Who Are the Buyers Shaping the Future of SCV & LCV Markets?
India SCV and LCV Market – Consumer Preference and Behavioral Analysis
Objective
The objective was to develop an understanding of consumer preferences and buying behavior in the SCV and LCV market in India. The areas of interest included payload required, fuel type, mileage, pickup, pricing, vehicle configuration, upgrade motivations, and willingness to pay. The proposed research also looked into how such requirements differed across customer groups and regions and made it possible to come up with suitable strategies regarding product, price and positioning.
Business Challenge
Manufacturers faced limited visibility into the attributes that actually drive purchase decisions across different customer segments and regions. The concern is to distinguish genuine functional requirements from price-driven preferences and understand the trade-offs that customers were willing to make between vehicle performance, payload, fuel efficiency, and acquisition price.
How We Did It
The study was executed in two phases covering 1,873 respondents in Phase 1 and 728 respondents in Phase 2. Conjoint Analysis was used to quantify the relative importance of payload, deck length, turning radius, mileage, price, steering, pickup and fuel type. Surveys were managed through 6WSurveyIQ/Kobo, and responses were stored in a structured SQL database. Python was used for data preparation, statistical analysis, conjoint modelling, customer segmentation, and preference analysis. Power BI was used for visualization of attribute preferences, segment-level findings and purchase drivers.
Key Findings
• Payload, mileage, fuel options and pickup were among the strongest purchase drivers.• 750 kg emerged as an important preferred payload category.• Customers with specific payload requirements were reluctant to compromise on payload merely for lower prices.• Vehicle utility and operating performance were more important than several secondary attributes.• Customer requirements varied by payload category, fuel preference, geography and customer profile.• Price remained important, but customers evaluated price in combination with functional value.
Findings
The research demonstrated that functional needs were robust drivers of purchase than blanket cost reductions. Conjoint analysis quantified the trade-offs customers make between cost and product attributes, giving a structured basis for understanding willingness to pay. Payload emerged as a particularly essential need, while mileage, fuel type and pickup influenced the overall value perception of the vehicle. These findings has assisted to differentiate customers based on actual usage needs rather than relying only on demographic segmentation.
Business Impact
Conjoint analysis provided a way to quantify the relative importance of various car attributes and customer trade-offs. This analysis provides for more informed pricing and product configurating. A popular payload option with a capacity of 750 kg was determined, allowing for a better product development based on real customer needs. Conjoint analysis helped with optimising pricing, prioritising features, configuring products, launching new variants and increasing market share without spending on features considered not to be important by customers.
