Statement of Problem The people will think either a fiat or Ambassador in 1980s.

Around 30,000 would sell every year. Selling above this level has been a great task. In the years to come Maruti became very popular. A few models were only produced. For the Indians size and its population, the basic three models are not enough. However, improvements and research activities are going on continuously to provide more economic models to suit the Indian requirements. It is a lot faster now, and not only because there are cars around that dont shake and rattle when the Speedo meter hits 50. Today, you have too many in an infinitely Freer market that has grown more than 10 times in the past 10 years, almost touching four lakhs in the year ended last march. Fast, but not fast enough for top international names such as Mercedes, Ford and General Motors, Fiat, Peugeot and Daewoo. They have had to collectively absorb hundreds of crores of rupees in losses in the past two years, the effect few years of keeping pace at about 15 percent a year more than twice the speed of the economy is now matching with more sedate 6 to 7 percent. It is still growth, but the bigger car makers like Maruti and TELCO which make less expensive, hardly cars with strong networks have accounted for most of it. Though competition among car makers is growing day by day, what would determine the success of a company in terms of production and sales is the product quality and technology and the comforts provided in the cars not the price fixed for the vehicle. The Maruti experience has more than proved this point. No sooner did Telco announce the bunch of its Indica decided to slash its profit margins by cutting vehicle prices.

At that point of time, the introduction of small cars like Santro, Matiz and uno did not bother the company as much as launch of the 100% indigenous India, which is now gradually improving its market share. The overall situation is changing, thanks to positive signs of recovery in sales of the commercial vehicles and cars. With the rebound in critical segments of the economy and improved industrial and agricultural activity, demand for commercial vehicles is moving up for the first time in two years. The general expectation is that the Indian auto industry will undergo tremendous changes, with the opening up of the domestic market to imports and development of local assembly by leading MNCS. To meet the challenges ahead, vehicle manufactures will have to strive to cut costs further, improve productivity, enhance market orientation and successfully create a high level of consumer loyalty. The ultimate success of a car manufacturer is depending on one important factor i.e., now for the car manufacturers are able to convince the customers about the respective brands. In the present study, an attempt is made to study the consumer preference to cars in Trichy city.

Collection of Data The present study was conducted using the primary data and secondary data. The required secondary data was collected from the dealers in the study area and various journals were

referred like business India, India today, and Business world. To ascertain the consumer preference the data were collected from the respondents with the help of a interview schedule.

CHAPTER II INDIAN CAR INDUSTRY AN OVERVIEW Revolution in Car Market The mid-1980 registered a revolution in the car market when the government decided to issued license to all automobile manufactures to produce allied vehicles as well. This move showed the entry of Maruti Udyog Ltd., which launched the Maruti 800 cars. This model was considered to be modern car with contemporary styling and much better fuel efficiency. In this way, Maruti Udyog Ltd., very soon became the market leader and has been occupying a dominant place in the Indian market for more than two decades. The late eighties and the early nineties witnessed the emergence of a marketing orientation. Car man factures tried to position themselves in various segments. A few new models were introduced-mostly with foreign collaboration. Following the liberalization of the car market by the government, for the first time, international car manufacturers began to take keen interest in the Indian car market; Dalimier-Benz, Daewoo GM, Ford, Fiat and Peugeat were the companies to enter the car market in India. Historical Perspective:As regards automobiles industry it plays an important role in terms of curbing un employment. A number of skilled-unskilled, educated-uneducated, technical-non technical persons have got employment directly or indirectly in the industry in many ways such as in manufacturing

units, repairing workshops, dealership, authorized service stations, car drivers, sale and purchase work etc. The history of car industry, it is found out that the first car in India appeared in 1938 with taxicab in Bombay. Before partition, some assembly plants were established at Bombay, Calcutta and Madras by leading foreign manufacturers. The premier Automobiles Ltd(Bombay) and Hindustan Motors Ltd(Calcutta) were set up in 1943 and 1944 respectively. On the recommendation of the Tariff Commission Government of India discouraged the activities of assemblers to ensure economic output of the automobiles in 1953 and provided a further protection to the Industry in 1956 with priority for manufacturers of commercial vehicles, expansion of capacity of existing units and increased production of diesel vehicle for ten years. In 1959, JHA committee in his report recommended a uniform import duty and brought this giant industry under distribution and price control. The Car Industry and The Car Market

The car market is clearly maturing with a full range of cars from segment A Economy models to the highest end segment E cars. This ensures that there is a car for every need players in the car market are Maruti, Hyundai, Tata, Ford. Trend in The Car Market Now-a-days in India novelty is no more a key drive for car sales and customers are more demanding and discern in now. Cars are more affordable and available than they were before, thus serving to broad base the market. Additionally, increased options in used cars that are much more affordable and easily

available have also led to increase in first time car buyers entering the market. The car

market is very healthy.