A Study on Consumer Preference and Satisfaction towards Sedan Cars in Coimbatore City Dr. N.Yesodha Devi Principal PSGR Krishnammal College for Women Peelamedu, Coimbatore 4 Mrs. C.Gomathy Head of the Department, Department of B.Com (AM) PSGR Krishnammal College for Women Peelamedu, Coimbatore 4 e-mail id: hod-am@psgrkc.com Mrs.R.Krishnakumari Assistant Professor Department of B.Com (CA) PSGR Krishnammal College for Women Peelamedu, Coimbatore 4 ABSTRACT Motor car is one of the commonly used conveyances by the upper and middle class people. Before two decades only few industrialists and rich people had cars, but after the industrialization, earning capacity among the middle class has also increased. Now a day s motor car is not only bought for social status, but it is felt as a necessary one. The present research on Customer preference and satisfaction towards SEDAN cars in Coimbatore city has been prepared based on the survey conducted to study the awareness level and satisfaction of customers with regard to SEDAN car in Coimbatore city. The sample size of the study is 152 and a questionnaire is prepared to collect the primary data.convenient sampling method is adopted. The data collected has been analyzed using percentage analysis, chi- and ANOVA. The results have been obtained based on the tools applied in the study. Key words: consumer, preference, satisfaction, Sedan car, social status INTRODUCTION Motor car is one of the commonly used conveyances by the upper and middle class people. Before two decades only few industrialists and rich people had cars, but after the industrialization, earning capacity among the middle class has also increased. Now a day s motor car is not only bought for social status, but it is felt as a necessary one. The present report on Customer preference and satisfaction towards SEDAN cars in Coimbatore city has been prepared based on the survey conducted to study the awareness level and satisfaction of customers with regard to SEDAN car in Coimbatore city. SEDAN CARS Global Wisdom Research Publications All Rights Reserved. 36
Sedan is a family type car with front and rear passenger seating. A sedan car is a passenger car with two rows of seats and adequate passenger space in the rear compartment for adult passengers. The vehicle usually has a separate rear trunk for luggage. Sedan car is also known as saloon car is very famous selection for any family. The compact size, the cost, and the great handling are three of the most important reason why family or personal chooses a sedan car. These cars provide exceptional value for any person to buy this car either for work or for leisure. The selection is also done based on the customer rating. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Due to the emergence of globalization and liberalization there is a stiff competition among the variety of car industries which are focusing attention in capturing the Indian markets. Cars though considered as luxury once, now occupies a part of day to day life and has become a necessity. People who were not ready to spend their money on luxuries have now changed their attitude that yesterday s luxuries are today s necessities. To be a successful marketer it is absolutely essential to read the minds and perceptions of the prospective buyers of cars. In addition to the above, the due weightage which is given by the government for the growth of car industry and the involvement of the consumers in the selection of car have paved way for the study on Consumer Preference and Satisfaction towards Sedan Cars in Coimbatore City OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 1. To ascertain the brand of sedan car most preferred by the respondents. 2. To study about the satisfaction level of customers using SEDAN cars. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The study is based on the primary data collected from 152 respondents in Coimbatore city, who have purchased SEDAN cars. Convenience sampling technique has been used to select the sample respondents. The data has been collected with the help of a well structured questionnaire. Percentages, Chi- test, ANOVA test have been applied to fulfill the objectives of the study. Results and Analysis: GENERAL PROFILE Table -1 Respondents Grid- Demographic Pattern Personal Factors Classification Frequency Percentage Below 25 years 32 21.0 Age 26-35 years 66 43.0 36-45 years 33 22.0 Above 45 years 21 14.0 Gender Male 104 68.5 Female 48 31.5 Marital Status Married 89 58.5 Education qualification Unmarried 63 41.5 No formal education 25 16.5 School level 38 25.0 Graduate 46 30.5 Global Wisdom Research Publications All Rights Reserved. 37
Post graduate 43 28.0 Occupation Student 31 20.5 Business 72 47.5 Agriculture 16 10.5 Professional 31 20.0 Others (specify) 2 1.5 Monthly income Below Rs.10000 54 35.5 Rs.10001-20000 55 36.0 Rs.20001-30000 26 17.0 Above Rs.30000 17 11.5 Number of members in a family Source : Primary Data Below 3 members 14 9.5 3-5 members 41 27.0 4-5 members 77 50.5 Above 5 members 20 13.0 In the above table, 68.5% of the male respondents have constituted the major portion of the sample.20% of the respondents are in the age group of 26-35 years, 58.5% of the married respondents have been educated up to Under Graduate level (30.5%). 47.5% of the Business man respondents have monthly income ranges between Rs.20001-40000. 27% of the respondents have 3-5 members in their family. Table -2 Respondents Grid Brand of Car Brand of SEDAN car No. of Respondents Percentage City Zx 14 9.0 Indigo 21 14.0 Octavia 12 8.0 Swift Dzire 21 14.0 Lancer 22 14.5 Fiesta 25 16.5 Jetta 11 7.0 Accent 22 14.5 Other brands 4 2.5 Total 152 100 Source-primary data Table 2 indicates that, 9% of the respondents own city zx, 14% of the respondents own Indigo, 8% of the respondents own Octavia, 14% of the respondents own swift dzire, 14.5% of the respondents own Lancer, 16.5% of the respondents own fiesta, 7% the respondents own jetta, 14.5% of the respondents own Accent and 2.5% of the respondents own other sedan cars. Global Wisdom Research Publications All Rights Reserved. 38
Table 3- Satisfaction Level Factors Power Quality Driving comfort Space Technology Mileage Handling Maintenance Safety Breaking A/c After service sales No. of res. Poor Average Good Excellent total No 3 12 57 80 152 % 2.0 8.0 37.5 52.5 100 No 1 13 70 68 152 % 0.5 8.5 46.0 45.0 100 No 1 22 61 68 152 % 1.0 14.5 40.0 44.5 100 No 1 20 78 53 152 % 0.5 13.0 51.5 35.0 100 No 3 20 63 66 152 % 2.0 13.0 41.5 43.5 100 No 3 44 45 60 152 % 2.0 29.0 30.0 39.0 100 No 4 29 87 32 152 % 2.5 19.0 57.5 21.0 100 No 0 48 69 35 152 % 0 31.5 45.5 23.0 100 No 3 23 75 51 152 % 2.0 15.0 49.5 33.5 100 No 4 33 69 46 152 % 2.5 21.5 45.5 30.5 100 No 6 26 64 56 152 % 4.0 17.0 42.0 37.0 100 No 13 60 49 30 152 % 8.5 39.5 30.0 20.0 100 Table 3 shows that, 52.5% of the respondents have excellent level of satisfaction towards power and maintenance, 46% of the respondents satisfaction level is good towards quality, 44.5% of the respondents have excellent level of satisfaction towards driving comfort, 51.5% of the respondents have excellent level of satisfaction towards space, 43.5% of the respondents have excellent level of satisfaction towards technology,39% of the respondents have excellent level of satisfaction towards mileage, 57.5% of the respondents have excellent level of satisfaction towards handling, 49.5% of the respondents have excellent level of satisfaction towards safety of car, 45.5% of the respondents have excellent level of satisfaction towards breaking, 42% of the respondents have excellent level of satisfaction towards air conditioner and 39.5% of the respondents have excellent level of satisfaction towards after sales service of car Global Wisdom Research Publications All Rights Reserved. 39
Results of Chi- Square Null Hypothesis Ho: There is no significant relationship between the personal factors and brand of sedan car owned by the respondents. Table 4 Demographic variables and Brand of sedan car Personal factors Chi Df P.Value Sig / NS Age group 20.841 24.648 NS Sex 9.273 8.320 NS Marital status 11.473 8.176 NS Educational qualification 28.245 24.250 NS Occupation 32.711 32.432 NS Monthly income 26.493 24.329 NS No. of members in the family 25.995 24.353 NS Source-primary data S- Significant; NS - Not significant chi- result shows that, there is no significant relationship between personal factors and sedan car owned by the respondents. Results of ANOVA Ho: There is no significant difference among the age group and Satisfaction levels of cars. Table No.5 Satisfaction Level of Cars and Age Group variation s 11.414 3 3.805 0.301 0.824 1868.685 148 12.626 Source-primary data With the significant value of 0.824 it is clear that there is significant difference between the age group and satisfaction level of cars Ho: There is no significant difference between the satisfaction level of cars and sex Table No. 6 Satisfaction Level of Cars and Gender variation s 40.273 0 1 3.283 0.075 1839.825 148 150 12.266 Global Wisdom Research Publications All Rights Reserved. 40
With the significant value of 0.075 it is clear that there is significant difference between the satisfaction level of cars and Gender. Ho: There is no significant difference between the satisfaction level of cars and marital status Table No.7 Satisfaction Level of Car and Marital Status variation s 22.090 1 22.090 1.783 0.184 1858.008 150 12.387 Source-primary data With the significant value of 0.184 it is clear that there is significant difference between the satisfaction level of cars and marital status Ho: There is no significant difference between the satisfaction level of cars and educational qualification Table No.7 satisfaction level of car and educational qualification variation s 192.328 3 64.106 5.621.001 1687.787 148 11.404 With the significant value of 0.001 it is clear that there is no significant difference between the satisfaction level of cars and educational qualification Ho: There is no significant difference between the satisfaction level of cars and occupation. Table No.8 Satisfaction Level of Cars and Occupation variation s 37.082 4 9.270.739 0.567 1843.017 147 12.536 Source-Primary data With the significant value of 0.567 it is clear that there is significant difference between the satisfaction level of cars and occupation as calculated value of ANOVA is higher than the table value of 5% level of significance. Ho: There is no significant difference between the satisfaction level of cars and No. of members in the family. Global Wisdom Research Publications All Rights Reserved. 41
Table No.9 Satisfaction level of Cars and No. of Members in the Family variation s 7.387 3 2.462 0.195 0.900 1672.711 148 12.653 With the significant value of 0.900 it is clear that there is significant difference between the satisfaction level of cars and No. of members in the family as calculated value of ANOVA is higher than the table value of 5% level of significance. Ho: There is no significant difference between the satisfaction level of cars and monthly income. Table No.10 - Satisfaction level of Car and Monthly Income variation s 26.879 3 8.960 0.716 0.544 1853.220 148 12.522 With the significant value of 0.544 it is clear that there is significant difference between the satisfaction level of cars and monthly income as calculated value of ANOVA is higher than the table value of 5% level of significance. FINDINGS The following are the research findings: Majority of the respondents belong to the age group of 26 35 years. Majority of the respondents are male. Majority of the respondents are married. Majority of the respondents are educated upto college level. As per survey, most of the respondents are doing business. The study reveals that most of the respondents who own SEDAN car earn from Rs.20, 001 Rs. 40,000 per month. As per survey most of the respondents have 4-5 members in their family. There is no significant relationship between personal factors and sedan car owned by the respondents. There is no significant difference between the Age, Sex, Marital status, Occupation, Monthly income, Number of members in the family and satisfaction level of cars. There is no significant difference between the satisfaction level of cars and educational qualification of the respondents. Global Wisdom Research Publications All Rights Reserved. 42
CONCLUSION SEDAN car manufacturers are the major players in the car segment and there is tough competition among Hyundai, Tata, Honda, Ford, Maruthi Suzuki etc., The authorized dealers for the SEDAN car companies have initiated many steps towards boosting sales operations. The present study made an attempt to understand car purchase satisfaction and influential factors affecting purchase decision. Most of the buyers are satisfied with the services provided by the dealers and they preferred fiesta brand because of its comfortability. REFERENCE 1. J.O Power: Indian customer satisfaction index (CSI) study, December 8 th 1997. 2. Rephelle Lombeet and Gilles Laurent: HEC School of management Paris Reasons for the higher purchase rate of cars by older consumers. 3. J.D power, Asia Pacific India customer satisfaction studies. December 2000. Global Wisdom Research Publications All Rights Reserved. 43