Motorcycle tire market : which level of OE pull could be expected ? Why ? The BMW case.

Abstract

The motorcycle tire market is composed of two main pillars: the OE market (Original Equipment) where the tires are distributed in B2B to motorcycle manufacturers and the replacement market, also called aftersales market which is a B2C market where the final user is the customer. Nevertheless, it is important to consider tire business as a whole: the reduced margin you could have with OE tires could be compensated by the replacement tires you would sell if customers are loyal. Based on the current Dunlop brand constraints (production limitation, brand rights, pricing policy…), Dunlop management is building a business case to see if it is worth entering BMW OE motorcycles business in Europe. To help them building the business case, this research will address the following objectives: - Defining the OE pull (loyalty rate) Dunlop could get - Understanding why such level and what would be the recommendations to increase it This study will determine the influencing factors of brand equity on tire loyalty using quantitative analysis in the European countries where sales volumes are the highest: Benelux, Germany, Italy and UK. France and Spain were finally set out of scope for this thesis by the Dunlop management team.