Cars and mobile phone are the prized possession of today’s youth. And they all want these possessions to bring them comfort, compliment their style quotient and at the same time be unique from others. There needs to be a proud sense of ownership to these products.

For all logical reasons a manufacturer cannot afford to build a unique product suitable to individual’s taste. And this is exactly where Accessories help create a product differentiation.

In the first instalment of the two part series, I would like to bring forth the importance of Car Accessories from a customer’s point of view.

A Customer’s Perspective

Talking of Mobile phones, they still have a shorter life cycle vis-a-vis a car. A Moto G – Gen 3 launched just last month may become redundant 6 months later when Gen 4 comes out in the market. But in case of cars, a Hyundai Creta launched a month back, may not see a new uplift for another 3 years!! Accessories can play a major role in keeping this possession, prized for a long time.

To begin with, a customer can start by adding colours to the interior of their car – which is usually themed in grey, beige or black by car manufacturing companies. The interior is the first thing that generally starts looking boring to the car’s owner after some point of time.

There are wide range of colours and pattern options available in Seat Covers. Think of it and you have it. Say a black Seat Cover with bright orange bolsters can usher a whole new level of fun and energy inside the car. And after six months if the level of energy begins to recede, consider it is time to change the interiors.

Seat covers are available in a variety of material too – Art Leather, Fabric and Jute. There is no dearth of choices.

Compliment the Seat Covers with a multi-colour-option Ambience Light to change the look of the car’s interiors as per one’s mood.

A customer can have fun with the exteriors too. There is a wider range of product categories available at his disposal.

A customer can start with chrome, which is often used in luxury cars to add elegance to the design. With advancement in manufacturing technology, manufactures are now able to produce low cost-light weight-high quality Chrome Covers for Head Lamps, Tail Lamp, Car Windows, Boot, ORVMs, Radiator Grills, etc. Install them and add elegance to the car’s styling.

On the other hand, Accessories made of PVC or PP provides a low-cost solution to protect the outer body of the car from bumps and scratches that are common in a city’s traffic. A Bumper Corner Protector that costs as low as Rs 500 for a set of 4 pieces protects the car’s painted bumpers that are most susceptible to damages in every day use. A Door Edge Guard available for Rs 150 (for a set of 4 pieces) protects the door’s edges when parked in a tight space in a parking lot.

The utility of these Car Accessories contradicts the general perception that accessories are only meant for improving the overall aesthetics of the car. Rather utility precedes the aesthetics aspects of accessories.

Take an example of  a Door Visor on the window. One can enjoy the cool breeze of rain without having to worry about rain drops entering inside the car. In addition, Door Visors make the car look a lot sportier too. Similarly the idea of a Door Sill Guard is to protect the painted door sills of car from dirty shoe marks. But Illuminated Sill Guards additionally ensures the passenger’s ingress or egress is in style.

Car Accessories are also being driven by technology in areas of convenience and safety.

Take an example of Audio Visual Navigation Systems; this hardware when installed in car not only navigates the driver through the city roads but also plays movies, shows locations of authorized service centres, ATMs, hospitals and provides information related to car’s health. Garmin and Mapmyindia have taken the maps to the next levels by detailing the road side buildings information as well.

These James-Bond-type gadgets can be fitted in Tata Nano as well as in an Audi with equal ease.

In the new generation of AVNs that are being developed by Sony, Blaupunkt and Pioneer (they are still at a very nascent stage in the Accessory market) one can also sync their android based mobile phones to their car’s AVN and do everything – make calls, use music playlist, watch videos on youtube, play games – without compromising on the safety aspect of driving.

Beyond AVNs there are accessories like Remote Tyre Pressure Monitor, Air Purifier, Mobile Chargers, Rear View Camera with Sensors, Vehicle Tracking Systems, that were once exclusively available in Mercedez, Audis and BMWs, can now be fitted on any car available on road today.

To conclude, as travelling is becoming an important daily routine in cities and car is becoming the preferred mode of transportation, these accessories offer an affordable means of comfort, entertainment and safety. At the same time helps to keep the prized possession of the buyer, valued for a long time.

Stay tuned for the second instalment of this 2-part series to find the importance of Car Accessories from an OEM’s point of view. Please feel free to share your feedback on Car Accessories in general and this article in particular.