For Japanese businesses

Market research in India for Japan companies

Japanese firms in auto, electronics and consumer goods study Indian demand and dealer networks. We plan, field and analyse the work in India, and report it in English on your clock.

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Quick answer

Market Research India is an India-based research consultancy that works for clients in Japan. You contract with us directly — no Indian entity needed — and we run market entry, B2B and consumer studies across 50 Indian cities, invoiced in USD, reported in English, with readouts at 2:00 pm JST.

Proposal in 24 hours
Scoped, itemised and fixed-fee.
50 cities, 14 languages
Our own supervised field teams.
Senior-led, NDA-first
A research director on every project.

2,400+

Projects delivered

Cities with field teams

Industries covered

Indian languages

Why Japanese companies research India first

Japanese investment in India is long-horizon and network-heavy: plants, dealer chains, after-sales infrastructure. The research questions follow from that. How is the dealer network actually performing, which quality attributes will an Indian buyer pay a premium for, and how fast is the two- and three-wheeler fleet moving to electric? Our deliverables are built so the method, sample and assumptions stand up to a head-office review in Tokyo.

Dealer and after-sales networks
Auto and durables brands live or die on the network. Dealer audits, mystery visits and channel interviews show how it behaves when nobody is watching.
Quality at an Indian price
Product and concept testing settles which Japanese quality standards Indian buyers will pay for and which they simply will not notice.
The electric transition
Switching to electric two- and three-wheelers is a question of charging access, running-cost maths and resale confidence, measured buyer by buyer.
Evidence that survives head office
Japanese approval processes need documented sampling, instruments and assumptions. We write the annexes expecting them to be read closely.

How a cross-border engagement runs

You are commissioning fieldwork in a market you cannot supervise in person, so the process is built around visibility: you see the instrument before it goes out, the progress while it is in field, and the assumptions behind every number that comes back.

1
Brief and mutual NDA
A 45-minute scoping call in your window — 1:00–6:00 pm JST is 9:30 am–2:30 pm in India, so a Tokyo afternoon call reaches the field team mid-shift. Readouts are usually booked at 2:00 pm JST. We sign a mutual NDA before the brief is discussed in any detail, so nothing commercially sensitive travels unprotected.
2
Proposal and fixed costing
Within 24 hours you get a written proposal: objectives, method, sample plan by city, field timeline and a fixed fee in USD. No Indian entity, agent or local partner is required on your side to commission it.
3
Instrument design and translation
We draft the questionnaire or discussion guide in English for your sign-off, then translate it into the languages of each fieldwork city and back-translate so you can see exactly what was asked.
4
Fieldwork across Chennai, Delhi NCR, Pune and Bangalore and beyond
Our own supervised teams collect the data, with GPS tagging, audio back-checks and independent validation of a share of every interviewer's work. You get a progress tracker, not silence.
5
Analysis, modelling and quality control
Weighting, cross-tabulation and — where the brief calls for it — a sizing or pricing model whose assumptions are all visible and all editable by you.
6
Readout on your clock
A live debrief at a time that suits you (2:00 pm JST is the usual slot), an English report and deck, the clean dataset, and two weeks of follow-up questions included.

The commercial and legal basics, from Japan

These are the questions overseas buyers ask before a brief is even written, so we answer them up front rather than in the small print of a proposal.

Working with us from abroad

Contracting: You contract directly with our Indian entity from Japan. No subsidiary, local agent or joint venture is needed on your side to commission a study.
Invoicing: Quoted and invoiced in USD; USD, EUR, GBP or INR are all available if your finance team prefers another. Payment stages are agreed in the proposal, not after the fact.
Confidentiality: A mutual NDA is signed before the brief is discussed in detail, and we never name a client or quote a finding publicly without written permission.
Data protection: NDA-first handling, named-access-only storage, encrypted transfer and deletion of raw files on your instruction.
IP and ownership: Instruments, transcripts, the clean dataset and the report are yours. We keep no right to resell commissioned findings to anyone else.
Language: English end to end for you. Instruments are translated for fieldwork in Indian languages and back-translated so the record shows exactly what respondents were asked.
Observing fieldwork: Focus groups stream live from viewing facilities with simultaneous English translation, and interview recordings and transcripts are shared as fieldwork progresses.
Calls and readouts: 1:00–6:00 pm JST is 9:30 am–2:30 pm in India, so a Tokyo afternoon call reaches the field team mid-shift. Readouts are usually booked at 2:00 pm JST.
Typical programme: 7–10 weeks from signed brief to readout for a multi-city entry study; shorter for a single-city or online-only read.

Where your data sits

Confidentiality is set before the brief: a mutual NDA, named-access-only storage, encrypted transfer of every file, and no reuse of your material in another client's work. Raw files are deleted on your instruction, and delivered datasets are pseudonymised unless you need identifiers for follow-up.

Scope of work

Studies that fit an India entry plan

These six carry most Japanese entry programmes, roughly in the order they are commissioned: size the opportunity, test whether it is reachable, then price and position against the incumbents.

Sector focus

Where Japanese capital goes in India

Automotive leads the corridor, but most programmes touch two or three of these. Each sector page sets out the audiences we recruit and the questions that category usually needs answered.

Sequencing

Where to start in India

Start with 4 metros — Chennai, Delhi NCR, Pune and Bangalore — which between them carry most of the demand Japanese entrants are chasing. Once the proposition holds there, extend the same instrument to Gurugram, Nashik, Coimbatore and Indore to see whether it scales past the metros, where it usually costs less to grow.

Before you brief us

Frequently asked questions

How do Japanese companies commission research in India without an entity here?

You contract directly with our Indian entity from Japan. Send a brief by email or take a scoping call, we sign a mutual NDA, and a written proposal with a fixed fee follows within 24 hours. Everything after that — recruitment, translation, fieldwork, supervision and analysis — is run by our own teams on the ground.

Which currency do you invoice in, and how do payments work?

We quote and invoice in USD, and can switch to USD, EUR, GBP or INR if your finance team prefers. Payment stages are set out in the proposal before you sign, and we bill by international bank transfer against a standard invoice your accounts team can process.

How is our data protected once it leaves our side?

Who owns the data, the instruments and the report?

You do. The questionnaire or discussion guide, the recordings and transcripts, the clean dataset and the final report are all yours on completion. We retain no right to resell commissioned findings, and we do not fold your data into a syndicated product.

Can our team in Japan observe the fieldwork?

Yes. Focus groups are streamed live from our viewing facilities with simultaneous English translation, so you can watch from Japan and send questions to the moderator in real time. Depth interviews are recorded and transcribed, and some clients fly in for a field visit during the first wave.

What does a multi-city India study cost, and how long does it take?

Cost depends on sample size, audience difficulty and how many cities you cover; a senior B2B study of 40 interviews prices very differently from a 2,000-respondent consumer survey. A typical multi-city entry programme runs 7–10 weeks from signed brief to readout, usually starting with Chennai, Delhi NCR, Pune and Bangalore. Share a brief and you get a fixed quote within 24 hours.

Engagement facts

Time difference: 3.5 hours apart
Usual readout slot: 2:00 pm JST
Invoiced in: USD or INR
Reporting language: English
Before any brief: Mutual NDA
Field coverage: 50 Indian cities

See how projects run

Keep exploring

Build your India programme from Japan

Cities, studies and sectors that matter to a Japanese entry, grouped so you can scope the brief before you send it. Typical programme: 7–10 weeks, with readouts at 2:00 pm JST.

India's metros

Every entry programme starts with some combination of these eight cities.

Tier 2 cities worth adding

Ranked by how closely each city's industrial base matches what Japanese companies invest in here.

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Sectors Japanese companies research

Each sector page covers the audiences, questions and methods we work with most there.

Sector and city deep dives

Where Automotive and Consumer Durables & Electronics meet a specific Indian market.

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Other countries we work with

The same cross-border model, run for buyers in eleven other markets.

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Next step

From Japan to India, with evidence behind every step.