Festive cheer for PVs in rural markets

Over the last five years, the rural market has witnessed significant reforms enabling the Indian population to move up the value chain and expand income levels. Even the COVID-19 pandemic turned positive for the rural market as considerable young migrant labourers returned to their villages and took up entrepreneurship to setup small tertiary farm businesses, thereby creating new income opportunities for families.  This, combined with relatively low potency of COVID-19 cases and a good harvest season with healthy monsoons, the rural market has become the blue-eyed boy for car makers who prepare to lure rural customers with offers, discounts and freebies this festive season.  “The festival season will see significant sales contribution from rural markets. OEMs will come up with attractive offers/discounts and finance companies will offer higher loan quantum with longer tenures to attract potential customers,” says Animesh Kumar, Director, Automotive and Travel & Tourism Consulting at GlobalData.  He says that from a purely need-based market for farming equipment (e.g. tractors), two-wheelers, small commercial vehicles and three wheelers, rural India, over the last few years, has started to contribute significantly to the PV (Passenger Vehicles) segment. “OEMs such as Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors have