Google India along with Mahindra First Choice wheels has come-up with a report on the basis of compiled search trend analysis including search trends of used cars queries and actual market behavior to understand the used car market in India. The report states that Utility vehicles were the most searched used car type on Google in India and about 47% share has been taken by used utility vehicle category.
The growth in demand also matches with offline sales for SUVs at Mahindra First Choice. Across the company's outlets in India, growth for SUVs sales have witnessed 6% to 10% in the past 3 years. Speaking more on the occasion, Gaurav Kapur, Industry Head for Auto vertical, Google India, said, “Used car consumer is highly under-served in India as the industry is characterized by a lack of formal distribution and service networks. The industry suffers from a significant trust deficit between buyers and sellers. This is also reflected in the search behavior in India, there seems very low awareness as well as low curiosity to know about ‘certification’ or ‘warranty’ on used cars. We see a significant amount of queries for certified used cars in developed markets like the US. This probably is a clue to the direction in which the market will evolve over the years as it gets more organized.”
As per survey reports the number of queries related to used cars on Google Search has reportedly grown by 20 times in 6 years; with a 30% YoY in 2014. As many as about 8 in 10 potential used car buyers who started their research from Google search seemed to be undecided about which used car to go for. Most commonly searched queries involve questions around budget, brands, fuel type and ownership. It has been seen that used car buyers are increasingly relying on Internet for their research before they arrive at final decision.
