Industry overview
What is shaping automotive
The automotive market spans cars, two-wheelers, commercial vehicles and a fast-growing EV segment. Buyers research online but still decide at the dealership, and mechanics shape the aftermarket.
- EV adoption is moving from early adopters to the mainstream
- Online research shapes the shortlist before the showroom visit
- Independent mechanics drive aftermarket brand choices
Client background
A two-wheeler manufacturer, working in Pan-India service network. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- A two-wheeler manufacturer
- Sector
- Automotive
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Offline data collection (CATI), Quantitative research, Data analytics & dashboards
Client challenge
Service satisfaction scores varied widely between workshops, and the manufacturer wanted to understand what drove satisfaction and repeat visits.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: improving after-sales service satisfaction.
- Understand the views, needs and behaviour of customers a month.
- Produce results that can be compared across groups and locations.
- Set up a repeatable measure the client can track over time.
Target audience
The work focused on 6,000 customers a month.
- customers a month6,000
Audiences we typically reach in automotive
Car and two-wheeler buyersVehicle ownersDealers and sales staffMechanics and workshopsFleet operators
Geographic coverage
Coverage: Pan-India service network. Market: India.
- India
Research methodology
A structured quantitative design, so results could be compared across groups, locations and time.
- 1Brief
- 2Post-service telephone survey
- 3Driver analysis
- 4Insight
Our telephone team called customers within days of service, asking about booking, waiting time, cost transparency, quality and delivery. Driver analysis identified the strongest influences on satisfaction.
Offline data collection (CATI)Quantitative researchData analytics & dashboards
Sampling strategy
- customers a month
- 6,000
- Telephone contacts were dialled from verified lists, with quotas tracked live by the field team.
Data collection
- Telephone interviews were run from our CATI centre, with calls monitored for quality.
Data quality & validation
- Live call monitoring and recording review
- Call-back verification
- Logic and range checks on the final data
- Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures
Data analysis
- Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
- Significance testing on the differences that mattered
- Driver analysis to find what most influences the outcome
- Interactive dashboard for ongoing tracking
Key findings
- Explaining the bill and delivering on the promised time mattered most.
Simple service behaviours had the biggest impact on satisfaction.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: simple service behaviours had the biggest impact on satisfaction.
- Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: explaining the bill and delivering on the promised time mattered most.
- Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.
Business impact
- The manufacturer introduced bill explanation at delivery and time-commitment tracking at workshops.
What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.
Deliverables & next steps
- Insight report and management presentation
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Interactive dashboard
- Continue the routine and review results every period.
- A natural follow-on question: which parts brands do mechanics recommend?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.