‘Foreign brands edge Indian tractor makers on after-sales service’ 

When it comes to after-sales service, foreign tractor makers are way ahead of their Indian counterparts, says two studies by global market research company J.D. Power Asia Pacific.

Released late last month, the two inaugural studies on India’s tractor segment — ‘India Tractor Product Performance Index’ (PPI) and India ‘Tractor Customer Service Index’ (CSI) — give insights into what drives customer satisfaction in the world’s largest tractor market. Interestingly, it’s the foreign players who emerge on top for after-sales services.

The syndicated studies, conducted between July and November 2014, were carried out after lengthy interviews with a little under 4,800 tractor owners across 14 States that account for 95 per cent of sales. The participants were owners whose tractors were between 12-24 months old.

“We found that New Holland emerged on top in the CSI segment, followed by Massey Ferguson. The responses indicate that dealers of these brands were more proactive in supporting their customers in terms of reaching out for maintenance and services ahead of a crop season. They have also registered a presence in extreme rural areas,” said Dr. Gordon Shields, Director, J.D. Power Asia Pacific.

The study found that only 8 per cent of owners were contacted by their authorised dealer for regular maintenance. Average waiting time for service was 2.5 hours with more than 19 per cent of owners waiting for more than one day.

On the 1,000 point scale, CNH Global-owned New Holland scored 794 while Massey Ferguson, owned US-based AGCO Corporation, scored 784. American company John Deere came in third with 778 and was tied with Indian brand, Sonalika.

Export potential

“The focus of the study had two dimensions. One, it was to understand product experience and machine performance overall and the other was service support. In terms of the four horsepower (HP) segments, the domestic brands have done well,” said Mohit Arora, Vice President, J.D. Power Asia Pacific.

In the ‘Below-31 HP’, ’31-40 HP’ and ‘Above-50 HP’ categories, Indian brands Mahindra Swaraj, Eicher and and Mahindra, led in the product performance index. However, in the key 41-50 HP segment that accounts for 49 per cent of tractor sales, foreign brands John Deere, Massey Ferguson and New Holland appeared to be favoured by domestic customers.

“Domestic manufacturers have performed well in terms of machine performance and quality, and the most common problem cited was the wear and tear of tyres, operating hydraulic systems and engine overheating,” said Shields, who urged greater flexibility of payments for services when farmers are confronted with adverse market conditions.

Despite Indian-made tractors having a slightly higher problems per 100 tractors (PP100) which was an average of 203 in the study (2 per vehicle), Arora believed that its competitive prices should help domestic companies establish a strong presence abroad.

“Indian tractors are priced at about $10,000, half of Western-made ones, which means the potential for exports is huge if a strong service network can be established. It’s not just the US but also the ASEAN countries as a block and Africa which present significant opportunities,” said Arora.

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