J.D. Power’s 2019 Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study surveyed 27,777 owners of 2017 and 2018 vehicles. An article posted on March 21st by Modern Tire Dealer spotlighted Michelin with most of the top scores. Nothing new there. More interesting is the consumers distaste for the paltry amount of miles their OE tires deliver and the fact that they might not buy the same brand of vehicle again because of the
tires.
Brent Gruber, (surely no relation to Hans... let’s pause while the Millenial's google
Hans Gruber
) senior director of the automotive quality practice at JD Power, says, “There is a big disconnect between consumers’ expectation for the life of their OE tires and their actual experience, which we find not only influences how likely owners are to repurchase the same brand of tire, but also how likely they are to repurchase the same brand of vehicle. Wear is the biggest influence on tire satisfaction and, when unhappy owners need to replace their tires due to rapid wear, they place blame on the tire manufacturer but also on the vehicle manufacturer.”
In the survey, consumers reported replacing full sets of tires at just more than 26,000 miles on average, even though they expected more than 40,000 miles on average. “Based on typical driving habits, that could result in costly purchases a full year earlier than expected, or worse yet, an unexpected replacement just before turning in a leased vehicle,” Gruber says. “That type of experience can make it very challenging to maintain owner loyalty.” When vehicle satisfaction rates were extremely high, and tire satisfaction was less than ideal, only 62% of owners said they would “definitely” repurchase the vehicle brand.
That’s a great deal of pressure on the car companies to pick the right tires. Match that with corporate average fuel economy goals that favor shallow tread depths for low rolling resistance and they’re in a fine pickle. To read the whole story click
HERE.
