`Brand image, performance key factors for women car buyers`

New Delhi: Product performance and brand image are the most important factors for women car buyers and not exterior paint colour, says a study conducted by Singapore-based PremonAsia.

According to the findings of 'The 2017 Women Automotive Buyer Study', which included responses of 3,945 women car owners across 28 cities in India, women owners ranked Honda, Volkswagen and Nissan as top brands.

Honda leads overall on product and cost of ownership, Volkswagen ranks highest on brand image while Nissan scores in terms of after-sales service.

The analysis focussed on the experience of 80 models in key areas of brand image, product performance, sales and delivery process, after-sales service and cost of ownership.

"Until now, there was no information available for understanding this target group (women buyers), which has been growing," PremonAsia Founder and CEO Rajeev Lochan told PTI.

"So, in order to understand the mindset of women buyers and also help manufacturers understand the growing segment of buyers, we commissioned the study," he added.

The findings showed that product performance and brand image are the leading factors for women buyers followed by other aspects like sales and delivery, cost of ownership and after-sales service, Lochan said.

Honda City, Volkswagen Polo and Nissan Micra emerge as the three leading models, according to the findings of the study, he said.

"The top ranked brands and their respective models deliver a consistent performance across all aspects of the ownership experience," Lochan added.

The women owners also prefer models with features like automatic transmission, ABS, auto door closing and navigation, among others, the study revealed.