The balloons, streamers, stars and flowers are all over. Workers ready cars for delivery -- there are number plates to screw in, wheels to polish and accessories to fit. Visitors glide in and out of cars. Located off the busy road that connects Faridabad with Delhi, the Hyundai showroom hopes to sell at least 600 cars in October. The period is auspicious for Hindus, with Diwali smack in the middle of the month. The Central government has handed out another lot of pay arrears that resulted from the award of the Sixth Pay Commission. Companies have given bonuses to employees. And people are keen to put their money to good use.

Portfolio: Small car accounts for 75% market

Small cars account for over 75 per cent of the Indian market. The economic slowdown of the last one year has reinforced consumers' preference for fuel-efficient and inexpensive small cars. Cars sold in India are of global standards. But it cuts the other way too. Often cars for the overseas market need to be fitted with expensive components and material; this drives up the price in India.

Diesel for growth

India has for long subsidised diesel more heavily than petrol. As a result, a growing number of consumers want to buy cars that run on diesel engines. This was about 20 per cent of the market three years ago. Now, it stands at 27 per cent. The projections are that the figure will hit 35 per cent in the next three years.

Finance matters

A large dealer network may be fine, but for footfalls to convert into purchases, credit is the key. In the last one year, private banks as well as non-bank finance companies, which had fuelled the last boom in car sales, have turned conservative. Earlier, they had financed up to 90 per cent of the cars sold -- only around 10 per cent customers bought cash down. The number shot up to 40 per cent in December 2008, thanks to the financial meltdown, it has since dropped to 33 per cent.