Upper Executive & Premium Motorcycle Owners Become More Sensitive to Fuel Economy: JD Power
Amongst the factors that the study measures, upper executive motorcycle owners singled out fuel economy as the factor with the highest relative importance. The emphasis on fuel economy cited by this group of owners is highest amongst all two-wheeler segments.
An increase in petrol prices has resulted in owners of upper executive and premium motorcycles placing more importance on fuel economy when determining their product satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power 2019 India Two-Wheeler Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (2WAPEAL) StudySM released on Tuesday. JD Power has offices in North America, South America, Asia Pacific and Europe.
Amongst the factors that the study measures, upper executive motorcycle owners singled out fuel economy as the factor with the highest relative importance. The emphasis on fuel economy cited by this group of owners is highest amongst all two-wheeler segments. Additionally, the relative importance assigned to this factor by premium motorcycle owners has increased to a level similar to those for other two-wheeler segments.
The study also finds that the greater emphasis on fuel economy is largely due to an increase in fuel prices. While owners of upper executive and premium motorcycles this year obtain similar fuel mileage as the previous year, they report an 18% increase in monthly expenditure on fuel.
Rajat Agarwal, Two-Wheeler Industry Expert at J.D. Power said that while fuel economy has always been an important driver of satisfaction for two-wheeler owners in India, motorcycle owners in the upper executive and premium segments have, in the past, typically attached relatively lower importance to it. However, with increasing expenditures on fuel, there is a heightened sensitivity to fuel mileage amongst owners in these segments, resulting in the change in drivers of product satisfaction.
Following are some of the key findings of the study:
Fuel economy underperforms especially amongst scooter owners: While fuel economy is the lowest-performing factor across all two-wheeler segments, satisfaction scores among owners in the two scooter segments (executive and upper executive) are the lowest in the two-wheeler segments.
Initial quality has a strong influence: Satisfaction amongst owners who have not experienced any initial quality problems with their two-wheeler during ownership is 36 points higher than amongst those who have experienced a problem (786 vs. 750, respectively, on a 1,000-point scale).
Explanation of features and benefits improve APEAL score: Overall satisfaction amongst owners who received an explanation about vehicle features and benefits during the delivery process (88%) averages 41 points higher than amongst those who did not receive the same (773 vs. 732, respectively).
A strong correlation between APEAL score and loyalty and advocacy intentions: Among highly satisfied owners (APEAL score of 872 or higher), 75% say they “definitely will” recommend their purchased model and 56% “definitely will” repurchase the same make.
In contrast, among highly dissatisfied owners (APEAL score of 695 or lower), just 39% say they “definitely will” recommend their vehicle model and 25% “definitely will” repurchase the same brand.
The study is a key industry benchmark that measures how gratifying a new two-wheeler is to own and ride during the first two to six months of ownership.
