Michelin & Pirelli Top US OE Tyre Study

Results of the latest J.D. Power and Associates survey into OE tyre satisfaction levels in the US place Michelin and Pirelli on top in terms of positive consumer response. In the survey of 29,818 new-vehicle owners who purchased a 2008 or 2009 model-year vehicle, Michelin was ranked highest in the luxury, passenger car and truck/utility segments of the 2010 U.S. Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study, with strong results for tyre wearability recorded in the passenger car and luxury segments and for ride in the truck/utility segment. Pirelli came out on top in the performance sport segment and performed particularly well in the tyre appearance and tyre ride factors.

The study also found that a problem-free tyre experience during the first two years of ownership is crucial to maintaining brand advocacy. Nearly one-third of owners who hadn’t experienced any problems said they would recommend their tyre brand to a friend, while just 18 per cent of owners who experienced one problem said the same. Satisfaction among owners who do not experience any tyre problems is 726 (from a maximum possible rating of 1,000), compared with 590 among those who experience one or more problems.

“Providing a problem-free experience is extremely important to tyre manufacturers to ensure good word of mouth recommendations,” said Allison LaDuc, senior research manager of automotive product quality at J.D. Power and Associates. “A high-satisfaction experience is also crucial to securing brand-loyal customers, as satisfied customers are less likely to defect to other tyre brands.”

Another point unearthed by the study is that the adoption of tyre pressure monitoring systems in all vehicle models has resulted in an increase in the reported number of slow tyre leaks. Despite this, owner acceptance of the problem has increased. Original equipment tyre customers in their second year of vehicle ownership experience 13.4 problems per 100 vehicles due to slow leaks, an increase of 2.4 from 2009. Although this problem has become more common, tyre owners experiencing slow leaks tend to be more satisfied with their OE tyres, compared with owners experiencing other tyre problems, such as uneven wear or excessive road noise. Satisfaction among owners who experience slow leaks averages 607 on a 1,000-point scale, while satisfaction among those who experience uneven wear or excessive road noise averages 469 and 509, respectively.  Amongst owners whose tyres experienced slow leaks, 15 per cent of these owners said they “definitely will” recommend their tyre brand, compared with 11 per cent in 2009. In comparison, only three per cent of owners who experienced fast tread wear said they “definitely will” recommend their tyre brand.

“Owners are particularly dissatisfied with problems related to wear and traction, as they are more likely to result in the need to replace the tyres,” commented LaDuc. “Owners tend to expect some issues with slow leaks, which can more easily be repaired than other problems, so this issue has less of a negative impact on overall satisfaction.”

TPMS became standard on vehicles in the US as of the 2008 model-year, and it is thus no surprise that the average number of system warnings per vehicle during the past 12 months increased to 2.2 from 1.5 in 2009. Of those experiencing such a warning, 34 per cent took their vehicle to a dealer or repairer, up four per cent from the previous year. In 2010, 65 per cent of owners who received a warning said that they checked the tyres themselves, while just one per cent admitted ignoring the warning or taking no action.