Platform user-research & styling directions for compact SUVs

Background

One of the largest manufacturers of passenger cars in India was considering launching a ‘compact SUV’ in India. One motivation was to take advantage of prevailing tax policies that had higher excise duty on cars longer than certain length. This market was evolving fast, and the conventional category understanding of a ‘small car’ (SUV, MUV, etc.) was no longer not water-tight. The client was unsure how a brand like theirs, which did not have an active SUV lineup, would be perceived by consumers, and if they had ‘room to play’. Projects to improve the quality of interstate roads like the Golden Quadrilateral promised more road-trips by the average consumer. On the other hand, increasing road traffic stress in urban areas was seen as a deterrent to new car sales. The client reached out to Turian Labs to understand the new product platform strategy and market desirability, deploying empathic research methods.

Project Brief

• Define the target buyer profile for a Compact SUV priced between Rs. 7 to 9 lacs

• Identify macro products preferences, around the key questions:

  • Who is the buyer? Is the compact SUV buyer an ‘outdoorsy’ person as commonly understood?

  • What is the perception of UVs? For example, what are customer preferences between SUVs and MUVs?

  • What are the expectations from a Compact SUV?

  • What are seating preferences between 5 and 7 seats, what are preferences on the rear seat split ratio?

  • What are the fuel preferences (diesel vs petrol)?

  • What are internal and external style preferences?

Approach

Unlike conventional market research, Turian Labs’ research process relies on triangulation of insights from multiple sources.

• We prepared an initial hypothesis of the target consumers, based on the secondary data.

• We also prepared a research plan that included pan-India stakeholder interactions that included brand buyers, non-buyers, intenders of car purchase and advanced users.

  Research territories included both where the brand had a strong presence and ones where the brand had a weak presence and recall.

Method of engagement used included:

• Open-ended discussions

• Brand-blind lookbook for interior and exterior styling

• Cue-cards for parallel world study

• Internet-based survey of selected participants

Key Discoveries & Client Impact

Our research confirmed a potential market for a compact SUV for an emerging target group who was not the typical ‘outdoorsy’ profile. Our work also brought out new styling direction for interior and exteriors. This new compact SUV was launched and topped the Indian SUV market charts for a long period, leading to customer demand as seen from month-long waiting periods at dealerships.