J.D. Power Observation: JD Power 2017 China New Car Quality Research
From car body scratches to car odors, Chinese consumers' quality requirements have undergone a transition from "static quality" to "sensory quality." As the installation rate of high-tech and intelligent configuration increases, Chinese consumers may complain about the quality of technology. Manufacturers and industries need to anticipate these situations in advance and provide easy-to-use humanized technology products in order to avoid a new round of quality complaints from consumers. At the JD Power 2017 China New Car Quality Research (IQS) Industry Seminar, XD Juan, senior research director of JD Power China, explained how to avoid this problem.
High-quality "perceived quality" will make consumers feel value for money
During the 18 years that JD Power has continued to track and investigate Chinese consumers, Chinese consumers' attitudes toward "new car quality" have changed significantly.
In 2004, among the most important considerations for consumers in first-tier cities, product quality ranked eighth, and their importance only accounted for 3%; but by 2017, product quality has become the first consideration for consumers in first-tier cities The most important factor is the weight of up to 20.3%; in second-tier and third- and fourth-tier cities, product quality is also an important factor in addition to "recommendations by relatives and friends", accounting for 14.4% and 15.9%, respectively.
"Quality" certainly has an important reference value for consumers to buy cars, but grasping the "quality" in the eyes of consumers is not an easy task. Over the past decade or so, Chinese consumers' requirements for car quality have undergone a transition from "static quality" to "use quality" to "perceived quality".
Ten years ago, consumers focused on "static quality." "Static quality" refers to manufacturing and failure quality. At that time, when consumers mentioned the quality of cars, they focused on whether there were rust marks or scratches on the doors. When buying a car, consumers will always look at the front, back, left, and right of the vehicle, and carefully check it like a handicraft.
Five years ago, the quality mentioned by consumers referred more to "use quality". At that time, consumers' criteria for car quality may be related to the sound of closing doors. Consumers believe that the heavy vehicle materials are solid and the quality is guaranteed, otherwise the quality of the vehicle is difficult to guarantee.
Today, the quality of consumers' attention has changed from "use quality" to "perceived quality" centered on me. "Sensory quality" refers to the product characteristics that consumers can perceive (see, hear, touch, smell). For example, consumers need to close the doors and feel the smell in the car to evaluate whether the materials of the vehicle are environmentally friendly and whether the quality is up to standard. High-quality "perceived quality" will make consumers feel value for money.
Chinese consumers pay more attention to sensory quality, data source: JD Power 2017 China new car quality research
JD Power 2017 China New Car Quality Study (IQS) found that seven of the top ten problems reported by Chinese consumers are related to odor and murmurs / abnormal noises, which are "unpleasant odor in the car" and "tire noise." "Large", "Excessive wind noise", "Noisy brakes", "Noisy / abnormal noise from seats", "Abnormal noise from engines", and "Excessive noise from fans / blower".
High-tech and intelligent, may bring a new round of quality problems
Compared with Chinese consumers who pay attention to sensory quality, American consumers reflect more use quality problems and technology-related problems, such as "built-in voice recognition often fails to recognize / misunderstand commands" "built-in Bluetooth phones / devices often have pairing / connection problems" "Navigation system is not easy to understand and use / poor location" and "Media device interface is not easy to use / poor location".
The difference between Chinese and American consumers should be highly valued by manufacturers and industry, because the needs and complaints of American consumers today are likely to represent the voices of future Chinese consumers. With the increasing consumer demand for mobile life in the car and the development of Internet of Vehicle technology, the proportion of high-tech and intelligent products installed in the car has gradually increased. The installation of high-tech and intelligent products may trigger a new round of quality requirements from consumers.
JD Power 2017 China New Car Quality Study (IQS) found that the installation rate of automatic transmission system, built-in voice recognition system, built-in Bluetooth, panoramic sunroof, lane departure warning system, parking assist / reversing radar and automatic parking system were compared with 2016 There is an improvement, and the number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) is also increasing.
The increase in the installation rate of high-tech products will certainly bring a better and more pleasant user experience, but the question is whether these installations will make consumers feel easy to use, can they meet consumer expectations, and is it enough to be humanized? If it fails to do so, it may bring about new problems in consumers' perceived quality. For example, many vehicles now install smart large touch screens, but can the large touch screen meet the stability and response speed of the touch screen during vehicle shaking? This requires continuous experimentation by the manufacturers in order to bring high-tech and intelligent products into mature products to consumers.
Media Contact: Zhuang Qingmei +86 21 2208 0831 / shana.zhuang@jdpa.com
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