J.D.Power's
Report on Indian Cars 1998 |
|
The consumer opinion about a car will eventually
reflect in its sales figures. Since the last two years, however
the ‘voice’ of the car-owner in India has been ‘compiled’,
analyzed and formally reported by J.D. Power and Associates,
the company which specializes in consumer studies for the
automobile segment.
While the Report has not been publicized,
excerpts from the study throw interesting light on consumer
preferences and their sentiment about the current Indian Car
Market.
The 1998 JD Power and Associates Report carried
out two major studies:
|
Indian Initial Quality Study (IIQS),
and
APEAL (Automotive performance Execution
And Layout)
India Initial Quality Study (IIQS)
|
The IIQS evaluated the cars after 90 days
of ownership, assessing the performance of the car,
and expectations & problems faced by car-owners.
The evaluation was done on the following specific nine parameters
(features):
|
THE FEATURES CONSIDERED IN IIQS
- Engine
- Transmission
- Vehicle Exterior
- Vehicle Interior
- Features and Controls
- Ride and Handling
- Seats
- Heating, Ventilation and Cooling
- Sound system
- Engine
| Each car (brand) was surveyed
for problems faced by consumers as regards the above mentioned
parameters of the car.
Top 10 problems encountered
in Indian Cars were:
|
- Excessive fuel consumption
- Hard to open/close (doors/trunk)
- Noisy brakes
- Gaps / Poor fit
- Manual transmission hard to
operate
- Ride problem
- Wind noise problem
- Seat problems
- Door locks problem
- Seat adjustment problem
PROBLEMS PER 100 VEHICLES’ (PP100V)
IN TOP INDIAN CARS:
|
Rank
|
Car
|
Total PP100V
|
|
1.
|
Honda
City |
121
|
|
2.
|
Ford
Escort |
202
|
|
3.
|
Daewoo
Cielo |
226
|
|
4.
|
Maruti
Zen |
299
|
|
5.
|
Opel
Astra |
304
|
|
6.
|
Fiat
Uno |
369
|
|
7.
|
Maruti
Esteem |
380
|
|
8.
|
Maruti
800 |
413
|
B.) APEAL (Automotive Performance
Execution And Layout)
While IIQS deals with the expectations and
problems faced by the Indian consumer, the APEAL Study
essentially discusses the features that the consumer
liked most about his car. A segment-wise (small, mid-size
and MUV) evaluation was done on all the cars, on 8 features
/ parameters. (each feature was given a different weightage.
The weightage for the same feature was different for cars
in different segments - as can be seen from the table below)
The total 'APEAL' scores were
calculated out of a maximum of 1000 points.
|
PARAMETERS EVALUATED IN APEAL
|
Vehicle Characteristics
rated in APEAL
|
Weightage
Given (%)
|
|
Small Car
|
Mid-size
|
Multi-Util.
|
| Engine
& transmission performance |
33.6 (1)
|
30.4 (1)
|
25.7 (2)
|
| Vehicle
styling / Exterior |
19.4 (2)
|
6.6 (4)
|
9.4 (5)
|
| Comfort
and convenience |
19.2 (3)
|
2.2 (7)
|
0.8 (8)
|
| Cockpit
and Instrument Panel |
12.1 (4)
|
0.3 (8)
|
10.1 (4)
|
| Ride
and Handling |
8.5 (5)
|
20.5 (3)
|
28.4 (1)
|
| Seats |
6.0 (6)
|
2.7 (6)
|
13.2 (3)
|
| Heating
Ventilation and cooling |
0.9 (7)
|
33.5 (2)
|
4.0 (7)
|
| Sound
system |
0.3 (8)
|
3.7 (5)
|
8.3 (6)
|
APEAL ‘SCORES’ OF TOP CARS IN INDIA
(SEGMENT WISE)
|
|
|
