Forester debuts under Chevrolet brand; Rs 2-3 crore campaign to break soon

Auto experts and General Motors India (GMI) officials are decidedly upbeat about India's first all-wheel drive (AWD). Unveiled at a press conference yesterday in the capital, Chevrolet Forester, the sports utility vehicle (SUV), wears a price tag of Rs 15.59 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Forester is designed and manufactured by Japanese all-wheel drive specialists Fuji Heavy Industries (in which the parent company General Motors has 20 per cent stake). For the record, Fuji Heavy Industries markets its products under the Subaru brand. The SUV will be available for deliveries March 10 onwards.

In the first stage, Forester will be imported from Japan. The company is clear that ‘volumes' is not the immediate concern; the immediate concern is a strong presence in the Indian market. Speaking at the launch of Forester, Raymond G Grigg, president and representative director, GM Asia Pacific (Japan), said, "In the Asia Pacific region GM continues to build alliances and tailor products to local market conditions and needs. GM has recently introduced Chevrolet in India. Chevrolet will represent the mainstream market, delivering better value through styling, features and performance."

The process of building brand salience for Chevrolet has already begun with the ‘I am Chevrolet' campaign, wherein the attempt is to make the iconic American brand relevant to the Indian auto aficionado. Taking a cue from the theme campaign, Forester's communication will be purely product and technology driven. This campaign, conceived by Enterprise Nexus, is slated for release next week.

Explaining the crux of the communication, Sundeep Kumar, director, Enterprise Nexus, says, "The whole idea is to drive home the fact that Forester is the real and true SUV. Most of the SUVs we see on the roads are entry level SUVs that target city-drive only. They are not known for their comfort or an all-terrain experience. In that context, Forester has been positioned differently. As suggested by the tagline ‘Destination Anywhere', the ad is going to hinge upon the real experience of driving an SUV."

Since the experience comes from driving the car, the task is "to create a touch-and-feel environment for the buyers". Because of which, besides advertising, there is a lot of emphasis on contact programmes such as direct mailing, direct selling, events and roadshows.

The job for GMI is not going to be easy though. In no time, the SUV category will see competition hotting up with the launch of Hyundai's Terracan. But company officials are optimistic, and expect Forester to rake in the advantages of being an early mover. © 2003 agencyfaqs!