TOKYO—Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd said it has been ranked first in the 2012 China Original Equipment Tire Satisfaction Index Study, carried out by research firm JD Power Asia Pacific.
JD Power presented a plaque to Yokohama during an April 21 ceremony at the Auto Shanghai 2013 trade show.
In the study, Yokohama came in first for overall satisfaction with 843 points and was particularly highly evaluated for its tires' durability, handling and ride, the company said May 1 in a news release.
Yokohama said that, according to JD Power, customer satisfaction with OE tires greatly affects the choice of replacement tires, and among customers who were highly satisfied, more than 36 percent, said they would buy the same tire brand for replacement tires.
The 2012 China Original Equipment Tire Satisfaction Index Study measured satisfaction with original equipment tires expressed by new vehicle owners during the first 12 to 24 months of ownership, indexing satisfaction on a 1,000-point scale. JD Power conducted the study from February to May 2012, among people who purchased a new vehicle between February 2010 and May 2011. More than 12,000 new-vehicle owners responded to the survey.