YOKOHAMA Rubber Co., Ltd., ranked first in the . D. Power Asia Pacific’s 2012 China Original Equipment (OE) Tyre Satisfaction Index Study. The citation will be marked during a ceremony held in April at an automotive show in Shanghai. Geoff Broderick, Vice President and General Manager of J. D. Power and Associates Asia-Pacific presented a plaque to Koichi Tanaka, Chairman and President of Yokohama Rubber (China).
According to the J.D. Power index study, the tyre maker has topped the overall satisfaction with 843 points, based on durability, handling and ride.
The research firm also noted that customer satisfaction with OE tyres influence their choice of replacement tyres.
Amongst customers who were highly satisfied (856 points or higher), more than 36% said they would buy the same tyre brand for their replacement tyres. Replacement rate with the same tyre brand is 26% higher among customers who are pleased with their original tyres, compared with those who expressed disappointment.
The study, which covered 187 vehicle models and included 19 tyre brands, gauges new vehicle owners’ satisfaction with OE tyres within the first 12 to 24 months of ownership, indexing satisfaction on a 1,000-point scale. J.D. Power conducted the study for the period of February to May 2012, amongst 12,066 respondents who bought a new vehicle between February 2010 and May 2011.