I wanted to fly! I got the next best thing, a convertible. - DS.
Digitisation has affected the auto sector equally for the betterment and ease of operation. Buying and Selling of cars couldn’t have been made easier than click of a button , sitting in the comfort of your home. Technological innovation like online portals, lets you compare vehicles, customize features, select color, and place the order online. Within blink of an eye new vehicle is delivered at your door steps. In this Gosti session we talk about an online automotive portal 'car&bike'.
Automotive portal can be simply defined as an online repository of information, for auto enthusiasts and consumers alike who are looking to invest in a vehicle.There are many such online portals. Daxstreet (1) lists these as leading 10 car websites - ZigWheels, CarWale, BS Motoring, AutoPortal India, Drivespark, Team BHP, Autocar India, OVERDRIVE, CarTrade.
car&bike is an online automotive portal, founded in 2015(2). Originally a part of the media house NDTV its current owner is Mahindra Group (Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd).
"car&bike is not merely another name in the world of automotive websites. We bring together the best from the worlds of both , cars and bikes..... car&bike lists over 42 manufacturers and 336 models to help users make an informed choice.Users can not only browse new cars, upcoming cars, car price, car dealers, car reviews & compare cars but use our car recommendation section & total cost ownership section." (source: c&b website).
Even though the popularity and ease of online portals have attracted many the process hasn't been very widely accepted with the same comfort and assurance. Like many other sectors Indian auto sector has been slowly catching up with the western world. India is the largest manufacturer of 2 wheelers (2W) and 3 wheelers (3W) and 4th largest for passenger cars in the world. Auto sector in India contributes to 7.1% overall GDP and 49% manufacturing GDP.(3) These numbers strongly advocate online expansion of auto sector in India.
I have been trying to arrange for a Gosti session with car&bike for over two years now. Though I have managed to get a few minutes of time to chat with a few I haven't been able to schedule an entire Gosti session due to their extremely busy schedules. Usually when we plan and agree to conduct a Gosti session, we send out a few questions to our guests, around which we want our discussion to be. You can find our questionnaire, that we prepared in the year 2020 for Gosti session with Mr. Praveen Loganathan , CEO car&bike, towards the end of this blog.
There are a few critical aspects surrounding an online portal that we wanted to discuss in Gosti. One being Auto Journalism, people who bring you the happenings in the auto world identify themselves as Auto Journalists. Ideally as auto journalists they are responsible for putting forth facts about an automotive and advice consumers on the best alternative for their needs. The two words in Auto Journalist represent entirely different sectors - the word 'auto' seems to have been borrowed from technical - design world whereas journalist from journalism which is to do with fact finding. While one leads to designing other to digging down to the details. Our Gosti sessions are typically designed around such interesting tidbits.
We sincerely believe that if you are an auto enthusiast who likes to keep up with the happening in the sector or a buyer overwhelmed with many options, such online portals provide a very useful tool. It takes a little work to get comfortable browsing and using such tools to your best benefit. Watch our video as we walk you through the car&bike website.
I hope you have enjoyed this session of Gosti! To end ..
Wear your Helmet, Buckle Up & Drive Safe!
About the Author:
Ms. Datta Sheth, a graduate of the University of Maryland , College Park, is a founder at ShwetSai Consultants.
References:
Kapil Joshi, April 2022, Take a look at top 10 car websites in India, The Print.
Rajeev Singh and Abhishek Malik , January 2022, Auto industry pins hope on consumption-led demand in Budget for revival of growth, The EconomicTimes.
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