JK Tyre Tops JD Power Customer Satisfaction Study

The J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2009 India Original Equipment (OE) Tire Customer Satisfaction Index (TCSI) StudySM  ranks JK Tyre the highest with a score of 811 out of 1000. MRF closely follows at 804. These two are the only companies with scores higher than the Industry average of 798.

The 2009 Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Index Study is based on responses from 3,363 new vehicle owners surveyed between 12 and 18 months of ownership. The study was fielded between May and August 2008.

OE Tire Customer Satisfaction Index
OE Tire Customer Satisfaction Index

JD Power Study Findings:

  • The percentage of customers reporting a problem with their original tires has increased from 19 percent in 2008 to 22 percent in 2009.
  • JK Tyre posts the greatest improvement since 2008 among the brands included in the study across all parameters.
  • A notable shift in customer tire maintenance behavior in 2009, compared with 2008 –  increase in the proportion of customers using organized service providers—such as selling dealerships and tire manufacturer stores—rather than roadside tire servicing workshops.
  • Customer satisfaction with original equipment tires has a strong impact on brand loyalty and advocacy for replacement tires. Customers who are highly satisfied (with satisfaction levels averaging above 884) are twice as likely to recommend or repurchase their current tire brand when buying replacement tires, compared with customers who are less satisfied.

Sushil’s thoughts:

  • One has to take these satisfaction numbers with a whole lot of salt and pepper and chillie powder – just 3,363 new vehicle owners were surveyed. Last year in 2008 March to 2009 March Maruti alone sold over 7,00,000 vehicles, and Hyundai and Tata did around 2,00,000 each. This is a very tiny sample of the number of vehicles sold last year. Not anywhere near enough coverage. I would love to find out what the distribution of the above manufacturers vehicles were in the total sample.
  • Is it possible the numbers for JK Tyre have had a positive  impact due to being the OE tires for Maruti Cars ?
  • Is the quality reducing if more people are finding issues ? 19% increasing to 22% ? Not Good !
  • The part about satisfaction determining repeat business –  is it true ? Or just out of laziness/lack of information on the part of the customer ? It is easier to stick to the same brand than more to another ?
  • Few customers actually look into understanding their vehicles tyre specifications and think if  the OE tyres are safe/adequate in the first place. For example the stock Maruti Swift VDI/VXI/LXI trim levels come with 165 wide tyres. These may be adequate for sedate driving in the city but the moment you get onto highways and at higher speeds  it looses grip. However just a few owners of the Swifts have gone in for aftermarket upgrades of the tires.
  • I have to agree with going in for more organized outfits becoming more popular for the maintenance of the tires- this has to be an offshoot of more people going in for new vehicles and sticking to the recommended service intervals and service guidelines. 
  • I have also seen highly educated people with enough money to spare running their vehicles on bald treadless tires just to eke out a few more miles before replacing their tires.   
  • In an emergency the roadside puncturewallah is still sought after. Unless of course you have tubeless tires or have Nitrogen filled tires in which case the fancier repair dudes are required.

Source:  Published by J.D. Power Asia Pacific as part of the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2009 India Original Tire Customer Satisfaction Index Study.

Updated : May 5th: AThandapani via Twitter brought up a very valid point that the 18 month duration used in the study doesnt make sense since issues rarely happen with tires in the first 18 months. Unless of course you  have a puncture. Routine issues are rare.

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Indian Market – New Vehicles Available (Part 1)

I have always been curious about the mass of information available in Auto magazines and the Internet on the various vehicle brands, models, variants, body-styles and price segments currently available in India.  I realized there was a lot of reference material available but nothing consolidated in one place. So I went about collecting as much as I could. So here it goes- My study on new vehicle types currently available for a buyer in the Indian market and primarily focused on Chennai. Most prices used are Chennai ex-showroom prices with some vehicles using a Mumbai price. I spent some time trying to categorize the vehicles by their price brackets and found it wasn’t easy to do but here’s my shot at it. 

A Maruti 800
Image via Wikipedia

 I call the various groups “segments” just to minimize confusion and they start at A with the cheapest and smallest vehicles with the least number of features and move through B, C and D where the cost , size and feature list increases.Beyond a price of 25 Lakhs I have called the segment as a “Z” segment which comprises the true luxury vehicles available in India.

The ASegment starts off currently with the Maruti 800 – but soon I will have to update it with the Tata Nano.

This grouping will be used all through my subsequent posts. Have a look at the following graph for the starting price points for the various segments and a more detailed sub section as well.

1-subsegments 

[…]

Waiting for the Tata Nano

Why should you buy the Tata Nano ?

The Tata Nano fits the budget for a small first/additional car. Taxes and insurance will not add much to the overall price of the car.

It is a definite improvement in safety and convenience over a two wheeler

nano1

It is the best size for crowded city streets and for peak traffic.

It gives good mileage (supposedly around 20 km/l)

It will be easy to park due to its size.

It will be easy to maintain due to the wide reach of Tata dealerships.

It will have reasonable maintenance costs since the input parts itself are capped within the 1 lakh mark.

The cost of parts for the Nano will come down drastically after around 2-3 years with mass volumes appearing. (I am very curious to know what kind of warranty would be provided by Tata for the Nano. An extended warranty, if provided, would have me signing up for it even on day one. I have the benefit of the extended warranty on our current cars and have seen the benefits. I’ve also seen the amount of money one can burn if you don’t have the extended warranty.)

If there is an option with an auto transmission it may be the best option for a driver not comfortable with driving in the city or novice in driving

Most cars depreciate almost the second you sign the papers paying your advance amount for booking it. In this case the Nano due to its high demand will not depreciate as much as other cars and as soon as the others. As it is most used car dealers are worried about being able to sell used cars at prices between INR 80,000 to 2,00,000 as most people when given that kind of budget may take a serious look at the Nano instead of a used car.

You will be able to buy a new car for around 1.25 -1.5 lakhs and still be able to spend even up to 30,000 rupees in accessorizing the cars. I am waiting to see a pimped out Nano with oversized alloy wheels and low profile tyres blasting out tunes painted in garish colors and with all possible spoilers and extra fittings in chrome added to it!

[…]