Hormazd Sorabjee, Editor, Autocar India
Autocar India has evolved with the rapidly changing market place. First seen as a magazine for only enthusiasts, it now has wider footprint and caters to consumers as well.
Autocar India has evolved with the rapidly changing market place. First seen as a magazine for only enthusiasts, it now has wider footprint and caters to consumers as well.Autocar India celebrated its 4th anniversary and is now 50 issues old. In a candid chat with Aarti Razdan, Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India shares the journey, the evolving content, his views on the growing auto industry, investments and more.. Q. On needs of Indian Automobile users... Value for money, fuel economy and reliability are top priorities for car owners. Automobile users are essentially looking for efficient transportation that is as hassle-free as possible. A factor like design and style also play an important role and is an important factor as well in a purchasing decision.
Q. On the journey so far…production, readership, revenues... Ever since it was launched in September 1999, Autocar India magazine has set the pace for automotive journalism in India. From the inaugural issue, which unveiled the Ford Ikon not just in India but to the entire world, Autocar India has earned an enviable reputation of regularly being first with the news, far in advance of other media. Over the years our issue has grown in every possible way. Circulation has jumped by 50% since the first issue and our current circulation is 86,400 copies. The magazine size has increased substantially. We began with 148-164 pages per issue and our 4th anniversary issue was our largest yet with 324 pages. This is a reflection of our efforts to constantly improve the product and give more value to our readers. It also indicates healthy advertising. Revenues have jumped by 40% from the previous year.
Q. On AutoCar India's evolved image and content... Autocar India has evolved with the rapidly changing market place. First seen as a magazine for only enthusiasts, it now has wider footprint and caters to consumers as well. This has given Autocar India an even wider reach. Our New Car Buyer's section published every month is an exhaustive compilation of all the cars and bikes in the market. We have introduced two new sections, 'Ask Autocar Anything' (AAA) which is an interactive section with readers where we take up all kinds of issues from helping them buy their next car, airing their grievances or answering any of their question. Another new section, "In the Market place" lists the best deals on wheels and the trends in the market. We have also beefed up our Formula One section to cater to the growing interest in the sport.
Q. On 50 Best roads in India and other initiatives for its readers... Autocar India has pioneered road travel amongst publications and has mapped over 40,000km to give motorists a kilometre-by-kilometre account of driving destinations across the country. Autocar India has driven to the extreme four corners of the country in two epic expeditions; the North-South Kargil to Kanyakumari (K2K) and the West-East Kutch to Kivithoo (K2K2). Autocar India has been at the forefront of road safety and has published several booklets on the subject, circulated within the magazine. It has recently tied up with Castrol to increase road safety awareness and is conducting a special 'Safe Driving Programme' aimed at young drivers.
Road travel is another area where Autocar India is at the forefront since 2001.
Q. On the changing profile of advertisers in Autocar India… There's been a huge jump in advertising with new types of advertisers coming into the magazine. Whilst our core advertising still comes from the automotive sector, we have seen an increase in lifestyle advertising. Also, the back of the book section with classifieds and used cars has grown substantially.
Q. On the achievements... The achievement we are most proud of is the respect we command in the market. Autocar India is seen as a source of credible information that can be trusted by both the industry and consumer alike. Today, it is widely acknowledged as the leading automobile magazine in the country thanks to its unrivalled editorial content and production values. Autocar India is the only publication in India to be given the exclusive first rights to publish all the JD Power reports on car quality and customer satisfaction. NFO Automotive has also given Autocar India the rights to first publish the results of all its surveys. The simple fact that both these highly reputed automotive research agencies trust only Autocar India speaks volumes about the credibility of the magazine.
Q. On the competition... Surprisingly competition amongst automobile magazines isn't fierce as in other countries and given the size of the market, there is space for more titles. There are currently 5 titles, which come out regularly. Contrast this with Greece, where in such a small country there are 20 automotive titles. We look beyond auto magazines as our competition and compete even with dailies and other mainstream publication for news and information.
Q. On the growing Automobile Industry in India... When Autocar India was launched in September 1999, there were around 20 models in the passenger car market. Today there are at 40. The increased choice, better finance rates and improving infrastructure has fuelled growth.
Q. On the financial backing and imminent foreign investment…... Autocar India is published by Sorabjee Automotive Communications Pvt. Ltd (SACPL), which is owned 100 per cent by Hormazd Sorabjee. With the change in laws that allow FDI in print media, the Haymarket group of publications has in principle agreed to invest in SACPL. The level of investment and shareholding has not yet been decided.
Q. On who is the king - content or the advertiser... Clearly content is king in Autocar India. We are possibly the only magazine, which as a policy does not give advertisements on the right hand page. That space is reserved for editorial. We are also reluctant to entertain innovations that affect the readability of the magazine. For example, we have stopped giving 'reverse gatefold' ads on the front cover as it damages the magazine after it is handled by the reader. We lose revenue as a result of these policies but we do not want to compromise the look and feel of the magazine. Besides, Autocar India has earned a reputation for calling a spade a spade giving both praise and criticism where it is due, in a balanced and objective manner.
Q. On future plans... We hope to consolidate our position as India's best automobile magazine by constantly fine-tuning and improving it. There are plans to launch other auto related titles subject to a feasibility study. Magazines like F1 Racing, the largest selling Formula One magazine in the world has a lot of potential in India, given the growing interest in the sport.
Q. On the journey so far…production, readership, revenues... Ever since it was launched in September 1999, Autocar India magazine has set the pace for automotive journalism in India. From the inaugural issue, which unveiled the Ford Ikon not just in India but to the entire world, Autocar India has earned an enviable reputation of regularly being first with the news, far in advance of other media. Over the years our issue has grown in every possible way. Circulation has jumped by 50% since the first issue and our current circulation is 86,400 copies. The magazine size has increased substantially. We began with 148-164 pages per issue and our 4th anniversary issue was our largest yet with 324 pages. This is a reflection of our efforts to constantly improve the product and give more value to our readers. It also indicates healthy advertising. Revenues have jumped by 40% from the previous year.
Q. On AutoCar India's evolved image and content... Autocar India has evolved with the rapidly changing market place. First seen as a magazine for only enthusiasts, it now has wider footprint and caters to consumers as well. This has given Autocar India an even wider reach. Our New Car Buyer's section published every month is an exhaustive compilation of all the cars and bikes in the market. We have introduced two new sections, 'Ask Autocar Anything' (AAA) which is an interactive section with readers where we take up all kinds of issues from helping them buy their next car, airing their grievances or answering any of their question. Another new section, "In the Market place" lists the best deals on wheels and the trends in the market. We have also beefed up our Formula One section to cater to the growing interest in the sport.
Q. On 50 Best roads in India and other initiatives for its readers... Autocar India has pioneered road travel amongst publications and has mapped over 40,000km to give motorists a kilometre-by-kilometre account of driving destinations across the country. Autocar India has driven to the extreme four corners of the country in two epic expeditions; the North-South Kargil to Kanyakumari (K2K) and the West-East Kutch to Kivithoo (K2K2). Autocar India has been at the forefront of road safety and has published several booklets on the subject, circulated within the magazine. It has recently tied up with Castrol to increase road safety awareness and is conducting a special 'Safe Driving Programme' aimed at young drivers.
Road travel is another area where Autocar India is at the forefront since 2001.
Q. On the changing profile of advertisers in Autocar India… There's been a huge jump in advertising with new types of advertisers coming into the magazine. Whilst our core advertising still comes from the automotive sector, we have seen an increase in lifestyle advertising. Also, the back of the book section with classifieds and used cars has grown substantially.
Q. On the achievements... The achievement we are most proud of is the respect we command in the market. Autocar India is seen as a source of credible information that can be trusted by both the industry and consumer alike. Today, it is widely acknowledged as the leading automobile magazine in the country thanks to its unrivalled editorial content and production values. Autocar India is the only publication in India to be given the exclusive first rights to publish all the JD Power reports on car quality and customer satisfaction. NFO Automotive has also given Autocar India the rights to first publish the results of all its surveys. The simple fact that both these highly reputed automotive research agencies trust only Autocar India speaks volumes about the credibility of the magazine.
Q. On the competition... Surprisingly competition amongst automobile magazines isn't fierce as in other countries and given the size of the market, there is space for more titles. There are currently 5 titles, which come out regularly. Contrast this with Greece, where in such a small country there are 20 automotive titles. We look beyond auto magazines as our competition and compete even with dailies and other mainstream publication for news and information.
Q. On the growing Automobile Industry in India... When Autocar India was launched in September 1999, there were around 20 models in the passenger car market. Today there are at 40. The increased choice, better finance rates and improving infrastructure has fuelled growth.
Q. On the financial backing and imminent foreign investment…... Autocar India is published by Sorabjee Automotive Communications Pvt. Ltd (SACPL), which is owned 100 per cent by Hormazd Sorabjee. With the change in laws that allow FDI in print media, the Haymarket group of publications has in principle agreed to invest in SACPL. The level of investment and shareholding has not yet been decided.
Q. On who is the king - content or the advertiser... Clearly content is king in Autocar India. We are possibly the only magazine, which as a policy does not give advertisements on the right hand page. That space is reserved for editorial. We are also reluctant to entertain innovations that affect the readability of the magazine. For example, we have stopped giving 'reverse gatefold' ads on the front cover as it damages the magazine after it is handled by the reader. We lose revenue as a result of these policies but we do not want to compromise the look and feel of the magazine. Besides, Autocar India has earned a reputation for calling a spade a spade giving both praise and criticism where it is due, in a balanced and objective manner.
Q. On future plans... We hope to consolidate our position as India's best automobile magazine by constantly fine-tuning and improving it. There are plans to launch other auto related titles subject to a feasibility study. Magazines like F1 Racing, the largest selling Formula One magazine in the world has a lot of potential in India, given the growing interest in the sport.
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