While economy motorcycles still account for more than half of new-motorcycle sales, the premium motorcycle segment has been steadily growing over the last three years. The premium motorcycle segment has posted strong sales growth over recent years and buyers in this segment report significantly different drivers of APEAL satisfaction as compared with buyers of other segments, according to the J.D. Power 2018 India Two-Wheeler Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (2WAPEAL) StudySM.
More than one-third (40%) of buyers in the premium segment cite “looks and styling" as the primary purchase reason, compared with only 9% of economy motorcycle buyers who say the same. Furthermore, premium motorcycle buyers perceive vehicle appeal very differently than buyers of economy motorcycles, placing more weight on looks and styling (19% vs. 16%, respectively) and ride and handling (16% vs. 13%).
“More than three-fourths of premium motorcycle buyers are 30 years or younger, and when this is combined with increasing disposable income, customers in this segment are looking to buy their dream motorcycle a lot sooner than ever before," said Kaustav Roy, Regional Director at J.D. Power.
The study also finds that premium motorcycle buyers have become increasingly internet-savvy during recent years, with 24% indicating having used the internet to shop for a new two-wheeler in 2017, as compared with 19% in 201.
However, increased internet shopping has not impacted their in-person involvement with the dealership. Amongst the five two-wheeler segments, the frequency rates of taking a test drive before purchase are still the highest amongst premium motorcycle buyers, having increased to 57% in 2017 from 52% in 2015.
Also Read: Tata Nexon Production Crosses 25,000 Mark Milestone!
The following are additional key findings of the study:
Initial quality has a strong influence: Satisfaction amongst owners who have not experienced any initial quality problems (63%) with their two-wheeler during ownership is 69 points higher—on a 1,000 point scale—than amongst those who have experienced a problem (861 vs. 792, respectively).
Explanation of features and benefits improves APEAL satisfaction: Overall satisfaction amongst owners who received an explanation about vehicle features and benefits during the delivery process (82%) averages 49 points higher than amongst those who did not receive such information (844 vs. 795, respectively).
Braking-related feature fitment rates increase: Fitment rates for front disc brakes have steadily increased over the last three years to 24% of all new two-wheelers sold in 2017. The proportion of customers who are delighted (providing a rating of 10 on a 10-point scale) with the braking responsiveness/ effort of their new two-wheeler increases to 25% when a disc brake is fitted, compared with 20% in the case when a drum brake is fitted.
Results by Segment
Award recipient segments include scooters (executive) and motorcycles (economy, executive, upper executive and premium).
In the scooter segment, TVS Jupiter (845) ranks highest amongst executive models.
In the motorcycle segment, TVS Star City Plus ranks highest (852) amongst economy models, and Hero Super Splendor (848) ranks highest amongst executive models. Suzuki Gixxer/ Gixxer SF (859) ranks highest amongst upper executive models, and TVS Apache RTR 180 (871) ranks highest amongst premium models.
The 2018 India Two-Wheeler Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (2WAPEAL) Study is based on evaluations from 9,981 owners who purchased a new two-wheeler between March 2017 and October 2017. The study includes 88 two-wheeler models from 10 makes, and was fielded from September-December 2017 in 45 cities across India.
Also Watch:
Comments
0 comment