Cars have a soul and Indian consumers are keeping it perfectly alive by using car air fresheners: Bonafide Research

Expanding automobile industry, rising disposable income and changing preferences of consumers for luxurious, adoring & exotic fragrances has opened new avenues for the growth of car air fresheners in India. Over the course of car ownership, bad odours eventually make their way to the interior of car. A car air freshener is used to make a car’s inner environment pleasant & fresh by eliminating bad odour. Car fresheners are very effective and a popular product in the global market. They are widely available in various fragrances and forms. The major driver of this product is its mood enhancing aroma that makes a happy, fresh & pleasant driving experience for the global users and this is expected to fuel the market demand in India as well. Increasing preference and usage of numerous organic & natural aroma elements by global manufacturers for product differentiation has aided the market growth of the product. There has been an insurgence of new and innovative products in the car air fresheners market and people are experimenting with newer products to enliven their car's ambience. According to recent published report of Bonafide Research, "India Air Care Market Overview, 2016-2022", the car freshener market of the country is anticipated to grow with more than 16% CAGR in the next five years. Cars are becoming an important vehicle in modern Indian society and thus taking care of it has also become an essential part of people's daily lives. Today, having a car air freshener is considered as important as having car serviced at regular intervals. The car is ought to smell fresh as a lot of time is spend travelling in it. Also, keeping in mind the current scenario of Indian traffic, people spend a lot of time commuting from one place to another. Hence, it is becoming more vital that the car smells good and fresh, especially in summer time. Car air fresheners, normally distributed as automotive products, demonstrate similar importance as home air fresheners. Increasing demand for cars and the consumers desire to use appealing fragrances to maintain freshness in the cars are boosting the market for car air fresheners. Some drivers won’t have an air freshener near their car; others won’t hit the road without one. But as hundreds of thousands of these products are sold every year, it’s no surprise to see makers coming up with all manner of fragrances to tap into this lucrative market. Manufacturers are leaving no stone unturned in their attempts to educate consumers about the products they offer, however it still has a long way to go. Today, consumer needs are more sophisticated and demand goes beyond mere fragrance to air purification and wellness. Air fresheners no longer impart just a pleasant smell/aroma, but are also touted by manufacturers to posses healing and curative properties. Leading players in the car freshener market of India are P&G and Godrej. P&G's Ambi Pur and Godrej's Aer are the major market capturing brands in this category. Apart from the traditional vent sticks, spray/aerosols, gel and block air fresheners are also used in the car by Indian consumers. However, these products will lose market share in coming years as people will move only towards vent sticks. Major companies operating in the air care market of India are Dabur India Limited, Godrej Consumer Products Limited, J.K. Helene Curtis Limited, Procter & Gamble Home Products Private Limited and Reckitt Benckiser (India) Private Limited.