Benchmarking

1 Benchmark with presently available cars in the market for the following case.

CASE STUDY

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.

NOTE: Please suggest to him options so that he will buy a good car for his family noting that Mr. Pughazhyendhii is fond of big cars.

KEY ANALYSIS:

• Mr. Pughazhyendhii lives in the city, a city and compact car such as Maruti Suzuki Swift (5.73 lakhs – 8.41 lakhs) which perfectly fits Mr. Pughazhyendhii budget of (8 to 10 lakhs) would have been ideal, however, Mr. Pughazhyendhii is married and has a family of 5. To accommodate a family of 5, he will need a family car such as Maruti Ertiga (8.12 - 10.85 Lakh)
• Mr. Pughazhyendhii visits his native place, Madurai, once in a month. Approximately, he will be covering around 12000kms yearly commuting to his native place and approximately 10000kms for his daily commuting to-fro work yearly. That’s a total of 22,000kms yearly. Covering such distance yearly requires an economical car that saves on fuel and is low on emission.

CONCLUSION:

• Considering the number of families Mr. Pughazhyendhii has (5), a multi-purpose family car with better space and legroom will be ideal for him to purchase. This will serve his daily commuting to work and his monthly trip.
• Since Mr. Pughazhyendhii has a fixed budget of (8 to 10 lakhs), it is important to analyze his choice considering factors such as price, mileage, transmission option, and seating:

Name	Price	Mileage	Transmission	Seat
Honda Jazz	7.71 - 9.95 Lakh	17.1 kmpl	Manual / Automatic	5
Honda WR-V	8.82 - 11.86 Lakh	23.7 kmpl	Manual	5
Maruti Ertiga	8.12 - 10.85 Lakh	26.08 kmpl	Manual / Automatic	7
Maruti Vitara Brezza	7.69 - 11.34 Lakh	18.76 kmpl	Manual / Automatic	5
Renault Kiger	5.79 - 10.22 Lakh	20.53 kmpl	Manual / Automatic	5

Honda Jazz falls perfectly into Mr. Pughazhyendhii budget and family size of 5. He also has an option between manual and automatic transmission; however, he has a maximum of 17.1 kilometres per/liter which makes this less suitable for his approximately 22,000kms yearly.

Honda WR-V has a better mileage of 23.7 kmpl but is slightly above Mr. Pughazhyendhii budget by (1.86 Lakh). The vehicle is perfect for his family size but only has a manual transmission which could be very stressful, especially in crowded cities like Bangalore where he lives. This option is not very ideal for him.

Maruti Vitara Brezza has a low mileage and is more expensive than Mr. Pughazhyendhii budget by (1.34 Lakh). Although it fits perfectly in his family size and has an option of either manual or automatic transmission, unfortunately, there are other options with better economy and pocket-friendly prices.

Renault Kiger (20.53 kmpl) has a better mileage compared to Maruti Vitara Brezza, Honda Jazz, and Honda WR-V and is just a little above Mr. Pughazhyendhii budget, however, there are other brands with the same budget and better mileage.

Maruti Ertiga seems like the best option for Mr. Pughazhyendhii. Although it is slightly above Mr. Pughazhyendhii budget (0.85 Lakh), it has the best mileage of (26.08 kmpl) compared to other options which mean he can spend less on fuelling and even cover more distance per liter. Maruti Ertiga has more seating arrangements of 7. This means he can accommodate extra families on occasions like a family picnic. He also has the option of selecting either manual or automatic transmission. It was noted that Mr. Pughazhyendhii is fond of big cars, Maruti Ertiga has a boot space of 209 liters. It is also a multi-utility vehicle (MUV) with a length of 4395 mm, a width of 1735 mm, and a wheelbase of 2740 mm.

2 Prepare a report explaining what is benchmarking

A benchmark study analyzing similar products based on the selection factor and determining the outcome is called automotive benchmarking.

3 Compare at least 4 vehicles

	NAME	JAGUAR I-PACE	TESLA MODEL 3 (long-range)	LUCID AIR DREAM	PORSCHE TAYCAN 4S
	Acceleration	4.8 seconds (0 – 62 mph)	4.4 seconds (0 – 62 mph)	4.2 seconds (0 – 62 mph)	4.0 seconds (0 – 62 mph)
PERFORMANCE	Top Speed	124 mph	145 mph*	124 mph	155 mph
	Electric Range	235 mi	300 mi	335 mi	245 mi
	Battery capacity	90.0 kwh	75.0 kwh	85.0 kwh	79.2 (performance battery)
BATTERY AND CHARGING	Charge time	13hr 30m	8hrs 15m	4hr 45m	7hr 45m
	Charge speed	17 mph	37 mph	74 mph	32 mph
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT	Length	4682 mm	4694 mm	4970 mm	4963 mm
	Width	2011 mm	1849 mm	1950 mm	1966 mm
	Height	1565 mm	1443 mm	1410 mm	1379 mm
	Gross Weight	2670 kg	2232 kg	2375 kg	2880 kg
	Cargo volume (rear)	505 l	461 l	456 l	407 l
	City – cold	240 mi	268 mi	310 mi	230 mi
REAL RANGE	Highway – cold	170 mi	349 mi	240 mi	180 mi
	Combined cold	200 mi	300	275 mi	205 mi
PRICE		£64,495	£49,990	£70,000*	£84,030

4 Provide a proper conclusion for the report, suggesting a suitable vehicle among the comparison made.

RANGE

• The range has been a valuable consideration aside from environmental consideration for buyers to switch to electric vehicles. The higher the range the better especially for long travels. In all the EVs listed, the Lucid Air Dream edition seems to have a better range. While other EVs listed also have good range, however, an EV with a greater range erases issues like range anxiety without having to stop every time to recharge the battery.

CHARGING TIME

• While it takes between 5 to 10 minutes to fill up the fuel tank of conventional ICEs, a major challenge all EV owners or drivers face is the time it takes to recharge their EV batteries, especially for owners without the facilities to recharge at home overnight. Technology is gradually improving with the provision of fast-charging networks. Among all the EVs listed above, Lucid Air Dream seems to have a lower charge time of 4hr 45minutes while Jaguar i-Pace seems to have a longer charge time of 13hr 30mins which is due to its lower charge speed.

CARGO VOLUME

• Cargo volume is vital for the luggage compartment. All the EVs listed have considerably good cargo volume but the Jaguar i-Pace with a cargo volume (rear) of 505 liters seems to have an edge over others.

PRICE

• EVs are still expensive compared with conventional ICE cars majorly because of the high cost of the battery which accounts for almost 40 to 50 % of the entire cost. Out of all the EVs listed, Tesla Model 3 seems to be the cheapest at £49,990 while the German brand, Porsche Taycan is the most expensive with a price tag of £84,030.