There are weather forecasts, poll forecasts, etc., but now there is one more – Vehicle Purchase Sentiment Index or in simpler words the forecast for vehicle sales. There is nothing sentimental about it though… Okay, may be a little bit. ZyFin Research has come out with an index which is basically a measure of people’s ‘willingness’ to purchase vehicles within a specific period of time, which is six months in this context.
The index is based on a monthly survey of 4,000 consumers in 18 cities across India, representing urban consumers. In September 2014, the index increased by 2.5 points to 17.5 representing a moderate increment in consumer willingness to purchase both two- and four-wheelers. This signifies that a larger section of people, as compared to August 2014, are planning to purchase a new two-wheeler or car within the next six months.
Key Highlights of the ZyFin Vehicle Purchase Sentiment Index for September 2014:
It’s to be noted that a score above 50 reflects optimism, while below 50 is an indication of pessimism. Therefore, according to Debopam Chaudhuri, Chief Economist, ZyFin Research, the increased index in September reflects ‘recovering willingness to spend but the low score still indicates a lot of pessimism. He also adds that it would take some more time for auto sales to reach the healthy level of 2009-2010. That being said, the number will get better in the ongoing festive season.