Kotak Institutional unveils tool to forecast auto sales

Domestic brokerage Kotak Institutional Equities today launched a tool to forecast auto sales and said it is keen to introduce a broader consumer sentiment index in next one year.
'Consumer Querimetrix', a tool focussed on the four- wheeler industry, has been unveiled in association with Indian arm of Internet search giant Google, the brokerage said.
It analyses consumer trends linked to four-wheeler launches and demand, by accessing and sifting through search data from Google.
More consumer-oriented industries will be covered in the next few months and the plan is to launch a comprehensive consumer sentiment index in the next 9-12 months, Sanjay Prasad, the company's Executive Director and co-head of institutional equities, told reporters here.

Google India's industry Director Vikas Agnihotri said online search queries is the most dynamic data input to arrive at consumer insights.
With regards to the four-wheeler industry, he said there has been a 40 per cent jump in search trends related to car finance and purchases over the last year.

The Querimetrix estimates South Korean major Hyundai's sales to grow 15 per cent to 38,000 units in January 2016, while industry leader Maruti Suzuki may sell up to 93,000 units, it said.
The launch of Renault Kwid may affect the existing players in the small car segment, it warned.
Among the recent launches, it said Maruti Suzuki Baleno has been among the most successful models, going by digital queries.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Joint Managing Director C Jayaram said efforts will be made to work more closely with Google for other such initiatives.
On the key question of using similar data for the bank's core activity of lending, Jayaram said it was still early days, but said as the study and data improved, it could help with assessing demand and targeting customers better.