Usually any car that is high in demand has a long waiting period, something which has been seen in the past with the likes of Honda Amaze and Ford EcoSport. With more customers pouring-in and the gap between supply and demand increases manifold, it consequently leads to long waiting periods. This, to a certain extent, is a good news for any auto maker as it shows an overwhelming response from customers, who are eager to book their vehicles. However, as recent reports conclude, this is not a fairy tale any more for auto companies. Instead, it is more or less becoming a challenge for manufacturers to keep long wait lists in check by closely monitoring the demand and supply chain. Yes, indeed, as per the report published by TNN, 'Long waitlists no more favourable as impatient buyers opt for other vehicles.'
This is true as buyers now have more choices. It is unlike old times when a single ruling company would feel glad after seeing a long wait list on its products. On the contrary, now, there are more companies to choose from and even more products to go for. This eventually turns out to evolve as buyers being impatient and if this be the case, why not. As it turns out to be, pre-booking lead to a long waiting period and thus, can prove to be a double-edged sword. This means that auto companies now have to be very careful with it as if disregarded, sales could potentially come to a standstill with customers going for other models. The waiting list could run down quickly and with customers booking other vehicles, it could be a chaotic situation to deal with.
Despite of the fact that the Indian auto sector is going through a rough patch, vehicles like Ford EcoSport, Honda Amaze, Maruti Suzuki Swift, Mercedes-Benz M- and A-Class have attracted too much of domestic attention. A huge response continues and thus, their waiting period is also increasing. Interestingly, the waiting period being discussed here ranges from a couple of weeks to a year.
In light of whatever has been discussed so far, Jnaneswar Sen, the Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing at Honda Cars India, rightly said, “Bookings don't give much business because you get money only when you actually sell the car. One reason why we don't feel thrilled about bookings is because if you hold on to them for a long time, people tend to lose patience and there is every possibility of them opting out. That's why we started the third shift in November to reduce the booking wait for the Amaze.” As per Sen, Honda Amaze has a waiting period between “10 days earliest to 3 months at the most, depending on the variant.” The auto company is trying to battle out this booking bulge in order to prevent negative consequences.
Eberhard Kern, Managing Director and Chief Executive Office, Mercedes-Benz India, also mentioned that the company did not expect a 31 per cent growth in first nine months of the current fiscal. Currently, A-Class and GL-Class have a waiting period of 2-3 months. Kern also mentioned that the auto company worked towards increasing the production of its M-Class when it noticed that the waiting period had gone to 6 months.
Ford EcoSport has surpassed other vehicles when it comes to the booking bulge. This compact SUV has a waiting period of 8-12 months on some of its variants. Vinay Piparsania, Executive Director, Marketing Sales and Service, Ford India, said, the company is “working with the production and supply chain to optimise productivity and reduce bottlenecks.”
To conclude, it would make sense to say that long waiting period may be a good sign, but butterflies should continue to bother, for it not, trouble's waiting. Auto companies too would be well aware of such consequences.
