Mrf, Bridgestone Top In Consumer Satisfaction

Domestic tyre maker MRF Ltd was ranked highest in customer satisfaction along with multinational Bridgestone in a study conducted by consulting firm JD Power Asia Pacific. Bridgestone was the top ranked tyre manufacturer in last year's survey.

Both the companies had an identical score of 742 points in the 2002 Tyre Customer Satisfaction Index (TCSI) study which examined customer satisfaction with original tyres at 12-18 months of ownership, a JD Power release stated.

However, there has been a substantial decline in the scores awarded to the top players over last year's scores. Bridgestone and MRF had scored 751 and 745 units, respectively in the previous year.

Competitors such as Goodyear, JK Tyres and Ceat were ranked below the industry average of 736 index points. But JK Tyres and Goodyear recorded improvements over 2001.

RPG group's Ceat Tyres, which was ranked second in last year's survey, registered the sharpest decline in the survey, slipping to the last position with a score of 720 units against 747 units last year. Consequently, the industry average was also lowered by two units this year to 736 units.

"The top TCSI score for both Bridgestone and MRF was driven by strong performance on appearance and wearability, factors that contribute more than 75 per cent to the index," Rajeev Lochan, business manager, JD Power, Asia-Pacific, said.

The 2002 study was based on feedback from more than 2,600 owners of 23 different models and overall performance was primarily assessed with respect to four factors -- appearance, wearability, traction and highway performance.

JD Power Asia Pacific is an arm of JD Power and Associates, a global automotive marketing information services firm headquartered in California, and operates in business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction.