*PhD Research Scholar, Department of Management, Karpagam University, Pollachi Main Road, Eachanari Post, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu - 641 021, India
**Professor, DC School of Management and Technology, One School Avenue, Pullikanam Post, Idukki District, Kerala - 685 503, India
***Professor, School of Management Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, Kerala - 682 022, India
Online published on 29 June, 2013.
Globalization and liberalization, with the entry of many prominent foreign manufacturers, changed the automobile scenario in India, since early 1990’s. Manufacturers such as Ford, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Suzuki, Hyundai, Renault, Mitsubishi, Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and Nissan set up their manufacturing units in India in joint venture with their Indian counterpart companies, by making use of the Foreign Direct Investment policy of the Government of India, These manufacturers started capturing the hearts of Indian car customers with their choice of technological and innovative product features, with quality and reliability. With the multiplicity of choices available to the Indian passenger car buyers, it drastically changed the way the car purchase scenario in India and particularly in the State of Kerala. This transformed the automobile scene from a sellers’ market to buyers’ market. Car customers started developing their own personal preferences and purchasing patterns, which were hitherto unknown in the Indian automobile segment. The main purpose of this paper is to come up with the identification of possible parameters and a framework development, that influence the consumer purchase behaviour patterns of passenger car owners in the State of Kerala, so that further research could be done, based on the framework and the identified parameters.
Consumer Behaviour Patterns, Customer Loyalty, Security Features, External Influence, Family Influence, Customer Relationship
