Volume 5, Issue 2 (February, 2016) Online ISSN-2320-0073

Published by: Abhinav Publication

Abhinav International Monthly Refereed Journal of Research in
Management & Technology
CUSTOMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS MAJOR BRANDS OF
TWO WHEELERS IN JAIPUR CITY AND ITS IMPACT ON
BUYING DECISION
Nutan Sharma1
Research Scholar, Jaipur National University, Jaipur, India
Email: [email protected]

Rajesh Mehrotra2
Professor, Jaipur National University, Jaipur, India
Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
In an era of increasing global competition, Customer Perception remains a research topic of
strong interest. By keeping in view that future disposable income of average household people will
increase, so in future their demand and need both increases. To meet their expectations it become a
prime importance to study various factors influencing their perceptions and hence impact on purchase
decision. In Case with the purchase of an automobile, people prefer motorcycle over a four wheeler
because motorcycle is economical and affordable. In other words we can say that motorcycle is a
common man vehicle. The study focuses on major two wheelers brand Hero Moto Corp, Honda, TVS
and Bajaj. Keeping in consideration that people have a criteria of preference in the minds before they
go to purchase a motorbike, the researcher has tried to summate some of the factors which people
evaluate before the actual purchase. The study aims to showcase factors like product attributes, price,
resale value, credit facility, mileage and advertisement plays role in buying decision.
Keywords: Customer Perception; Major Brands; Purchase Decision; Motorcycles; Product Preference

INTRODUCTION
Indian Two-Wheeler Industry is the largest in the world as far as the volume of production and sales
are concerned. India is the biggest two-wheeler market on this planet, registering an overall growth
rate of 9.5 percent between 2006 and 2014. The growth in Indian Automobile Industry owed the most
to a steep upsurge witnessed in the two-wheeler segment in 2014. The volume growth recorded in the
2014-15 fiscal year stood at a commendable 14.8 percent on a year-on-year basis. The 'Make in India'
campaign of the Government of India is also going to attract more foreign investment into Indian Two-
Wheeler Industry creating further growth opportunities in the coming years. A new study by Mc
Kinsey Global
Institute (MGI) suggest that if India continues its recent growth, average household incomes will triple
over the next one decade and it will become the worlds 5th largest consumer economy by 2025, up
from 12th position. Today business around the world recognizes that the consumer is the king.
Companies can flourish only when they are able to understand the customer. Today in terms of modern
marketing it is very important to consider customer as a focal point of their business activity.
Marketing strategies are based on customer /buyer demand and needs. In a simple way we can say that
buying decision is the response of stimuli. In the field of marketing it is very important to understand
the meaning of perception and brand. Both are associated when it comes to purchase decision of two

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 Abhinav International Monthly Refereed Journal of Research In
Management & Technology
wheelers. There are mainly four key psychological factorsMotivation, Perception, Learning,
Memory, who fundamentally influence customer responses. This study focuses on perception factor.
With Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization of the economy of India and the subsequent entry
of many multinational players, the competition in two wheeler segments is increasing. As a result
customers are getting wide variety of brand choices, competitive price and high standard of quality. In
order to gain volumes under such competitive market it becomes the utmost requirement of the
company to study various factors that influence perception of the customer about the product and
results in creating positive image of the product and impact the buying decision.
Two wheelers have played a pivotal role in rising growth of Indian automobile Industry. The
automobile industry is the most lucrative industry and the major factors influencing demand for two
wheelers in India are Increasing middle class population, Easy financing, Festivals and weddings,
Weak Public transport, Convenience and ease of operating. The study aims to showcase factors like
product attributes, resale value, milege, advertisement and the personal factors upon which a company
should work to create customer perception in a positive way to considerably influence the purchase
decision. State capital Jaipur contributes 16% of total two wheeler industry of Rajasthan and represents
a great variety of urban and rural customers (55:45%). Major brands of motorcycles are considered in
this study like Hero Moto Corp Ltd, Honda, TVS and Bajaj.
The literature review is accessed with respect to the factors which determine buying behavior of a two
wheeler user.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Bijapurkar, Rama. (2013) Explores the arena of consumerism in India and the strategies that are
developed to please the consumer. In this book, the author tries to give readers some information about
the environment in which consumers live; the way they think, their heterogeneous nature and their
transformation is discussed. India being an emerging market in the world, there are a lot of business
opportunities. The author tries to teach readers how to be ready to grab these opportunities and use
them. A Never before World contains major inferences needed to evaluate the business opportunities
and figure out the current market strategy. As an overall result of various changes, India is now in the
third decade after liberalization. The structure of consumption and behavior of consumers is studied.
George, Sunila;Jha, Raghbendra; Nagarajan andHari, K. (2002) The evolution of the industry's
competitive structure is traced using Kendalls Index of Rank Concordance and the Evans Karras test
of convergence. The industry seems to be characterized by oligopoly with the onset of economic
reforms not making much difference to industrial structure. The values of the Her find Index also
indicated that the three segments of the industry have responded in different ways to changes in the
forces of competition. This was an outcome of liberalization which led to an unequal number of
entrants in each segment. It was found that the motorcycle segment has had a greater number of entries
than did the scooter or moped segments. From the results of the Evans and Karras convergence test it
can be inferred that in the scooter and motorcycle segments inter brand transmittal of information
through promotion, product development, pricing etc. is likely to be effective in influencing the growth
rates of other firms in these segments. The firms in the moped segment on other hand, probably
compare themselves with firms in another segment (such as motorcycles) or with other modes of
transport and are therefore not inter-dependent. This would explain why convergence is conditional in
this segment.
Kanojia, A.K. (2011) States that top 4 motorcycle segment control 93% market share. Hero Moto Corp
controls executive segment, Bajaj has premium segment and Honda has the dominant position in
scooter segment. The author studied about various factors responsible for Hero Moto Corp being able
to sustain leadership like highest network penetration, highest customer satisfaction with one of the
fastest complaint resolution.

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Krishnan Santana, R. (2007) Looks into various issues faced by the two wheeler industry. In terms of
competition, the industry is likely to face competition from used cars and low cost cars. Other issues
are the declining margins due to increased cost of materials and shift in customers demand to electric
vehicles to save on petrol. In terms of growth, there are expectations that the industry is likely to grow
by 15%. Most of the growth is likely to come from motorcycles. Some of the Indian motorcycle
companies are also likely to set up plants in foreign countries to meet export needs.
Kumari, Santosh A; Reddy, Raghunatha D. and Kameshwari, M.L. (2005) Studied consumer buying
behavior in two-wheeler industry with special reference to Hero Honda Motorcycles in the city of
Hyderabad. The study revealed that the main influencer in purchase decision of motorcycle was
himself. The sources of information preferred by the respondents for buying a two-wheeler were
friends and associates. It was found that 90% of the respondents were satisfied with the performance,
maintenance and after sales service provided by the dealers. It was also found that 93.35% of the
respondents could recall the advertisements of motorcycle they had seen recently on TV or read in the
newspaper or magazines. From this it was indicated that the advertising campaign was effective and
served its purpose. The most preferred motorcycle by majority of the respondents was Hero Honda
Splendor due to its brand image.
Lindquist, Jay D. and Joseph, Sirgy, M. (2003) This up-to-date text focuses on consumer shopping,
buying and consumption behavior topics looking at both domestic and international theory and
examples. It is divided into sections on marketing foundations, consumer decision making,
psychological and sociological influences on consumer decision making, and special topics relating to
public policy, organizational buying and conducting research.
Reddy, Mallikarjuna,K. (2006) There are four major factors which influences on the buying behavior
of consumer such as Cultural, Social, Personal and Psychological. It was found that as far as mileage is
concerned, Hero Moto Corp was ruling the market. Yamaha and TVS were far below the expectations
of the consumers based on mileage per litre of petrol. Also, Hero Moto Corp bike was more popular
with the students, TVS was more popular with the employees, whereas businessmen opted for
Yamaha. Regarding satisfaction of motor bikes 85 respondents have stated that Yamaha satisfaction
was highest and the lowest is for TVS bikes.
Salwan, Prashant.(2007),Going global building competitiveness through internationalization a study
of the Indian automobile sector, The ICFAI journal of international business: The Indo-Japanese joint
ventures Hero Honda , TVS Suzuki, Bajaj Kawasaki-adopted different strategies to become
competitive. TVS motors use the cost reduction (value engineering, global sourcing, lean
manufacturing, waste elimination and continuous reduction in cost) and securing product leadership
(good brands, innovative packages, information technologies, developing energy efficient technologies
and market/product expansion) to become competitive. Bajaj Autos strategy was to customize its
products as per market needs. HeroHonda plan for the domestic market was to manufacture fuel
efficient vehicles. Its global plan was to give the best products to customers by upgrading technologies
and to view the world as one market.
Sawant, Shekhar, V. (2007) By administering 100 randomized selected consumers, the consumer
preference and ownership pattern and the sources of information they used to make the purchase
decision, and importance given to various evaluation criteria. Further, the study inferred that the
required maintenance and mileage are very important criterion for a consumer in the process of
making a purchase decision. People in general, perceive a big difference in the prices suitability to
lady drive cost, mileage and resale value amongst various models available in the market. Although,
people have not considered the safety factor to be all that important, they find that all models are more
or less equally safe. Finally, the study suggested that, financing schemes should be made more
effective and, their details must be well publicized.
Vijay, Kumar M; Chandra, Basha and Chand,S. (2015) Price is arguably the most vital and important
influence on the positioning of the product and its growth and hence has a direct impact on the volume

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of the sale of the product and share in the market. If put to the right and thoughtful use, effective
pricing can earn a business organization a major and sustained share in a given market. A marketing
manager can also maintain resale price of his product, maximize profit and achieve the targeted return
on investment. As we know, price of any product can directly influence the demand factor and other
factors of production of a product directly. Price fixation of any product is not simple and it depends
upon several factors like product cost, availability of substitutes, demand, market share, and
geographic factors and so on. Keeping the fixation of price of a product in view, the manufacturer has
to think over the price of the product at four levels .i.e. reasonable price, high price, low price and
resale value of the product.
OBJECTIVES
1. To know the market leader among major brands of two wheeler companies
2. To analyse the impact of various factors influencing perception and purchase decision of
customers
HYPOTHESIS
Null Hypothesis: Two wheeler customers are equally prevailing in Jaipur
Alternate Hypothesis: Two wheeler companies has different market share in Jaipur
Null Hypothesis: Various factors has equal impact on purchase decision of customers
Alternate Hypothesis: Every factor has different impact on purchase decision of customers
METHODOLGY
The primary data are collected from four major brands company outlets: Hero, Honda, TVS and Bajaj
of Jaipur city. A well defined structured questionnaire was administered to the customers who come to
the dealer outlets for either enquiry or purchase. The sampling technique used in this study
is non probability and the sampling method is convenience sampling. A sample of equal number of
customers is taken from each category summing the overall sample to
100. The sources of secondary data used in this study are Books, Magazines, Journals and Websites.
Data was analyzed by simple percentage analysis, tabular and pie chart presentation.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
After getting feedback from respondents through structured questionnaire, the results have been
compiled and presented below
Table 1. Market share of four major brands

Source: Primary Source

This pie chart shows that Hero Moto Corp is having major share 45% out of rest three major brands.
After split of Hero Honda venture, Honda emerging as challenger brand having 26% of market share.
Third position grabbed by TVS with 14% market share and with 8% Bajaj stands on fourth position.
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This result rejects null hypothesis and supports / accept alternate hypothesis that two wheeler
companies has different market share in Jaipur city.
Table 2. Demographic factor impact on purchase decision
1. AGE IN YEARS No. of Respondents
20-30 35
31-40 42
ABOVE 40 23
TOTAL 100
2. GENDER
MALE 78
FEMALE 22
TOTAL 100
3. OCCUPATION
STUDENT 24
SERVICE 48
BUSINESS 23
OTHERS 5
TOTAL 100
4. INCOME
BELOW 3 LAC 8
3-5 LAC 52
5-7 LAC 16
ABOVE 7 LAC 24
TOTAL 100
Source: Primary data
Above table shows that 42% respondents are from age group 31 -40 , which indicates that middle age
person are potential customers of two wheelers in Jaipur city. 78% were male customers shows still
male are dominant customers of two wheelers. Service class people use more two wheelers due to fuel
efficiency and convenience factor which results into 48% users. 52% respondents are from 3-5 lac
income level slab.
Table 3. Rank wise criteria for selecting product attributes of brand
Criteria for brand selection R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Total
Price 30 30 20 10 10 100
Mileage 35 30 25 10 100
Service 25 25 20 30 100
Style 10 15 25 20 30 100
Power 15 25 25 35 100
Resale Value 20 30 25 25 100
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 600
Source: Primary data
Table 3 shows that respondents rated product attributes on six factors and rank them 1 to 6. Table 3
shows that price, service, mileages are high ranked attributes. 90% respondents given mileage the most
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Management & Technology
important attribute as the criteria of purchase. Price the second highest with 80% and service with
70%. Style , power and resale value were ranked four, five and six respectively.
Table 4. Rank for Brand Preference
Brand R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Total
HMCL 34 32 25 9 100
HMSI 30 28 24 18 100
TVS 28 32 20 20 100
BAJAJ 31 21 20 28 100
YAMAHA 8 26 36 30 100
OTHERS 8 24 26 42 100
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 600
Source: Primary Data
Table 4 reveals that top three positions are occupied by Hero Moto Corp, Honda and TVS. Bajaj is on
fourth position in Jaipur city.
The result shows that every factor has different impact on purchase decision which rejects null
hypothesis and accepts alternate one.
CONCLUSION
This study has observed many factors that affect customer buying behavior. This study also focuses on
market share of major two wheelers brand in Jaipur city. At the time of purchasing two wheeler
customer has different choice for two wheelers but the purchase decision depends on various factors
like product attributes, price , credit facility and brand. Study concluded that Hero Moto Corp is the
leading brand of two wheeler in Jaipur city followed by Honda, TVS and Bajaj. This study helped the
researcher to use theoretical knowledge and to gain useful insights about the importance of customer
perception.
FUTURE OF THE STUDY
Positioning the brand is the most difficult job in marketing strategy. Scooter sale is rising nowadays.
The new players are entering into scooter segment. Dominant players are introducing latest features to
their product line up to keep customers by the side. Every year two wheeler companies introducing
new models with latest technology which affects customer perception and results into impact on
purchase decision.
REFERENCES
1. Bijapurkar, Rama. (2013), A Never-Before World tracking the Evolution of Consumer India,
New Delhi, Penguin Books India.
2. George, Sunila; Jha, Raghbendra and Nagarajan,Hari K. (2002), The Evolution and Structure of
the Two-wheeler Industry in India, International Journal of Transport Economics, Vol. 28, No. 01
3. Kanojia, A. K. (2011), Analyzing the state of competition in Indian two wheeler industry, New
Delhi, Competition Commission of India.
4. Krishnansantana, R. (2007), Issue and Future of the Two-wheeler industry, in Raj manohar T. P.
and Balaji V. (Eds.), Two-Wheeler Industry in India An Introduction, Hyderabad, The ICFAI
University Press, PP. 57-69.
5. Kumari Santosh A., Reddy Raghunatha D. and Kameshwari M.L. (2005),Consumer buying
behavior in two-wheeler industry with special reference to Hero Honda Motorbikes, Indian
Journal of Marketing, Vol. XXXV, No. 10, PP. 12-18.

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Management & Technology
6. Lindquist, D. Jay and Joseph, Sirgy M (2003), Shopper, Buyer and Consumer Behaviour: Theory
and Marketing Applications, second edition, New Delhi, Biztantra Publication.
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10. Vijay, Kumar M.; Chandra, Basha and Chand, S. (2015),Influence of price on consumer
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Consumer Research, Volume 9.

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