Wednesday, 27 November 2013

India Four-Wheeler Sector - Why is it a challenge for MNCs?


·         Key factors to succeed in India. India is a unique market with strong local players, and perhaps the only large market where none of the top four players globally have even a 5% share. We believe MNCs need to do well on the following parameters to succeed in India: (1) Suitable products (2) Sales & service network (3) India as an export base (4) Brand strength (5) Ownership costs, and (6) Commitment to India.
·         Hyundai, Nissan and Honda, the key threats to Maruti. In our analysis of all the global automakers, Hyundai, not surprisingly, fares the best on most parameters. Nissan is the one showing the highest aggression with plans to enter each segment of the market and a capacity addition plan which makes it the second largest in terms of capacity in India. But so far its execution has been patchy. Honda stands out for the strength of its brand and is now making efforts to launch the right products for the market, especially in the B segment where it plans to have six products.

·         Maruti – a leader working hard. On almost every parameter above, Maruti fares on top. To fix the gap in its product portfolio, it is likely to launch two new SUVs and is also working on a smaller diesel engine for its A segment cars which shall help it sustain/increase its market share. The company's cost saving and localisation efforts are already bearing fruit. A recovery in the market could further boost margins via operating leverage and discount reduction. We increase our estimates by ~8% as we build in higher volumes to account for Maruti's entry into SUVs. Our target price increases to Rs1,960 (from Rs1,760).

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