, Jiang Nan, Xi’an Tai and Sichuan

Auto

Maruti Suzuki also has office in Japan. Indian engineers sometimes travel to Japan to work on Maruti

cars and Japanese engineers sometimes travel to India to provide their expertise for Maruti Suzuki.

Exports

Maruti Suzuki exports entry-level models across the globe to over 100 countries and the focus has

been on identifying new markets. The company exports to the United Kingdom, Italy, Hungary, Netherlands,

Germany, Latin America, Africa, Philippines and Indonesia. Along with these countries, Maruti also sells its cars

to Algeria, Chile, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

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The company exported 38,000 passenger cars in 2006-2007, around 6.4 per cent of its total sales. The car that

contributes most to Maruti’s export income is the A-Star model.

In 2007, Maruti got an export order of 11,000 units of the Zen Estilo to Indonesia and 1,500 units of the

Maruti Alto to the Philippines, become the initial car manufacturer to export to South East Asia. Maruti

crossed the cumulative half-a-million export mark in February 2008, becoming the first Indian car company to

export half-a-million units.Maruti has tied up with the Mundra post for development of port facilities for

export shipments through Pune Car Carriers. Maruti started exporting cars from this post in January 2009.

Moving to international markets, Maruti has large export volumes to Latin America and the lesser-developed

region of Africa. Maruti’s exports have increased by 60% over the years at these two locations.

In 2008, in a joint venture between Maruti Suzuki, Mundra Port and the Special Economic Zone, the

company exported 1,00,000 units of the A-Star from the Mundra Port. Even though the company exports to all

five continents, Europe makes up 56 per cent of Maruti’s cumulative exports as of February 2011, making it

the single largest source of export income for the company. The sales figures for the continent of Europe as of

February 2011, by country are given below:

- Netherlands - 67,700 units

- Italy - 41,000 units

- United Kingdom - 34,000 units

- Germany - 20,000 units

- Hungary - 20,000 units

Future plans

On May 11, 2011, Maruti announced its plans to design new car models at its Rohtak Plant in India. The

new car models will be crafted for the next four years for the Indian and International Market.

Maruti is experimenting with new car models in an effort to stay ahead of its competition and will be

responsible for 25 per cent of Suzuki, its parent company’s, revenues. In the financial year 2010-2011 Maruti

Suzuki reported a net sales figure of 37,522 crore rupees.

Maruti will invest in a new plant in Gujarat which will produce 6 million units a year which is being

done in an effort to make the company the leader in the car market. The company is having a look at different

30

plants as shown by the Government of India. In another effort, Maruti will introduce four new cars in the

Indian market: The mass-market hatchback, a utility vehicle, a new and improved Swift, and a unique SX4.

The company plans to release the design of the YE3, the hatchback by June-July 2011 while the car will

actually be shown in the Auto Expo 2012. The company plans to design the YE3 without any involvement of

Suzuki which is a major feat since most of its cars have been designed in collaboration with Suzuki in the past.

The YE3 will be a four-door, four seat hatchback and will be available in a 600-800cc engine and a five speed

manual transmission.

The company also plans to launch the Maruti R3 under a different name. The Maruti R3 is a Multi-

Utility Vehicle that will come in a Rs. 7 lakhs – Rs. 9 lakhs ex-showroom price and is a six-seater compact van

strapped with three rows of seats and rear-hinged rear doors. The car will come in both 1.2 litre K-Series

engines and a 1.6 litre Variable Valve Timing engine, each of which have been present in the popular models

of Swift and SX4. The R3 will compare to an Innova. The company plans to sell it in emerging markets. It will be

showcased in the Auto Expo 2012. The company plans to get a diesel engine for the car from Volkswagen.

The third new model of Maruti, the new Swift will be launched by July 2011 will a 1.3 litre multi-jet

diesel engine and a 1.2 litre K-Series engine. The new Swift fall in the Rs. 3.5 - 5.5 lakhs bracket depending on

the model and approximately 17,000 units will be produced each year.

Along with coming up with new cars and new plants, Maruti is also expanding its transportation

capacity. The company has forged partnerships for this with the Adani group to set up a mega car terminal at

the Mundra port.

CONTACT DETAILS

Head Office

Maruti Suzuki India Limited

Nelson Mandela Road,

Vasant Kunj,31

New Delhi - 110070

Tel: +91-(0)11-46781000

Fax: +91-(0)11-46150275, 46150276

Email: contact@maruti.co.in

Website: http://www.marutisuzuki.com

Plants

Maruti Suzuki India Limited

Gurgaon Plant

Old Palam Gurgaon Road,

Gurgaon - 122015

Tel: +91-(0)124-2346721

Maruti Suzuki India Limited

Manesar Plant

Plot no.1, Phase 3A,

IMT Manesar,

Gurgaon - 122051

SERVICES FROM MARUTI

Maruti Insurance

Launched in 2002 Maruti Suzuki provides vehicle insurance to its customers with the help of the

National Insurance Company, Bajaj Allianz, New India Assurance and Royal Sundaram. The service was set up

the company with the inception of two subsidiaries Maruti Insurance Distributors Services Pvt. Ltd and Maruti

Insurance Brokers Pvt. Limited

This service started as a benefit or value addition to customers and was able to ramp up easily. By

December 2005 they were able to sell more than two million insurance policies since its inception.

32

Maruti Finance

To promote its bottom line growth, Maruti Suzuki launched Maruti Finance in January 2002. Prior to

the start of this service Maruti Suzuki had started two joint ventures Citicorp Maruti and Maruti Countrywide

with Citi Group and GE Countrywide respectively to assist its client in securing loan. Maruti Suzuki tied up with

ABN Amro Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Limited, Kotak Mahindra, Standard Chartered Bank, and Sundaram to start

this venture including its strategic partners in car finance. Again the company entered into a strategic

partnership with SBI in March 2003 .

Maruti True Value

Maruti True service offered by Maruti Suzuki to its customers. It is a market place for used Maruti

Suzuki Vehicles. One can buy, sell or exchange used Maruti Suzuki vehicles with the help of this service in

India. As of 31 March 2010 there are 341 Maruti True Value outlets.

N2N Fleet Management

N2N is the short form of End to End Fleet Management and provides lease and fleet management

solution to corporate. Clients who have signed up of this service include Gas Authority of India

Ltd, DuPont, Reckitt Benckiser, Sona Steering, Doordarshan, Singer India, National Stock Exchange and

Transworld. This fleet management services include end-to-end solutions across the vehicle's life, which

includes Leasing, Maintenance, Convenience services and Remarketing.

Accessories

Many of the auto component companies other than Maruti Suzuki started to offer components and

accessories that were compatible. This caused a serious threat and loss of revenue to Maruti Suzuki. Maruti

Suzuki started a new initiative under the brand name Maruti Genuine Accessories to offer accessories like

alloy wheels, body cover, carpets, door visors, fog lamps, stereo systems, seat covers and other car care

products. These products are sold through dealer outlets and authorized service stations throughout India.

Maruti Driving School

As part of its corporate social responsibility Maruti Suzuki launched the Maruti Driving School in Delhi.

Later the services were extended to other cities of India as well. These schools are modeled on international

standards, where learners go through classroom and practical sessions. Many international practices like road

33

behavior and attitudes are also taught in these schools. Before driving actual vehicles participants are trained

on simulators.

SALES IN 2012

Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India Limited sold a total of 100,415 units in April 2012 a growth of 3.4

per cent. This includes 10,160 units for export, a growth of 1.5 per cent. The Company had sold a total of

97,155 units in April 2011.

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Available Cars

1.Maruti 800

Rs. 2,10,000 - Rs. 2,63,000

2.Maruti A-Star

Rs. 4,20,000 - Rs. 5,25,000

3.Maruti Alto

Rs. 2,78,000 - Rs. 3,88,000

4.Maruti Alto K10

Rs. 3,60,000 - Rs. 4,00,000

5.Maruti Eeco

Rs. 3,29,000 - Rs. 4,51,000

6.Maruti Ertiga

Rs. 6,95,000 - Rs. 9,80,000

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7.Maruti Estilo

Rs. 3,80,000 - Rs. 4,79,000

8.Maruti Grand Vitara

Rs. 19,00,000 - Rs. 22,48,000

9.Maruti Gypsy

Rs. 6,44,000 - Rs. 6,65,000

10.Maruti Kizashi

Rs. 20,64,000 - Rs. 21,88,000

11.Maruti Omni

Rs. 2,76,000 - Rs. 2,79,000

12.Maruti Ritz

Rs. 4,71,000 - Rs. 6,25,000

13.Maruti Swift DZire

Rs. 5,70,000 - Rs. 8,25,000

14.Maruti SX4

Rs. 8,19,000 - Rs. 10,04,000

15.Maruti WagonR

Rs. 3,89,000 - Rs. 5,50,00

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37

CHAPTER -3

ORGANIZATION PROFILE

Organization Profile

During the year 1997, KVR motors were incepted as a proprietorship concern, by Mr. K.P. Nair who

hails from Kannur. This hard-working, enthusiastic person is an NRI who is running a spare parts business in

Abhu-dabi , UAE, for the last 31 years , and has a credit of more than 10 years experience in the auto mobile

industry in Kerala.

KVR Motors, the masters of it's quality, service and aggressive marketing in entire Malabar region. KVR Motors

is a auto motive information centre especially for cars and motor bikes models in India. The house- name in 38

the field of auto mobile industry, KVR Motors as got the best sales and service net work for two wheelers and

three wheelers in Kerala and is supported by 18 sale and service outlets covering all major towns such as

Kozhikode Town, Vadakkara, Koyilandy, Perambra, Thamarashery, Balushery, Kunamangalam, Ramanatukara,

kalpatta, Sulthanbathery, Manadavadi etc. in Kozhikode and wayanad districts.

With the support of valuable and detailed work force at various levels, the reputation of the company has

reached to its zenith. Inspiration would like stance for reliability and be loyal to the customer. These qualities

put up will succeed in setting a network standard that has been the bench mark for KVR motors amongst all

auto mobile leadership.

CHAIRMANS MESSAGE

The growth and success of our company is related to our ability to make thorough study of the state of affairs

and then understanding the prons and cons do respond to the changing demands of the business world.

With the changing atmosphere KVR Group has constantly strived hard to improve its offering to its patron’s

well-wishers and other business associates, by creating a new bench mark for itself. Our values of respect,

firmness and involvement in what are we do, remain constant. These values recognized and embraced by our

customers as well and have played major role in our success so-far.

We pledge before you that we will maintain these values in all the business activities that we indulge in, I call

all your support from the dynamic individual, visionary leaders and the investors with an eye to the future.

You have the ability to change the world to make it a better place, not on your own, but thorough a team of

hard- work , positive outlook and total dedication. We all have the same goal before us to build a better

tomorrow, so let us do it to achieve it.

VISION

By delighting our valued customers, to be known has the house –hold name in the field of auto mobile

industries. To be the bench mark in terms of customer satisfaction, business process, perfect execution, there

by adding values and prosperity to our entire stake – holders.

FUTURE PLANS

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With vision, dedication and integrity, the company is scaling new heights of excellence. The group plans to

make more ambitious forays in to the field of Auto mobile industry.

K.V.R Group started KVR AUTOCARS PVT.Ltd at Thiroorkad near perinthalmanna with world renowned

maruti Suzuki vehicles with elaborate stock and international standard service facilities. They have been

earned everyone’s believes and recognition with their sale and after sales service of maruti Suzuki vehicles for

5 years in PERINTHALMANNA. K.V.R AUTOCARS has arranged several features and facilities for the customers

that no other dealer of maruti can claim.

M.R Rahul Nair occupies the position of Managing Director of KVR group. He is MBA graduate.. The

name ‘KVR’ indicates his grant father’s name Mr. K.V.Raman Nair. They have a successful previous experience

in PERINTHALMANNA by sales and servicing of Bajaj two wheeler and three wheeler vehicles.. No shares

issued to the public for financial investment.

INFRASTRUCTURE

KVR group constructed an attractive building with large space. They keep good space exclusively for

display of new vehicles. This features itself gives a new buying experience to customers. KVR is the single

dealer in India which can store 360 car vehicles at a time in weather proof stockyard. This facility helps firm to

keep its products from rain, sun and dust without spoiled. Because of this, customer can make sure that the

vehicles are fresh. Service section has the capacity of servicing 25 vehicles per day. It includes maruti trained

techniques and application of international standard technology. Company also has an elaborate section that

provides customers genuine accessories.

Basically KVR autocars has two departments Sales and Service. These two sections have been working under

two separate General Managers and two Assistant General Managers. Service sections consist of mechanical

work shop, spare parts and Body shop. The spare parts sections functions under the direct control of service

department. The service section, spare parts departments, customer helpline centers (sales and service) , true

value shop warehouses etc. are functions in a single roof. It is very helpful to customers to move from one

section to another.

SERVICE DEPARTMENT

Repair Service Center

40

The KVR repair service section has arranged with rare service facility in which a number of vehicles can

be serviced at time with modern technology. The service of KVR AUTOCARS technicians and supervisors, who

got special training from Maruti Suzuki and KVR, is available here. Nearly 25 vehicles can be service in a day

and it is the KVR AUROCAR service center own peculiarity. Modern technologies are using here for servicing of

vehicles. The technicians who are being recruited in the service section are qualified with an ITC or Diploma in

automobile

For the prompt repair service, KVR has arranged special express bays and two-tech bays. This facility

helps to customer immediately service his vehicles when they are required. The special services like mobile

service and Home delivery service are also available in this service station. One of the features is that they are

charging same fees for all the above mentioned services. The KVR awarded with ‘The best new workshop in

Kerala’ from Bajaj India Ltd

MOBILE SERVICE CLINIC

It is the new endeavor of firms, for taking the service to customer door step. By this arrangement of

Mobile service clinic their valuable customer can save lot of time and money. Through these service, they can

able to replace engine oil & filter, wheel balancing, Brake jobs, General checkups, A/C system flushing,

Checking tire pressure, Body wash etc of the vehicle after service and repair works any where any time. The

expert Maruti trained technicians with this service clinic will diagnose the defects carry out both periodic and

corrective maintenance at the site.

BODY SHOP

A body workshop has been working in KVR for the reconstruction of damaged body of vehicles that are

undergone in accident. The service of technicians and Assistant Work Manager (AWM) are available here. One

of the distinct features of this body shop is the modern technology is using for accident vehicle’s body work.

SALES DEPARTMENT

Sales department of KVR AUTOCARS include MARUTI DRIVING SCHOOL, SALES DEPARTMENT, TRUE

VALUR DEPARTMENT, ACCESSORIES DEPARTMENT and department for PREDELIVERY INSPECTION.

Being the biggest MARUTI showroom in the region, KVR has sold an average of 250 Maruti cars per

month. The hard work of several talented people has contributed for the growth of sales rate. There are about

41

125 sales executives who are getting direct training from the General Manager of KVR Autocars have been

provided effort for sales department. Most of them are graduate.

The KVR’s sales team sells more than 15 of different models of Maruti vehicles in a month. Besides the

sales executives, KVR creates demand from various sources like staffs, display shows, reference group, natural

demand etc.

KVR AUTO CARS STRUCTURE

42

CHAIRMAN

Board of directors

Managing directors

CEO

FINANCE MANAGER

A/C service A/C General A/C sales

GM SERVICE GM SALES HRM

: IT/EDP department

: HR & ADMINISTRATION

department

FINANCE MANAGER

Under finance manager there is A/C General, A/C sales and A/C service managers. Each of these three there

are separate assistant A/C managers and accountants

STRUCTURE OF SALES DEPARTMENT

CAREER GROWTH PLAN IN SALES DEPARTMANT

0-6 Months : Trainees

6-12 Months : District Sale executive

43

GM SALES

MDS IN CHARGE

INSTRUCTORS

BACK OFFICE IN CHARGE

REGISTRAYION

FINANCIAL INSURANCE

TRUE VALUE SECTION

SOURCING

SALES

PDI IN CHARGE ACCESSORY MANAGER

6-12 months : sales expert

1-3 years : Team leader

: Regional Manager

: Sales Manager

: General Manager

SPARE PARTS SECTION

There are two different Spare Parts Sections in KVR in which customer will get genuine spare parts

directly from KVR AUTOCARS .PVT.Ltd. One spare parts section contain the vehicle’s inner parts such as nut,

bolt, oil engine parts etc. and another section is for the external parts of vehicles such as accidental parts,

Glass , light, seat jacket etc. Both the sections are managed under each supervisor and parts keepers. All the

required parts of Maruti vehicles are available in this accessory store.

TRUE VALUE SECTION

Maruti used Vehicle can be owned from KVR AUTOCARS true value center. Facility to stock 100 true

value vehicles is the feature of this part. These cars are tested examined and recognized by Maruti engineers.

ORGANIZATION BODY AT KVR AUTOCARS PVT Ltd

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER : SHREENIVASAN

GENERAL MANAGER : JOY

REGIONAL MANAGERS : HRM -

CRM - BUSHRA

OPERATION - AMALRAJ 44

Working Time For Kvr Autocars Pvt Ltd

MONDAY 9:30 AM - 6:30 PM

TUESDAY 9:30 AM - 6:30 PM

WEDNESDAY 9:30 AM - 6:30 PM

THURSDAY 9:30 AM - 6:30 PM

FRIDAY 9:30 AM - 6:30 PM

SATURDAY 9:30 AM - 6:30 PM

SUNDAY Closed

45

ORGANIZATIONAL CHART SHOWING LINE OF AUTHORITY IN SALES DEPARTMENT

46

Chief Executive Officer

GENERAL MANAGER

Sales Manager

Regional Managers

Team Leaders

Sales Executives

General Manager SALES

CHAPTER 4

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

47

Definition:

Research methodology is a process to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood

as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. Why a research study has been undertaken, how

the research problem has been defined. In what way and why the hypothesis has been formulated, what data

have been collected and particular method has been adopted. Why particular technique of analyzing data has

been used and a host of similar other questions are usually answered when we talk of research methodology

concerning a research problem or study. A research design serves as a bridge between what has been

established (the research objectives) and what is to be done, in the conduct of the study. In this project

research done is of conclusive nature. Conclusive research provides information that help in making a rational

decision. Descriptive design was choose to measure the satisfaction level of customers on the basis of

different parameters such as quality, price, features, technology, after sale services etc. This design ensured

complete clarity and accuracy. It also ensured minimum bias in collection of data and reduced the errors in

data interpretation. Statistical method was followed in this research because the data was of descriptive

nature and it also enabled accurate generalizations.

INTRODUCTION:

The objective of this term paper is to conduct the Customer Satisfaction Survey for KVR and recording,

analyzing and interpreting the wants and expectations of customers. For the company, it is essential to know

whether customers are satisfied or not with the KVR and services provided by company.

STATEMENTS OF THE PROBLEM:

48

The purpose of conducting this research is to get the actual idea about the experiences of customers

and their satisfaction level with KVR. What types of problem they face after purchasing the vehicles. The

purpose of conducting this research is also to find out expectations of customers for KVR. Users were selected

and then the analysis was formed regarding the people’s beliefs, satisfaction and expectations about the KVR.

4.1 METHODOLOGY

The purpose of methodology is to describe the process involved in research work. This includes the

overall research design, data collection method, the field survey and the analysis of data.

Detailed and structured questionnaire was designed.

Survey a sample of 50 customers.

The methodology developed was Primary and Secondary research.

The questionnaire was designed to get information from customers about their satisfaction and overall

opinion about KVR.

SOURCES OF DATA

Primary data:

Primary data are those which are collected a fresh and for the first time and thus happen to be original

in character. It was collected through questionnaire and personal interviews.

Secondary data:

The secondary data are those which have already been collected by someone else and which have

already been through the statistical process. The data were collected in the form of company profile and

produce profile from the web sites and news paper. Some of the books were referred for theoretical concepts.

Primary Data

The primary data are those which are collected aS fresh and for the first time and thus happen to be

original in character. Primary data is the first hand data collected by the researcher through questionnaire,

49

direct mailing, and interviewing etc. Primary data for this project was collected through a questionnaire, and

telephone interview from customers and executives of the firm.

Questionnaire

Quite often questionnaire is considered as the heart of a survey operation. If it is not properly set up,

then the survey is bound to fail. In this research, I used questionnaire contain 17 number of questions printed

in the definite order and it was given to each respondent

Telephone Interview

This method of collecting information consists in contacting respondents on telephone itself. It is not a

very widely used technique, but plays important part in industrial surveys, particularly in developed region.

SECONDARY DATA

Secondary data means data that are already available, i.e., they refer to the data which have already

collected and analyzed by someone else. It includes both external and internal data, Internal data were

company manuals, reports, broachers etc, data are collected from Books, Magazines.

Field of Survey:

The fieldwork for the survey was conducted in MALAPPURAM District. The exercise involved

questionnaire with the customers.

Analysis:

The important factors and data’s collected were sequentially analyzed and graphed.

50

4.2 OBJECTIVES AND LIMITATIONS

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Following are the objectives set out for this study

1. To analyze the various service offered by KVR

2. To analyze the after sale services

3. To identify the response of the customers to the after-sales services

4. To submit an executive report on the possible ways and means to increase the quantity of the customers

or KVR service

5. To analyze the customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction towards KVR

6. To come out with appropriate conclusions and recommendations based on the analysis

LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

I have tried my best to make this report free from any limitations, however, there were certain

restrictions which could not be avoided. The problems that I had to cope with in the course of this project are:

1, Difficulty in meeting customers;

I have to meet the customers from street due to some limitations. Some of the customers denied filling

the questionnaire as they were busy with their life

51

2, The Period of time available for completing this project forced me to limit my area of study. Because of this,

I was not able to take a sample size that would have added more value to the conclusions drawn by me

3, The sample size is only 50 so the sample may not be truly representative of the total population.

4, Prejudice of some of the respondents.

5, Sample is limited to Malappuram and Perinthalmanna

Though the research was conducted properly, the probability of errors & biases kept is minimum; still some

errors occurred because of certain limitation.

These are as follows:-

a) A very short span of time for research.

b) This is time-consuming research method & the respondents did not have sufficient time for giving

information for such type of research.

c) People were reluctant to give responses for such type of research.

d) People also did not give proper response for Questionnaire & interview, because of short time.

I have honestly and sincerely tried to present the facts and figures but some error still might have cropped up.

52

4.3 DATA INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS

INTRODUCTION

This chapter gives the detailed analysis of the primary data collected through a structured

questionnaire containing the factors relating to the customers’ perception about the after sale service that he

holds at the time of purchase a vehicle and the actual realization of the same in due course. As many as 8

factors have been chosen from a long list of factors that are likely to be considered by the customers of

vehicles. The short listed factors are

a) Service Quality

b) Prompt Service

c) Customer care information center

d) Technicians efficiency

e) Service Charge

f) Spare parts availability

g) Home delivery of service and 53

h) Mobile service

In this study, initially the respondents were asked to rate the above factors in order of importance of five

points likert Scale. Afterwards the respondents were asked as to what extent their ratings became true, as and

when the vehicle was taken to the company’s service center. Here also respondents were asked to indicate

their opinion on a comparable Five points Likert Scale. From these two sets of information collected from the

selected customers, it would be possible for us to understand the extend of customer satisfaction and that the

after sale service offered by the company fulfill.

The analysis is made by giving tabulated information on each factor about the expectation and realization.

For the sake of easy comprehending tabulated figures were given on a chart. The analysis is the following

As stated in the initial chapter, there were 50 respondents is the sample selected for the study. Most of

the respondents belonged to 25-45 age group, a few were, however, in the age group of below 25 and above

45. These respondents include Businessmen, Executives, students, Government employees. This is indicative

of the emerging prosperity of the section of the population. In what follows, the factors short-listed to study

customer satisfaction are analyzed in detail.

Q 1. The customer care facility available at KVR AUTOCARS

No. of percentage

Respondents

Very good 40 80

Good 5 10

Neutral 5 10

Bad 0 0

Very Bad 0 0

Total 50 100

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 1

54

80% of 50 customers’ ranked KVR customer care as very good, 5% ranked as good and the remaining 5% as

neutral

Q2. Have you contacted the dealership where you bought your new vehicle

about a problem with your vehicle or the way you were treated?

No. of percentage

Respondents

Yes 50 100

No 0 0

Total 50 100

Graphical representation 2

YesNo

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

no. of respondents percentage

55

100% of 50 customers were contacted the dealer (K V R) with a problem or with queries.

Q3. About how long did you have to wait before speaking to a representative?

No. of percentage

Respondents

I was taken care of immediately 35 70

Within 3 minutes 15 30

3-5 minutes 0

5-10 minutes 0

More than 10 minutes 0

Total 50 100

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 3

56

I was taken care of im-

mediately

Within 3 minutes

3-5 minutes

5-10 minutes

More than 10 minutes

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

no.of respondents

percentage

About 70% of 50 customers were taken care immediately; the remaining 30% were taken care within 3

minutes.

Q4.How many times did you contact the dealership to try to resolve your problem?

No. of percentage

Respondents

1 20 40

2+ 30 60

Total 50 100

57

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 4

12+

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

no.of respondentsSeries2

About 60% of 50 customers contacted dealership more than 2 times to resolve their problem

remaining 40% contacted once.

Q5, About how long did it take to get this problem resolved?

No. of

Respondents’ percentage

Immediate Resolution 48 96

Less than a day 2 4

Between 2 and 3 days 0 0

More than a week 0 058

Total 50 100

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 5

Immediate Resolu-tion

Less than a day

More than a week

Between 2 and 3 days

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

no.of respondents

percentage

96% of 50 respondents have got immediate resolution to their problems the remaining 2% got resolution

within a day of reporting.

Q6. How satisfied you are with the actions taken by the dealership to resolve your problem?

No. of percentage

Respondents

Totally Satisfied 40 80

Very Satisfied 5 10

Somewhat Satisfied 5 10

Somewhat Dissatisfied 0 0

59

Very Dissatisfied 0 0

Total 50 100

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 6

totally

satisfi

ed

very

satisfi

ed

somew

hat sati

sfied

somew

hat diss

atisfi

ed

very

dissati

sfied

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

no. of respondentspercentage

About 40 customers (80%) of 50 customers were fully satisfied with steps taken by KVR to solve the problem,

10% were very satisfied and remaining 10% were somewhat satisfied.

CUSTOMER RATING

No. of

Respondents (50)

Very good Good Neutral Bad Very bad

60

Service Quality 45 3 2 0 0

Prompt service 43 4 3 0 0

Customer care information

Center 50 0 0 0 0

Technicians’ efficiency 48 2 0 0 0

Service Charge 40 5 5 0 0

Spare Parts availability 50 0 0 0 0

Home delivery of service 46 4 0 0 0

Mobile service 49 1 0 0 0

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 7

61

Servi

ce Quali

ty

Prompt s

ervice

Customer

care i

nformati

on centre

Tech

nicians’ e

fficiency

Servi

ce Charg

e

Spare

Parts a

vaila

bility

Home deli

very

of serv

ice

Mobile se

rvice

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

no.of responndents verygood

no.of responndents good

no.of responndents neutral

no.of responndents bad

no.of responndents verybad

Q8.KVR Auto car provides timely after sale service on your request

No. of percentage

62

Respondents

Strongly agree 48 96

Agree 2 4

Neutral 0 0

Disagree 0 0

Strongly disagree 0 0

Total 50 100

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 8

Strongly agree

Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

no.of respondentspercentage

About 96% of 50 customers strongly agree that KVR provides a better after sale service, the remaining 2 agree

to that.

Q9.Do you get freely allowed services, as assured?

63

No. of

Respondents’ percentage

Yes 50 100

No 0 0

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 9

yes no0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

no.of responndents percentage

100% of 50 customers agree that KVR is providing free services accurately

Q10 . Overall, how would you rate the dealership staff that you bought the vehicle from?

64

No. of

Respondents’ percentage

Excellent 42 84

Very good 6 12

Average 2 4

Bad 0 0

Total 50 100

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 10

Excellent Very good

Average Bad

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

no.of respondents

percentage

84% of 50 customers ranked KVR as excellent 12% as very good and the remaining two as average

65

Q11. Please indicate your opinion about the efficiency of repairman (technicians) at the service

center

No. of

Respondents’ percentage

Highly satisfied 45 90

Satisfied 5 10

Neutral 0 0

Dissatisfied 0 0

Highly dissatisfied 0 0

Total 50 100

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 11

Highly satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly dissatisfied0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

no. of respondentspercentage

66

About 90% of respondents are highly satisfied with the efficiency of repair man in KVR and the remaining 10%

are satisfied.

Q12, Are you satisfied with service charges?

No. of

Respondents’ percentage

Highly satisfied 40 80

Satisfied 5 10

Neutral 5 10

Dissatisfied 0 0

Highly dissatisfied 0 0

Total 50 100

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 12

Highly satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly dissatisfied 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

no. of respondentspercentage

67

80% of respondents are highly satisfied with the service charges of KVR, 10% are satisfied and 10% are not so

bothered about service charges

Q13, Are you satisfied with the availability of spare parts in KVR?

No. of

Respondents’ percentage

Fully satisfied 50 100

Somewhat Satisfied 0 0

Neutral 0 0

Somewhat Dissatisfied 0 0

Fully dissatisfied 0 0

Total 50 100

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 13

Fully

satisfi

ed

Somew

hat Sa

tisfied

Fully

dissati

sfied

Somew

hat Diss

atisfi

ed

Neutra

l

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

no. of respondentspercentage

68

100% of 50 respondents are highly satisfied with the spare parts availability at KVR

Q14, what is your opinion about the home delivery service provided by KVR?

No. of

Respondents’ percentage

Very Good 44 88

Good 4 8

Average 2 4

Bad 0 0

Very Bad 0 0

Total 50 100

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 14

69

Very Good Good Average Bad Very Bad

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

no. of respondentspercentage

88% of 50 customers rank KVR home delivery service as very good, 8% as good and the remaining 4% as

average

Q15, what is your Pre-sales experience while purchasing the car?

No. of

Respondents’ percentage

Excellent 45 90

Good 5 10

Average 0 0

Below Average 0 0

Total 50 100

70

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 15

Excellent Good Average

Below Average

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

no.of customerspercentage

90% of 50 customers rank pre-sales experience from KVR as excellent and remaining 10% as good.

Q16, what is your Post-sales experience after purchasing the car?

No. of

Respondents’ percentage

Excellent 40 80

Good 5 10

Average 5 10

Below Average 0 0

Total 50 100

71

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 16

Excellent Good Average Below Average 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

NO.of respondentspercentage

80% of 50 customers rank their post sale experience as excellent, 10% as good and remaining 10% as average.

Q17, Based on your overall experience, how likely would you be to purchase another vehicle

from KVR?

No. of Respondents’ percentage

Definitely would 35 70

Probably would 8 16

Might or might not 5 10

Probably would not 2 4

Definitely would not 0 0

72

Total 50 100

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION 17

Definitely would

Probably would

Might or might not

Probably would not

Definitely would not

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

No. of customerspercentage

About 70% of 50 customers are ready to purchase another vehicle from KVR, 16% prefers KVR as an option,

10% is not so selective and remaining 4% is still think of another dealers

73

CHAPTER 5

FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION

5.1 FINDINGS

An overwhelming majority of the customers stated that KVR AUTOCARS at THIRURKAD unit is very

prompt in offering after sale service to its customers

1. Customers’ attitudes to the Customer Helpline center are exceptionally good

2. Many of the respondents informed that one of the reasons why the after sale service at KVR is good

because of the efficiency the techniques

3. 10% of the customer stated that they are not happy with the service charges

4. More than three-fifth of the customers felt that sufficient spare parts accessibility in the service center

74

5. A good number of the respondents stated that they received free assured service

6. Most of the respondents stated that they received free assured service

7. Majority of the customers are enthusiastic to reappear for servicing in KVR

8. More than two-third of total respondents are willing to recommend their friends and relatives to servicing

their vehicles from here.

9. About 80% of customers were fully satisfied with steps taken by KVR to solve the problem,

10. Most of the customers proffered KVR because of the service available at KVR

5.2 SUGGESTIONS

By the information received from the customers of the organization, there seems to be not much

recommendations required for the firm. The following are the recommendation can be applied for the future

benefits of the organizations.

1. A sizable number of customers seemed to hold the view that the service charges are not up to the

mark as customer expectation. The organization has to give more attention to correct the situation.

2. From the information collected, a few number of customers not enough satisfied with the efficiency of

technicians. So the organization needs to improve efficiency up to standard.

75

3. Home delivery service facility also required to improve in order to achieve maximum customer

satisfaction

4. Through the increasing customer loyalty, organization can achieve a good support from customers for

further service and recommendations.

SUGGESTION TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

1. Provide a user friendly mechanism for registering customer complaints (complaints that are not

registered with the company cannot be resolved, and are a major source of customer dissatisfaction).

2. Provide a fast mechanism for handling problems and complaints

(complaints that are resolved quickly can increasecustomer satisfaction).

3. Provide a fast mechanism for correcting service deficiencies

(correct the problem before other customers experience the same dissatisfaction).

4. Use internet cookies to track customer interests and personalize product offerings accordingly.

5. Use the Internet to engage in collaborative customization or real-time customization.

6. Provide a fast mechanism for managing and scheduling maintenance, repair, and on-going support

(improve efficiency and effectiveness

5.3CONCLUSION

As consumers, we use services every day. Turning on a light, listen to the radio, talking

on the telephone, etc are the examples of service consumption at the individual level. Business

and other organizations are also dependent on a wide array of service. Unfortunately,

customers are not always happy with the quality and value of the services they receive.

Suppliers of services, who face stiff competition, sometimes appear to have a very different set

76

of concern. Fortunately, some suppliers know how to please their customers while also

running a productive, profitable operation, staffed by pleasant and competent employees.

Today people are more conscious about the quality of service they are receiving.

Especially in automobile components, people are keenly watching the service and their

quality, KVR is the one of the organization at MALABAR region with selling and servicing

Maruti vehicles. This study is unambiguous in its finding that quality of after sale service is

fundamental to customer’s satisfaction and that KVR is by and large highly successful in

imparting it to its customers to the best of their satisfaction.

ANNEXURE

Questionnaire

77

PART I

1. Name …………………………………………………

2. Address .………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..

3. Mob/E-Mail …………………………………………………..

4.Age Group

Less than 25 Between 25-35

Between 35 – 45 More than 45

PART 2

Which is the model of MARUTI SUZUKI that you have availed from KVR AUTO CARS

pvt Ltd?

………………………………………………………………………

The customer care facility available at KVR AUTOCARS

Very good Good Neutral

Bad Very Bad

78

Have you contacted the dealership where you bought your new vehicle

about a problem with your vehicle or the way you were treated?

Yes NO

About how long did you have to wait before speaking to a representative?

I was taken care of immediately within 3 minutes 3-5 minutes 5-10

minutes More than 10 minutes

How many times did you contact the dealership to try to resolve your problem?

1 2+

About how long did it take to get this problem resolved?

Immediate Resolution Less than a day

Between 2 and 3 days More than a week

How satisfied are you with the actions taken by the dealership to resolve your problem?

Totally Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Very Satisfied

Somewhat Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied

Please rate the following factors relating to after sales service for a car

Very good Good Neutral Bad Very bad

79

a) Service Quality

b) Prompt service

c) Customer care information

Center

d) Technicians efficiency

e) Service Charge

f) Spare Parts availability

g) Home delivery of service

h) Mobile service

KVR Auto car provides timely after sale service on your request

Strongly agree Agree Neutral

Disagree Strongly disagree

Do you get freely allowed services, as assured?

Yes No

Overall, how would you rate the dealership staff that you bought the vehicle from?

Excellent Very good Average Bad

Please indicate your opinion about the efficiency of repairman (technicians) at the service

center

Highly satisfied Satisfied Neutral

Dissatisfied Highly dissatisfied

Are you satisfied with service charges?

Highly satisfied Satisfied Neutral

Dissatisfied Highly dissatisfied

Are you satisfied with the availability of spare parts in KVR?80

Fully satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Neutral

Somewhat Dissatisfied Fully dissatisfied

What is your opinion about the home delivery service provided by KVR?

Very Good Good Average Bad Very Bad

What is your Pre-sales experience while purchasing the car?

a) Excellent b) Good

c) Average d) Below Average

What is your Post-sales experience after purchasing the car?

a) Excellent b) Good

c) Average d) Below Average

Based on your overall experience, how likely would you be to purchase another vehicle from

KVR?

Definitely would probably would Might or might not

Probably would not definitely would not

Date…………. THANK YOU

BIBLIOGRAPHY

81

Books referred

1. Philip Kotler, “Principles of Marketing” published by arrangement with Pearson

Education , Inc. and Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd, Eleventh Edition

2. Kothari. C.R, “ Research Methodology” Methods and techniques, New Age International

(P) Limited, Publishers, Second revised and Enlarged Edition (2006)

Websites

1. www.wikipedia.com

2. www.marutisuzuki.com

3. www.keralaindex.com

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