Under-rated Segment for India - Pickups

[Sukhpreet Singh]

Hey everyone.
I have been thinking (which I don't do much!) of asking everyone here that why is the consumer in India not very keen on keeping a 4X4 pick-up as an option in their garage. Agreed the market is limited and does not have too many options, but don't you think such a vehicle checks all the boxes. My house is less of a home and more of a guest house as someone or the other is leaving/arriving for/from abroad. So, i need a huge cargo bay... That said, I travel a lot with my three-year old and the better half, which also translates to carrying the pram, high chair blah blah... So, tell me forum members... I am planning to a piece on how pick-ups are so under rated but are a better and more practical option than most sedans and SUVs.... You take on this pls....

[Arjun]

A very good topic.
My $0.02.
World wide, the pickup trucks are a very popular segment. The multipurpose trucks are good for both personal and commercial use. However, they never went well in the Indian market.
These are the reasons in my opinion:
1. In India, with traffic congestion and over populated cities, space comes ata premium. You may have noticed, that still compact SUVs are more in demand and hatchbacks are a hot market here.
We need the ground clearance of a SUV, but cannot afford the space required for a full size SUV. Most of the pickup trucks are quite big and need a lot of space to park and turn. This may be the reason people avoid the pickup trucks.
2. Fuel costs : Most pickup trucks use high capacity engines which are not very fuel efficient. Most of the Indians do not have a lot of luggage moving to do on a regular basis. They just need a vehicle to take them from point A to B consuming the minimum amount of resources(time and fuel). This is the reason why we are still after more frugal engines and the heavy duty SUVs are losing out to the Soft roaders.

3. Climatic conditions : It rains a lot in India, and otherwise it is very hot. Most of the times we would be travelling with expensive things in the flat bed, and unless it is locked well, its not useful. There are locking mechanisms for the bed, but as similar cargo area can be managed in a full sized SUV, which can also be used for passengers otherwise, in all climatic conditions, fully covered SUVs are more useful in the Indian context.

4. Requirements: We are an overpopulated country with big families. Unlike other countries, we usually travel in big groups, usually with over loaded cars. More than cargo hold, in India the requirement is for higher passenger capacity. That is the reason the segments like MUVs and Compact MUVs are going good. In a pickup truck, we cannot legally or safely carry more passengers in the bed. The bed can be used for luggage, but most of the time, the requirement is for carrying more people than luggage. The roof racks help for improving the luggage carrying capability. While most of the pickup trucks are used by nuclear families, in India, when we buy a car, thinking of going for trips with the entire family, and sometimes extended family. This makes the 7 seater SUVs more popular than pickups

[Jijo_Malayil]

Sukhpreet Singh This one is for you buddy. Take it & go!

[Niki Lauda]

Sukhpreet Singh even I would love to see pickup trucks on our roads on a regular basis. If that segment is very popular with our neighbours (Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Thailand, etc, why can't it be the same for our country as well. JijoMalayil that's a good one. Where did you get that scale model from?

[Rhythem Raswant]

JijoMalayil I have the same question as Niki's where did you get this one from?

[Jijo_Malayil]

So, the picture was send to us by Shantonil. I guess, this guy has the scale model