Michelin Voted Top in Customer Satisfaction

According to a Japanese survey, Michelin ranks number one when it comes to customer satisfaction with the tyres their new compact, passenger and 4×4 vehicles come fitted with. Customer satisfaction research specialists J.D. Power Asia Pacific conducted a study measuring customer satisfaction with the OE tyres on four segments of new vehicle, checking how well they fared in terms of appearance, handling/traction, ride/quietness and durability/reliability.

The appearance of a tyre seems to be the most significant factor determining a customer’s satisfaction, with appearance accounting for nearly 30 per cent in each segment. After appearance, handling and traction was also deemed to be important for keeping the customer satisfied, particularly in the passenger car segment, where again Michelin received the highest score.

Michelin came out in front in three of the four vehicle types studied. In the mini-van segment the honours fell to Bridgestone, who performed especially well in the areas of ride/quietness and durability/reliability.
The study also revealed a correlation between customer satisfaction and rim diameter – the larger the tyre’s rim diameter, the happier the customer was with their tyre. This phenomenon was most apparent in the passenger car and 4 x 4 segments. A further finding of the study was that almost 60 per cent of customers say they plan to replace their OE tyres with the same brand when it is time for new tyres.

The study was based on the responses of 6,010 new car owners (excluding mini-car owners) who have owned their vehicles between seven and 18 months.