Benchmarking

Automotive benchmarking?

Automotive benchmarking refers to the systematic comparison of processes, services, and products in the automobile industry. This involves intensive research and even collaboration of companies to compare their processes, services, and products being offered to the public. The purpose of benchmarking is to determine the strengths and weaknesses of a company and create recommendations to improve company performance.

Types of Automotive benchmarking

1. Internal Comparing processes within the organization
2. External Comparing to other organizations
3. Competitive Specifically comparing to direct competitors
4. Performance Analyzing metrics to set performance standards
5. Strategic Evaluating how successful companies strategize
6. Practice Process mapping and addressing performance gaps

Case

Mr. D.S. Pughazhyendhii is a married man who lives in Bangalore which is a highly crowded city. His Family comprises five members including his wife, a five-year-old boy, his father, and his mother. He visits his native place Madurai which is 500kms away from Bangalore once a month. Also, he will be using his car to commute to his office. His budget falls between 8 to 10 lakhs on road. Please suggest to him options so that he will buy a good car for his family.

Note: Pughazhyendhii is fond of big cars

MY choice is 4 vehicles which are top selling in the market

1)brezza 2)sonet 3)venue 4)nexon

MARUTI SUZUKI BREZZA FEATURE

• Good-looking Compact SUV with improved road presence & mass appeal
• Well-rounded product. Takes a successful formula and improves upon it
• A competent BS6 petrol with Smart Hybrid tech and excellent fuel efficiency
• Smooth 6-speed torque-converter AT comes with paddle shifters
• Well-mannered suspension setup riding on 16-inch wheels and 215/60 section tyres
• Decent cabin space for a sub-4 meter car. Lots of storage & a powerful air-con too
• Now gets a sunroof, 360-degree camera, head-up display, rear A/C vents, wireless

CONS

• Feels more like a significant facelift rather than an all-new product
• No diesel option like its rivals! Petrol-only as of now. CNG may be offered in the future
• 1.5L petrol engine lacks outright grunt. Tuned for fuel-efficiency and suitable for relaxed cruising only
• Expensive! AT variants are priced higher than competitor turbo-petrols with more advanced transmissions
• AT option commands a stiff Rs. 1.5 lakh ex-showroom premium!
• Interior quality and fit & finish are underwhelming for the price. The game has moved on
• Short gearing of the 5-speed MT and lack of 6th cog results in an unusually busy engine at 100-120 km/h

HYUNDAI VENUE FEATURE

• Precise build & quality are easily among the segment best
• Competent engines mated to slick gearboxes
• Fast shifting dual-clutch Automatic gearbox available
• Balanced road manners. Very easy to drive as well
• Loaded to the gills with equipment (paddle shifters, drive modes, sunroof, BlueLink telematics, cabin air purifier etc.)
• Top safety equipment includes 6 airbags, BAS, ESP, HSA, ISOFIX and more
• Hyundai's competent after-sales & fuss-free ownership experiences

CONS

• Diminutive street presence. Looks more hatchback than SUV from some angles, especially the rear
• Strictly a 4-seater; the rear bench has very awkward seating for the middle occupant
• Missing kit (auto wipers, auto-dimming IRVM, steering reach adjustment...)
• Long term reliability of the DCT is a concern
• Engine noise is very prominent, more so in Sport mode
• AT only on the petrol, not the diesel. Kia Sonet gets a Diesel AT

KIA SONET FEATURE

• A mini-Seltos in almost every way! Same formula, in a smaller package
• Sharp & handsome styling. In our opinion, this is the best-looking Compact SUV
• Excellent spread of powertrains including a fast & enjoyable turbo-petrol
• Diesel AT is fantastic; the only smooth torque-converter gearbox in a sea of AMTs
• Well-tuned suspension offers a good balance between ride & handling. 205 mm GC too
• Top safety package includes 6 airbags, ESP, HSA, TPMS etc.
• Very enjoyable 7-speaker Bose sound system
• Impressive kit (ventilated seats, sunroof, auto LED headlamps, cruise control, wireless charger

CONS

• Rear seat legroom is just adequate, while its limited width makes the Sonet a 4-seater
• Top variants are pricey! More expensive than its sibling, the Hyundai Venue too
• Some misses ( 60:40 rear seat split, auto wipers, steering reach adjustment, illuminated window buttons, full-size spare tyre on top trims…)
• Dual-clutch ATs (like the Petrol DCT) have a history of poor reliability in India
• As always with Kia, the variant spread is tough to figure out. Good luck finding your perfect Sonet!
• Waiting periods are a couple of months long for some trims

TATA NEXON FEATURE

• Very well-priced for what it offers. Undercuts all rivals
• Funky styling ensures that the Nexon stands out from the crowd
• 5-star NCAP safety rating & a solid build, unlike many of its flimsy competitors
• Nice, spacious cabin with comfortable seats. You get a practical 350-liter boot too
• 1.5L diesel & 1.2L petrol offer good performance. Diesel is especially impressive
• Balanced road manners for such a tall car. Fine EPS & 209 mm of ground clearance!
• Loaded with features: Driving modes, LED DRLs, reversing camera, 8-speaker ICE etc.
• Dual airbags, ABS & Isofix child seat mounts are standard on all variants

CONS

• Overdone design will be a turnoff for many of you. Rear end is way too busy
• Jiggly low speed ride; bumps are felt in the city (unlike other Tata cars)
• 3-cylinder petrol can't match 4-cylinder competition in NVH. Has lag too
• The observant eye will notice some rough edges in fit, finish & quality
• Concerns over long-term reliability, more so of the freshly developed engines
• Missing essentials (telescopic steering adjustment, auto-dimming IRVM, proper dead pedal)

POLL

The above image attached is the poll of people in the poll you can see that people have chose nexon as thier car preferances i will be explaning the reasons below

Brezza

1) lesser maintance cost

2) better milage

3) wide network of sevice centers are also available

still there a reasons that people dont like suzuki vehicles are quality of the vehicle are not good even tho milage is pretty good but people these days focus on safet a lot from that point of view people are stepping back.

venue

1)maintance cost higher

2) better vehicle performance in highways and city condition

some reasons people dont like is it has more features which is not needed for a comman man who is using vehicle once a month for a long ride and it has 4 star saftey rating which also compromises safety

sonet

1) longer waiting period

2) saftey 3 star which people didnt like

sonet has limited service stations across the city where has compitiors have wide range of service centers across countries service cost is very much higher

tata nexon

1) good milage

2) 5 star safety

nexon has a decent milage compared to other cars in segment but why nexon stands out best is because of their saftey rating and decent features that are pretty much handy and usefull unlike other cars because of more features the car price have eventullay increased and common people who rarelly go long trip feels like no need of

investing a lot in features in a car which is not a big use for him and tata have wide range of service centers across india

conclusion

In my opinion tata nexon is the best in terms of milage , storage and safety which is the top most priority and also lesser waiting period and infotainment system comes with very basic which is easier to use with decent functions unlike other cars