Delphi Plans Marketing Effort In India

Autoparts Report, Oct 8, 2001

Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. said that it planned a big push into aftermarket sales in India, directly addressing car owners looking for replacements. Delphi officials said that the firm planned to cover 16 cities across the country over nine months with free car service check-ups for some 50,000 car owners, aiming to win brand-loyal customers and hit unorganized "grey market" firms by emphasizing on quality.

Worldwide, aftermarket sales totaled $2.1 billion for Delphi last year, while India's share remained insignificant, they said.

The aftermarket plan aims at selling products like air conditioning parts, batteries, filters and shock absorbers made by the company. Company officials also said they planned to launch automobile-linked electronic goods such as MP3 music players, DVD players and hands-free cellphones in India if market feedback to an initial test proved positive.

Delphi sold products worth 3.28 billion rupees ($68.5 million) in India last year, mostly involving sales to auto makers.