Two-wheeler owners, maintenance service providers and lubricant retailers across seven Asian countries described themselves as very aware of lube brand and indicated they look mainly to oil distributor representatives and local mechanics for information about brand, according to research conducted by consultancy Kline & Co.
In different countries we see that oil distributor reps and manufacturer reps in most of the countries have come up as the most impactful source of brand information, Sushmita Dutta, a project manager in Kline & Co.s energy practice, said in an online webinar Sept. 6 on two-wheeler lubricant brands and consumer insights. In three countries – India, Indonesia and the Philippines – local mechanics have been reported as the most impactful source of information. In China, respondents cited both oil distributor and manufacturer reps as most impactful.
Klines research focused on opinions, gleaned from questionnaires and interviews, from three groups: owners or motorcycles, mopeds and scooters; maintenance service providers; and lubricant retailers. It covered seven countries: China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Brand Selection
For each group, the consultancy asked respondents to rank different brand attributes on their effectiveness. Based on data analysis it can be said that quality of the brand is the most important factor for selecting a brand across the seven countries, Dutta said.
Kline asked maintenance service providers to choose the most and least impactful sources for lubricant brand information. The survey then asked a similar question of respondents from different types of lubricant retailers, including automotive parts stores, fuel filling stations, mass merchandisers, tire shops and two-wheeler dealerships. In most of the countries, oil distributor representatives were cited as the most impactful source of brand information. In China, oil manufacturer websites were cited and in Indonesia, local mechanics.
The survey asked maintenance service providers to identify the criteria most important to them in selecting suppliers or distributors. Based on data analysis, it can be said offers and discounts are the most important factor for selecting a brand across the seven countries, Dutta said.
Brand Awareness
Kline asked participants if they knew which brand two-wheeler lubricant they wanted to use before they go to the store. Most of the people are aware of the brand used in their vehicles, Dutta said. Brand awareness was high among respondents in most of the countries surveyed except in China where it was moderate.
Photo: Quang Nguyen Vinh/Shutterstock
To research brand loyalty, the survey asked people how many months or years they had used their most used brand. Depending on that, we see the brand loyalty is moderate to high in most of the countries except Thailand, where we see it as high, Dutta said.
Kline asked two-wheeler owners in different countries to rank different types of media on their effectiveness in creating brand awareness. The study concludes that TV advertisements, garage mechanics and staff at workshops or stores are the most effective media to create brand awareness across the seven countries, she said.
The research also included a survey of the two-wheeler maintenance service providers in the seven countries. In most of the countries, local garages lead except for in Malaysia, where two-wheeler dealerships have a larger share than local garages, she said.
Two-wheeler Market
Most of the owners surveyed viewed their vehicles as more utilitarian and less recreational.
In terms of engine capacity, I would say in most of the countries vehicles with engine capacities of 50 [cubic centimeters] to 249 cc account for the leading share, Dutta said. This is because in the Asian countries mostly two-wheelers are being used for daily transportation purposes and not for recreational purposes. She explained that people who buy two-wheelers for recreational purposes usually oft for engine capacities of 250 cc and above. Another common use for two-wheelers in the countries surveyed is as bike taxis, she added.
The survey results depict the Asian market as primarily a do-it-for-me market as most respondents preferred to get oil changes at a service center. The Philippines and Thailand had the highest percentages of respondents who performed their own oil changes.