Quit India: The “Brand” New Edition


The Indian Automobile Industry has been lauded as the shining superstar in the country because of its consistent advancements in various fields, be it innovation, sustainability, or growth strategies. The vast opportunities in the Indian market have attracted dozens of global companies to trade in India. However, every rose has its thorn. Not every company can survive in such a competitive market for a longer period. Several companies had to, or are planning to, exit the Indian market due to various possible reasons attached to their existence. 

 Nearly every rich Indian household in the 1970s and 80s had only Fiat cars, manufactured under license by Premier Automobiles. Even after an eminent market standing, Fiat failed to satisfy its customers and eventually had to shut down. The core issue was a failed partnership with Tata Motors, as they were highly dependent on Tata services for sales and service. Moreover, the cars weren’t fuel-efficient and they did not even have service stations in major parts of the country, leading to Fiat’s cessation.

 Another car behemoth, General Motors, announced its withdrawal from India after almost two-decades-long operations. GM Motors' Chevrolet and Opel divisions are the most well-known, particularly in India. But where did they encounter backlash? A company's internal operations are just as important as its external operations. In 21 years, the firm had nine different CEOs, disrupting their long-term goals and strategies. GM Motors' management team failed to fulfill the brand's much-desired structure. As a result, the repercussions of leaving the most desirable market. 

 Similarly, another automobile giant, UM Motorcycles, discontinued their sales because of low demand, managerial issues, the inadequacy of providing required chips to be installed in motorcycles, and bad relations with the joint venture, Lohia Auto. Following this, The Federation of Automobiles Dealers Association of India slammed the company for not providing compensation to the dealers for the unsold bikes, and the brand name eventually fell from grace. 

 One of the most legendary and enigmatic brands of all time, which has its status symbol amongst Indians, Harley Davidson- the megastar of motorcycle manufacturers chose to put its operations on halt in April 2020, after 11 years in India. Where did Harley go wrong to sell its commodities in the world’s biggest motorcycle market? The cost of the cheapest Harley is around eight times more than the motorcycles Indians prefer to buy. Because of the low incomes, a major percentage just cannot afford this elite brand. Also, the mileage of a Harley is much worse than any of the cheaper brand bikes. After the announcement, one of the service representatives, Bhupinder Singh quoted, ”It’s all over now. There are no bikes to sell any more”. 

And the latest of all, FORD motor company suffered operating losses of more than $2 billion over the past decade. Covid-19 compounded the losses further. Also, Ford had a disastrous deal with the Mahindra group. Not once, but twice. The company had plans to stay in the Indian market at least till 2023, but they could not find new partners to stay afloat. Nevertheless, Ford will continue to provide its aftermarket services and assistance to the customers. 

 The aftermath of all the companies exiting India is even more disturbing. It all boils down to facing major employment issues and a detrimental impact on dealers. The withdrawal of all these companies has affected around 4000-5000 jobs each and many of the dealers have had to reframe their businesses due to the negligence of some of these brands. 

 There could have been numerous other causes for their failure but analyzing the demands, molding their product accordingly, choosing the right partner and comprehending the competitor’s product as well might have reaped benefits and their longer existence in the world’s most dynamic market.

Himani Garg
B.Com (P)
Second Year



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is Artificial Intelligence Gender Blind?

Image
What is the first thing that strikes your mind when you hear of the term artificial intelligence? Artificial Intelligence is the   future of the world. A hot brewing topic of discussion among the Genz these days. In simpler words, AI is the science of making intelligent machines and computer programs. It works primarily to eliminate human error and maintain ethical work by eliminating all prejudices. But are we really achieving this? Well, you will be astonished to know that according to the World Economic Forum (2018), women make up an estimated 22% of employees in   AI positions worldwide . At the same time, and closely related to these issues, there are large gender differences and other biases in the data used to train AI and machine learning systems. This is not only a question of women's careers, but also of technological development and its impact on society. Siri, Alexa, Cortana, Google Assistant . What do these voice assistants have in common? The answer is they'r...
Read more

Women Comics- Participation, Portrayal and Reception

Image
In recent years, India’s Stand-up Comedy has caught up with the millennials and has achieved a lot of popularity among them. It has registered itself as yet another open arena for the youth to experiment and explore. Although it’s out in the open that male dominance is prevalent at the roots of Indian society, stand-up comedy is no exception.  Women participate in stand-up comedy at a much lower rate than males, as they do in many other aspects of Indian culture.  "While the number of women comics in India can be counted on the fingers of one hand, the bro-code in the industry keeps even these women, who survive hugely on self-deprecating humor, on the fringes. Moreover, the overall stand-up humor relies heavily on wife and girlfriend jokes."- The Indian Express (2017)  In the case of stand-up comedy in India, women are considered inferior to men and hence are subjected to more judgment by the audiences. The stereotypical image of women in the minds of Indian audiences do...
Read more

Revamping Businesses Through Tech Lenses

Image
We live in a world of technological advancements and there is no doubt that these advancements have made our lives not only easier but have also improved the quality of living. While one may think that these technological breakthroughs are limited to individuals only, but in reality, they have also made a beneficial impact on the way businesses operate.  In the past, businesses had to rely on paper records and manual processes to track employee's attendance and performance. This was not only time-consuming, but was also prone to errors. Today, with technology, businesses can automate these processes and make it easier for the HR department to do their job. Technology has driven a lot of advanced processes in many businesses. It has revolutionized business as we know it and various companies belonging to numerous industries are looking to harness it to improve their workforce, build brand recognition and bolster the bottom line. To put more light on the topic, let's take a loo...
Read more