Proton's market entry strategy for India

Proton Berhad is the largest Malaysian automaker. Based in Shah Alam, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, Proton is the older of Malaysia's two automakers and has earned a substantial market share in its home country. At this point, Proton must seek international markets if it is to grow further, since the Malaysian market is becoming mature and Proton now faces intense competition. The company is looking to the Indian market for its main brands, the Savvy, the Saga and the Persona. This paper will examine the Indian market in general, the unique nature of the Indian car market, and will suggest a market entry strategy for Proton that fits with the needs of both the company and the Indian market.

The Indian Market

India is a fashionable place in which to invest right now, a function of several factors, most of important of which is the large and rapidly growing economy. India's gross domestic product (GDP) of $3.68 trillion makes it the world's fourth-largest economy behind the U.S., China and Japan. The Indian economy has grown rapidly in recent years to reach this position. Real GDP growth rates were 9% in 2007, 7.4% in 2008 and 7.4% in 2009. The country barely felt any impact of the downturn in the global economy as a result of this strength has seen significant foreign direct investment inflows. Inflows in 2009 were $157.9 billion, up 26.4% from $123.3 billion the year previous (CIA World Factbook, 2010).

Although the large size of the Indian economy does not directly translate into customers, because it stills implies a per capita GDP of $3,200, the rapid growth of the economy does. Without considering specific details, the market for Proton is going to be in India's middle class. The country's poor cannot afford cars, and the Proton is not a high-end car to satisfy the needs of the country's wealthy. What the rapid growth of the Indian economy means, however, is that the middle class is a rapidly growing segment of the Indian market. The current middle class accounts for 5% of India's population, or roughly 23 million people but is expected to grow to 40% of the country's population in the next couple of decades. This will create the world's fifth-largest consumer market (it is currently 12th) and will dramatically increase private consumption levels and discretionary spending (Beinhocker, Farrell & Zainulbhai, 2007).

There are a number of reasons to believe the growth in the Indian economy will continue at its current pace. The first is the resourcefulness of Indian people, as much of the country's economic growth is predicated on a mercantile culture. The country is also well-positioned, a key component of the Indian Ocean trade corridor that links the Arab world with East Asia. This trade corridor helped found Malaysia's economy in ports like George Town and Melaka and as Malaysia works to increase trade with the Muslim world in particular this trade route continues to be important to the country.

India is Malaysia's 12th largest trade partner at present. The two countries recently signed a trade pact that is expected to lower trade barriers between the two countries and thereby dramatically increase trade. Trade between the two countries is expected to increase by 50% by 2015 to $15 billion annually. The trade pact, with is an adjunct to an agreement signed between India and ASEAN, includes measures on investment, economic cooperation and customs (Damodaran, 2010). It is also worth mentioning that a sizable portion of Malaysia's population is of Indian origin, mainly Tamil, and as a result there are significant cultural links between the two nations that can help to drive trade as well. Both nations trade in English, both have large Muslim populations, and because of the high number of Indian-descended Malaysians there are excellent transportation links between the two countries on both of Malaysia's major airlines.

The Indian Auto Market

With the dramatic increase in wealth in recent years, India has seen a substantial increase in automobile ownership. Despite the futility of attempting to drive on India's choked roads, the automobile is viewed as an important status symbol. The auto industry in India is now one of the largest in Asia as a result. Indian automakers produce 11 million vehicles annually and export 1.5 million of those, making India the fourth-largest auto exporter in Asia. The overall size of the Indian auto industry is $35 billion and it employs 13 million people in the country.

The Indian auto market has some unique characteristics. The types of vehicles sold are different than in most countries, with very small cars being popular among middle class Indians. 91% of vehicles are sold for household usage and 9% for commercial. Of these household vehicles, 12.42% are passenger cars of the type made by Proton. This means that the Indian market for cars is around 1.4 million vehicles per year. Passenger cars, however, have been increasing their market share in India gradually over the past several years, so should be able to continue to do so in the future (Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturing, 2010).

Automobile sales in India are dependent on both the population and wealth of the state. Tamil Nadu (16.2 million), Maharastra (13.8 million cars) and Gujarat (10.5 million) are the states with the most cars in India, with Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh also having large installed bases of cars (Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturing, 2010). Auto sales are spread across the country, but the more remote states remain much lower in sales than major urban centers and the wealthier states. Therefore market entry can be largely focused on the major states and cities without surrendering too much market share.

Proton Berhad

Proton was established in 1983 by then-Prime Minister Dr. Matathir Mohammed and the first Saga was on sale in 1985. Proton was founded in order to create an automobile manufacturing industry for Malaysia, so that the country was not dependent on important cars. The majority of Proton's vehicles are four door passenger cars, including the Saga, Wira, Persona and the Savvy. These vehicles hold a strong market share in Malaysia. An estimated 3 million Protons have been produced over the years. All told, Malaysia remains a small producer of automobiles. Malaysia is ranked 23rd in the world in total automobile production, notably having surpassed Thailand and Indonesia to become the leading auto producer in Southeast Asia.

Proton's cars are marketed primarily to the lower and middle classes in Malaysia. The company is positioned in the market as a cost leader. There are a couple of ways in which Proton establishes this position. The first is with the relatively low labor costs in Malaysia, which give local producers an advantage over cars made in Japan, Korea and most other major producers. The second is government subsidies. Subsidies are common in Malaysia to promote preferred industries, and as Proton is a project of important government figures the company has received significant assistance in its startup operations and to keep costs down so that the vehicles can gain market share as cost leaders. The exact nature of these subsidies is unknown, but they exist and this may create a barrier to entry into the Indian market.

Proton sells its cars in 28 countries already, including many countries on the subcontinent (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal), many in the Middle East and countries with large Indian populations such as Mauritius, Singapore and Brunei (Proton.com, 2010). However, the company has yet to gain access to the Indian market.

Mode of Market Entry

There are a number of market entry modes that could be used to enter the Indian market. The choice of mode will depend on a number of considerations, including the overall strategy that Proton has and the barriers to entry and market considerations unique to India. Proton's typical mode of entry that it has used in all of its export markets so far is to export cars from Malaysia overseas. This utilizes existing capacity in Malaysia but still gives the company some access to other markets. With India, this method of market entry may not be as easy, so it is worth considering what other options may exist.

Most firms enter the Indian market either with a joint venture or with a wholly-owned subsidiary that manufactures locally. Some firms have entered specifically to focus on the Indian market (Suzuki) while others produce in India for export elsewhere, with local sales being a nice bonus (Hyundai). India has a number of competitive advantages with respect to automobile production and the large size of the expected future market creates incentive to produce locally. Cost factors should be a consideration for Proton, because India's cost structure is even lower than that of Malaysia. The typical cost structure for a car in India materials cost, with employee costs being just 2.3%. Taxes are the second-highest cost category (Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturing, 2010). India's labor costs therefore are so low that they are barely a factor in the production cost of the vehicle, and the country's engineering talent means that there is significant capability to build a new factory in that country.

It is also worth considering that both India and Malaysia are protective of their local automotive industries. In order to gain low duty access for exporting cars to India, Malaysia would likely need to open its markets. Automobiles were not explicitly included in the recent trade pact, so the barriers still exist between the two countries. Trade is mainly in agricultural goods like palm oil and rice, along with Malaysian petroleum exports to India. Manufactured goods account for only a small portion of trade between the two countries because of protections.

Therefore, it is recommended that Proton build a plant in India. This is the easiest way to gain access to the market and the recent trade agreement does facilitate increased foreign direct investment flows between the two countries. There are a few Indian producers that do not currently have a strong market share in passenger cars. Some of these, such as Ashok Leyland, are already in talks with automakers to start passenger car business, while others such as Bajaj Auto do not have a presence in passenger vehicles. More importantly, Bajaj does not compete directly against Proton so could gain preferential access to the Malaysian market if it entered into a venture with Proton. However, it is entirely possible that Proton would need to build its own factory in India in order to enter the market. This method of market entry may not fit with Proton's established business model and strategic objective of building the Malaysian industry, but it would help to establish the company more as a global player than a regional one.

The passenger cars manufactured by Proton such as the Saga, Savvy and Persona are all in the low end four-door space. There is intense competition in India, but these models can gain market share by one of two means. The first is through extensive distribution. Control of distribution channels can give Proton the means to reach Indians better, which will make their cars more attractive. A local partner would be essential for doing this, as the company cannot win this distribution on its own in a foreign market. The other means by which Proton can win market share is through cost leadership. With the failure of the Tata Nano, there is room in the market for a cost leader that, simply put, costs more. Protons are cost competitive in Malaysia but may not be in India without local production. This is another reason why local production is the best method of market entry -- the Proton cannot compete as a cost leader without local production.

In terms of timing, it is essential to make such market entry as soon as possible. Many foreign competitors are already staking out positions in the Indian auto industry, and there is market share to be won. The industry's high growth projections mean that there is market share for all firms, but in the coming years the market will be saturated with products, and Indian consumers will have substantial choices, some of which may be more competitive than the Proton.

It is also worth considering that Proton may wish to develop a proprietary vehicle for India. The Indian market emphasizes smaller cars because Indian people want to limit the costs associated with auto ownership. Protons are not particularly efficient vehicles, in part because Malaysians are not sensitive to fuel efficiency given their subsidized gas prices, but Indians prefer very small, efficient cars as a means of saving money on gas and navigating their congested streets. Thus, Proton may benefit from introducing a new vehicle that is specifically targeted at the Indian market and meets the unique needs of that market. Such a vehicle may ultimately be transferred back to Malaysia, as reduction of fuel subsidies is going to make Malaysians more price sensitive with respect to fuel in the future.

The Indian market is very attractive to Proton for a number of reasons, but is a challenging on to enter. Only luxury firms export directly to India, and Proton's cars are not luxury vehicles. This means the firm will need either a joint venture or a greenfield subsidiary in order to enter the market as compete as a cost leader. The competition is intense, so Proton should enter as soon as possible in order to capture a larger portion of the market before the rest of the world's automakers enter India as well.

Works Cited:

Beinhocker, E.; Farrell, D. & Zainulbhai, A. (2007). Tracking the growth of India's middle class. McKinsey Quarterly. Retrieved December 4, 2010 from http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Tracking_the_growth_of_Indias_middle_class_2032

CIA World Factbook: India. (2010). Retrieved December 4, 2010 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html

Damodaran, R. (2010). Malaysia-India trade pact. Business Times. Retrieved December 4, 2010 from http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/rup0262-2/Article/

Kurczewski, N. (2009). More cars are coming from India. New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/automobiles/28INDIA.html

Proton.com webpage, various pages. (2010). Retrieved December 4, 2010 from http://www.proton.com/

Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturing. (2010). Automobile industry India. Imagin Mor. Retrieved December 4, 2010 from http://imaginmor.com/automobileindustryindia.html

Werbach, A. (2010). Fizzling sales in India for the Tata Nano, "The People's Car." The Atlantic. Retrieved December 4, 2010 from http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/12/fizzling-sales-in-india-for-the-tata-nano-the-peoples-car/67435/