Styling's influence on car purchase decision rising: JD Power

Indian vehicle buyers are increasingly giving more importance to exterior styling while making a purchasing decision, but the overall new vehicle appeal rating in 2015 is lower than last year's, according to a study by customer satisfaction research firm JD Power.
According to JD Power 2015 India Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study, the importance of vehicle exterior has gone up in small car, mid-sized and utility vehicle segments and is among the top three categories driving the overall APEAL score.
On an index score of 1,000 points, with a higher score indicating higher satisfaction, the overall APEAL score averaged 846 in 2015, down 8 points from 2014, JD Power said in a statement.

"Increasingly, buyers of new models cite attractive vehicle styling as the most influential reason for purchase compared with buyers of carry-over models," it added.
In addition to attractive styling, newer models differentiate themselves from carry-over models by providing more features, including alloy wheels, steering-wheel-mounted controls, hands-free communication, reverse parking assist, anti-lock braking system and dual airbags, among others.
On the overall findings, JD Power, Singapore Executive Director Mohit Arora said: "New-vehicle buyers in India have a much wider range of vehicles to choose from than in the past.

"The newly-launched models have a higher overall product appeal than carry-over models, and auto manufacturers can use mid-life cycle refreshes to update their vehicles and enthuse prospective buyers."

JD Power said the 2015 India APEAL Study was based on evaluations from 8,428 owners of new vehicles purchased between November 2014 and July 2015. The study was fielded between May and September 2015.
It measured how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive based on owner evaluations during the first 2-6 months of ownership.