Lee tells Stevens that his 2005 Oscar triumph gave him the backing he needed to film ?Lust, Caution?, a work which depicts the psychology of female sexuality against the backdrop of 1940s Shanghai and the war against Japan. He explains how he cast his female lead from a field of 10,000 candidates, instinctively choosing Tang Wei, an unknown Chinese actress who reminded him of someone from his mother?s generation. 
01
CNBC Awaaz presents Auto Evolution Series2
MUMBAI: The Indian automotive industry has seen an exponential growth, with increasing number of cars sold and new models launched every month. However, there is no platform mapping this incredible augmentation and charting a blueprint for its future.To bridge this chasm, CNBC AWAAZ India‘s first dedicated Business and Consumer Channel & ICICI Bank Car Loans had initiated a series that serves as a comprehensive and reliable guide to the Indian Auto Sector- The Auto Evolution Series in Delhi.
As part of the series, Ms. Shereen Bhan, leading anchor from Network 18, hosted an exclusive panel discussion on the future of the auto industry in our country. The topic of discussion for the televised forum was "Is the auto industry in need of re-invention?"
The panelists for the discussion were Mr. Sanjay Labroo, President ACMA & CEO, Asahi Glass, Dr. Pawan Goenka, President - Automotive Sector- M&M, Mr. S Sandilya, Chairman, Eicher Motors, Mr. Surajit Mitra, Jt Secy, Ministry Of Heavy Industries and Mr. Rajiv Sabherwal, ICICI Bank.
The discussion revolved around the Indian Automobile sector, and its importance in the global scenario. The Indian Auto sector is high on growth trajectory and is expected to touch great heights. To cope with this transformation, auto manufacturers need to scale up in every aspect- be it marketing, sales and distribution or even production. Speaking on the event, Shereen Bhan commented "The auto Industry globally has become a wealth destroyer as opposed to a wealth creater, the challenge for manufacturers is to produce economical, reliable, high quality vehicles and yet maintain profitability"
The Panel discussion was followed by a informative presentation on an Index by Jairaj Jatar, Head of Motoresearch, Synovate as part of the Auto Evolution series. The automotive research arm of the global market research company Synovate. The Auto Satisfaction Index, now in its inaugural year, measures car owner satisfaction from the perspective of ‘what excites and delights Indian car owners about their vehicle‘s performance and design‘ The study measures overall satisfaction of vehicle owners within 6-24 months of ownership. The first leg of the CNBC Auto Satisfaction Index (CSI) study is based on responses from more than 900 owners with a focus on 18 ‘high volume sellers‘ in India. Drawn from three distinct segments - Small, Medium & Large. The study was fielded from August to September 2007
Overall satisfaction index is based on the consumers perceptions on 3 main factors experienced during his ownership period viz. vehicle performance, cost of ownership and value for money. These conclusions manifest themselves based on seven aspects Viz. Actual purchase experience, interactions with dealer salesman, vehicle appeal, vehicle performance, driving pleasure, cost of ownership (maintenance & running expenses) and after sales service experience.
Key Findings of the study are
In the small car segment, Maruti Alto has emerged the winner. What has worked for Alto? The consumers have rated Alto high on the attributes- convenience of location of its dealer network and the entire purchase experience.
The second category evaluated was the midsize segment. Hyundai Accent/ Viva and Ford Fiesta were tied at the number one position. Customers rated the winners high on vehicle performance which primarily includes ‘engine performance‘ and ‘acceleration‘.
Finally, in the large size segment, Skoda Octavia bagged the top spot. Fuel Economy and Fit and Finish were the two major drivers ruling in their favor.
More details on the index can be found at ibnlive.com/auto
Key Pointers of the study are
The large segment car owners (cost of vehicle in double digits) report a 5% higher satisfaction on all touch points. Perhaps this is a result of preferential treatment given to them.
The twin aspects of ‘Maintenance & running cost‘ and ‘After sales service‘ are the ‘great levelers‘ with all segments scoring low on these. These therefore continue to remain a challenge for the Indian automobile industry
‘Maintenance & Running Costs‘ has the strongest impact on satisfaction and thus is the No.1 key driver for car owner satisfaction. Within that, across segments, ‘fuel economy‘ is closely followed by ‘cost of spares‘ as a differentiator.
Vehicle Performance is the second strongest key driver for car owner satisfaction. For the layman/ average consumer, the two most important factors are ‘engine performance‘ and ‘pick up/ acceleration on city roads‘ A healthy proportion of as man as 90% of new car owners opt for ‘authorised service centres‘ in their early ownership stage.
Vehicle Appeal is the third strongest key driver for car owner satisfaction. Surprisingly, looks and aesthetics is still not a key driver for the Indian car owner ( as compared to maybe car owners in developed markets).What matters most is ‘product design and functioning‘ with features ( both exterior and interior) being key differentiators. Hence the Indian car owner comes across as being ‘value conscious‘. For the small car segment owner, ‘durability‘ is an additional driver.
Although ‘convenience of dealer location‘ contributes positively to the purchase experience, for the small car owner relatively speaking ‘ease of accessing finance‘ is more important.
The study also examines environmental and infrastructural issues related to car ownership. Key Findings of these aspects of the study are as follows -
Indian customers seem to be somewhat less demanding in terms of quality and tend to attribute their driving experience and vehicle performance to infrastructural weaknesses ( viz. quality of roads, traffic discipline, etc. ) rather than their vehicle‘s quality
Except for locations like Surat, Nagpur, Jaipur, at all other locations‘ claim for choosing vehicles based on safety features is high. Also, an increasing proportion of car owners claim that ‘safety‘ will be a key criteria for next vehicle purchase- indicating an increasing awareness for safety regulations and willingness to spend more for a safer car.
Opinion on road conditions is varied with Mumbai and Delhi having a balanced opinion. Kolkata is the worst off on ‘road conditions‘.
Overall ratings on levels of pollution are understandably high. and so we see a keen preference for cars that offer non-polluting options.
