Carmakers opt for pre bookings

The launch dates, designs, models, specifications and other details about cars used to be under wraps until the final launch of a vehicle. But a new trend was observed when a number of new vehicles were launched this year. Car like Toyota Etios, Ford Figo, Chevrolet Beat, Nissan Micra and Skoda Yeti have all been showcasing their cars and making a lot of noise before their final launch. These cars have been taking pre-booking orders. Cars like Maruti Swift, Chevrolet Cruze and Beat, Ford Figo and Honda Jazz gained a lot from pre-launch bookings.

This is the age of showcasing upcoming cars aggressively and accepting bookings in advance. A leading daily quoted P Balendran, vice-president, General Motors India saying, “We have done pre-launch bookings in only two cars — Cruze and Beat — so far but the response has been overwhelming.”

Usually, carmakers like Maruti, Hyundai and Tata have a tendency to tread the conventional way and keep a new car’s details secret. But the new players like Toyota, Skoda, Ford, Honda and Nissan take to aggressive campaigning to create awareness about their product.

Carmaker  Motor started the promotional drive for its latest offering Nissan Micra a month in advance. The car has received about 1,500 advance bookings. Kiminobu Tokuyama, managing director and CEO, Nissan Motor India says, “We are confident now that this booking trend will continue to improve as we move closer to the start of sales in middle of July.” Toyota has been organising events across the country to promote its small car Toyota Etios later this year. This kind of information sharing with the prospective buyers and public in general creates a buzz around the product and attracts buyers, which in turn is healthy for the carmaker and the buyer gets time to research and know the new product better.