While car manufacturers pin great hope on top-end bike owners moving to cars sooner or later, a recent survey by market information provider TNS tells a very different story.
It says 28 per cent of the current motorcycle owners intend to buy an additional or replacement motorcycle in the future and only 14 per cent of motorcycle owners indicated their preference for a car in the next three years.
"The shift in four-wheeler market composition is already evident with car owners upgrading from two-wheelers accounting for a higher proportion of the market compared to 3-5 years back," said a TNS spokesperson.
"The current findings validate that this growth will continue given the rapidly increasing base of motorcycle owners. Car manufacturers offering premium compact models are likely to benefit most from this trend."
According to the survey results, among those intending to buy a car, the average budget varies from about Rs 360,000 for 'standard' and 'executive' bike owners to over Rs 400,000 for other bike segments.
While small car manufacturers such as Maruti, Hyundai, and Tata Motors finds the strongest preference among this group, the preference for Honda, Chevrolet, and Toyota too is significant.
The survey also indicated that among those planning to buy a second or replacement two-wheeler, a majority prefer Hero Honda and Bajaj while there is a growing preference for Honda too.
The study covering seven thousand new-motorcycle buyers (and 40 models) was conducted from April through June 2005 across 21 centres -- Ahmedabad, Ahmednagar, Bangalore, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi (NCR), Gorakhpur, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Patna, Pune, Surat, and Trivandrum.
According to the findings of the 2005 total customer satisfaction study released today the newly launched Bajaj CT100 and Honda Unicorn rank highest in their respective segments, while Hero Honda Splendor+ leads the competitive 'executive' bikes.
Royal Enfield continues to dominate the niche 'cruiser' bikes with its Bullet 350 recording segment-best ratings.
