2017

Understanding consumer

psychographics of two wheeler

owners

Consumer Survey

Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

A Research Report

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Terra Motors

1. Background

1.1 Statement of problem

Nepalese market is heavily dominated by vehicles using petrol. As the valley dwellers are already tired of

frequent fuel shortage, demand for vehicle running on alternative energy has increased by a fold.

Nepalese have shifted their attention towards electric bikes and scooters. Since the demand for electric

two-wheelers is increasing, the number of these two-wheeler brands is also growing accordingly. In the

past couple of years, several electric two-wheeler brands were introduced in the Nepali market like —

Terra Motors, Hero Electric, Vmoto, BMC Electric Scooters and newly launched Bela Motors.

Terra Motors is also trying to launch its new electric scooter variant in the Nepalese market. But before

doing that, it becomes necessary to understand the market as well as perception or psychographics of the

consumers. So, for this purpose following research questions were assessed:

How do consumers perceive the two wheelers market or the two wheeler options

that are available in the market?

What is their knowledge level related with the electric scooters?

Are they really comfortable with the change from petrol vehicle to two wheelers?

Are they really willing to switch to electric scooter from the available options of the

petrol variant?

Thus, the research tries to find out the answer to these questions which would be valuable in finding the

right way to brand and market Terra scooter.

1.2 Objectives of study

The major objective of the research is to know why electric scooters couldn’t get enough consumer

attraction and who could be Terra’s specific target customer and what are their psychographics.

The specific objectives of the research are as follows:

To find out the perception of consumers on two wheelers (both current owners and non-

owners)

To examine the current consumer awareness scenario of electric scooters

To analyze consumer’s level of acceptance to the environmental changes

To examine the switching possibility of the existing two wheeler owners

1.3 Research methodologies

This research mainly aims the consumer research that represents a larger population in terms of two-

wheeler users. However, since the distribution of population is in wider geographies and the research

cannot be carried out in all geographies and not relevant in terms of market segmentation and target

audience, the collection of sample size as a part of research methodology was focused only in Kathmandu

valley.

1.3.1 Research Design

Approach to this research is basically an inductive that aims to explore response of the market to eco-

friendly vehicle (E-Scooter) that has already been launched in the Nepalese market. The research is

completely based on the secondary data collected through questionnaire survey and focused group

discussion.

1.3.2 Population and sample size

Two-wheelers as a business portfolio in Automobile industry has huge customer base with registration of

55, 844 units in the year 2014/15, 64,926 in 2015/16 and 29,861 within the first quarter of 2016/17 in

Bagmati Zone alone; which takes the total number of vehicles registered from 1989/90 to 752, 583 units

up to now. This shows significant growth in two wheeler’s market over the years. Similarly, the official

census data of 2011 shows that the total population of Kathmandu valley from age group 18 to 44 years

stands at 1,477,998. For this population, by taking 95% confidence interval, the sample size of 386 is

enough. But, since we were segmenting the population into 3 segments: students, students and corporate

both and corporate only, 400 sample from each segment was taken. Thus, the total sample was 1200 for

the quantitative analysis and the sample taken for the focused group discussion was 30.

1.3.3 Data collection method

The study used two methods: firstly, primary questionnaire survey as a part of quantitative data collection

technique and finally, focus group discussion as a part of qualitative data collection technique.

The work started from the quantitative part that was followed by the qualitative part, i.e. the focus group

discussion.

1.3.4 Data analysis

Quantitative data analysis from questionnaire was performed with the help of Statistical Packages for

Social Science (SPSS) in order to understand the response of the surveyed samples while qualitative

analysis of the focused group discussion was done through collection and transcribing of the things

discussed in the focused group discussion.

The statistical measures used to analyze quantitative and qualitative data was Frequency, Cross

Tabulation and Mean while SPSS and MS Excel were the software that were used for the analysis of

collected data.

1.3.5 Parameter analysis

To understand the similarities and differences in the preferences, choice and behaviors of

respondent’s different classification information was taken. They are as follows:

Occupation

We have categorized the sample into 3 groups which are students, corporate and students and

corporate both.

Gender

This personality dimension differentiates male and female.

Age group

This dimension differentiates the age groups into various segments starting from 16 to 55 years

Education Background

This personality dimension differentiates the education background of the respondents. The

education backgrounds taken into consideration were S.L.C, High School, Bachelor level, Masters

Level and above masters.

Income Level

This dimension differentiates the income level of respondents.

2. Analysis of data

2.1 Quantitative analysis

2.1.1 General information

2.1.1.1 Occupation of respondents

Table 1: Occupation of respondents

Occupation Frequency Percent

Business 113 9.34

Service 177 14.63

Professional 91 7.52

Student 507 41.90

Retired 1 0.08

Student + corporate 307 25.37

Others 14 1.16

Total 1210 100

Total of 1600 samples were collected among them the total number of the valid samples was 1210. In

those sample there were 31.5% corporates, 25.4 % students and corporates both, while 41.9% were

students while remaining 1.2% were from other group.

2.1.1.2 Gender of respondents

Table 2: Gender of respondents

Gender Frequency Percent

Male 699 57.8

Female 511 42.2

Total 1210 100

Among the respondents 57.8% were male while the remaining 42.2% were female respondents.

2.1.1.3 Age group

Table 3: Age of respondents

Age Frequency Percent

Below 20 256 21.16

21 to 30 781 64.55

31 to 40 116 9.59

41 to 45 57 4.71

Total 1210 100

The details of the age group has been shown in the table above. Among them maximum percentage of

people belong to age group 20-30 which is 64.5% which we consider the most active population.

2.1.1.4 Income level of the respondents

Table 4: Income level

Monthly Income Frequency Percent

Below 20000 845 69.8

20001-40000 269 22.2

40001-60000 66 5.5

60001-80000 12 1

Above 80000 18 1.5

Total 1210 100

The table above represents the division of sample as per the level of income Maximum number of the

respondents fall in the category of salary below Rs.20,000, in the range Rs.0-20,000 which we believe

mostly are students that depend upon their parents for income.

2.1.2 Data centric questions

2.1.2.1 The thing that people value most in life:

Fig1: Thing that is valued most in life

865

787

612

504

425

219

119

345

423

598

706

785

991

1091

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Freedom

Independence

Comfort

Smartness

Pride

Style

Fashion and trend

Value most in life

Frequency No Frequency Yes

Among the six options given in the questionnaire, people had option of choosing 3 of them. The three

options that were chosen by most of the samples were freedom (71.5 %), Independence (65.0%) and

comfort (50.6%).

2.1.2.2 People’s level of consciousness towards environment

The USP of an e-scooter lies mostly in its environment friendly features. So, to find out whether people

could be drawn into buying the electric scooter because of its environment friendly features, it was

necessary to find out their level of concern and consciousness towards the environment. So, to figure that

out, three options were given to the respondents where the first option was related with their

participation in any kinds of environment related programs while the latter two options were considered

as “No, I haven’t participated in any program” as a whole. The result showed that almost 71% of people

were not keen on participation in any environment related programs or more specifically, not conscious

regarding environment. From this result, inference could be made that majority of the population is still

not drawn into the movement related with the environment. Remaining 29% of the population is mostly

the student section who might have participated as a part of their school or college programs which could

be out of mandatory compliance. This is because, while mentioning the programs that they had

participated in, most of them were school or college campaigns rather than their own personal endeavors.

So, the overall result shows that people do not care much about the environment issues and most

importantly not keen on changing themselves just for the sake of environment.

2.1.2.3 People’s keenness to change and their continuance with that change

Yes I have been No,I haven't I haven't had time but I am very keen to go on such events

Corporate 132 196 68

Student 146 246 115

Student+corporate 72 167 68

Total 350 609 251

507

307

1210

Q2.Have you ever been involved in any kind of programs,functions,discussions etc.related with environment?Occupation

Total

396

Most of the surveyed sample population were the ones that had their own existing petrol two wheeler

options with them. Switching to electric option scooter is supposed to be a complete change for them.

So, to find out whether people are really keen on changing and to figure out their adaptability to change,

we wanted to draw some kind of analogy. Thus, we took help of the induction stove. It was something

which was widely used during the Indian blockade that took place in Nepal in the year 2015. At that point

of time there was shortage of LPG. Thus, most of the people had switched to induction stove, which was

electric powered rather than fuel powered. So, we wanted to see whether people switched to induction

stove or not and even if they have switched to that, they are still using it or not.

The result from the survey showed that majority of people i.e. 51% didn’t buy it while 25.7% bought it but

use it very little and 14.4 % population said that they had bought it but they don’t use it now. Mere 8.9%

of people said that they are using it more than LPG.

This shows that it is very difficult for people to bring change in their lives specially by changing the things

that they are comfortable with. Induction is much cheaper than the electric scooter and it was very helpful

to reduce the fuel consumption and could have saved a lot of money for the people. But still majority

didn’t buy and those who bought it, started using it less when the crisis was over. This shows that people

are less keen on changing something that they are comfortable with. This was for mere induction stove,

but one could imagine what could be there level of adaptability to electric scooter which is much more

costly.

2.1.2.4 Perception related to fuel crisis

I didn't buy it,so I don't have it right now I use it very little I use it more often compared to LPG. I have but don't use it now Total

Corporate 188 113 29 66 396

Student 278 114 57 58 507

Student+corporate 151 84 22 50 307

Total 617 311 108 174 1210

Q3.You must have bought induction stove during the fuel crisis triggered by indian blocked.How often do you use it now?

Occupation

To know whether to push electric scooter as an option of escaping from the hassle brought in by constant

fuel crisis, we wanted to check whether the people are really frustrated with the fuel crisis and wanted to

switch to the alternative sources of energy, or not. So, we asked them whether they are comfortable with

that and have accepted that the crisis is inevitable; or whether they have switched to more alternative

sources of energy. The result showed that the majority chunk (74%) have accepted that and moved on

while the remaining 26% switched to more alternative source.

This shows that even though people might be frustrated with the fuel crisis in Nepal, they have moved on

accepting the fact that it is inevitable, rather than switching to other alternative sources.

2.1.2.5 Consciousness towards the alternative sources

As electric scooter uses electricity which an alternative source to the regular fuel, it was necessary to find

out the level of consciousness of people towards alternative sources. So, a question was devised which

could infer people’s perception towards the alternative sources of energy. Nepal has been struggling with

the fuel crisis, hence they were asked to give their opinion on what could be done to solve the constant

fuel crisis. The first two options: establishing good relationship with India and being self-dependent by

It bothers me but I cannot do anything other than accepting it I have switched to more alternative sources of energy rather than being dependent on fuel. Total

Corporate 296 100 396

Student 382 125 507

Student+corporate 217 90 307

Total 895 315 1210

Occupation

Q4.What do you think about fuel crises that constantly takes place in Nepal?

Establish good relationship with India Be self-dependent by producing fuel in Nepal itself Switch to more alternative sources like electricity in our day-to-day life Total

Corporate 29 210 157 396

Student 16 256 235 507

Student+corporate 14 161 132 307

Total 59 627 524 1210

Q5.What could be done to solve this problem of constant fuel crisis?

Occupation

producing fuel in Nepal itself was more related with existing sources while the third option switch to more

alternative sources was related with checking their level of consciousness.

The result shows that 56.7 % of respondents showed that they were not keen on alternative sources while

remaining 43.3% of respondents were towards more alternative sources.

As a chunk of people think switching to alternative sources of energy could be the option for solving the

fuel crisis as a whole, if policies are made and things started to change accordingly, making alternative

sources more reliable and accessible then the change could be brought in and market could absorb the

electric scooters easily. But, everything lies on the fact that whether that would change the perception of

56.7% of samples that do not care about the alternative source or not.

2.1.2.6 Things that motivate people to bring changes in their lifestyles

Motivational thing to change lifestyle

N Minimum

Maximum

Mean Std. Deviation

changes in environment

1210 1 5 2.53 1.318

What other are doing 1210 1 5 3.58 1.389

To be unique 1210 1 5 3.49 1.366

Responsibility towards environment and society

1210 1 5 2.65 1.230

Personal needs and experience

1210 1 5 2.74 1.413

We wanted to ask the respondents what factors motivate them to bring changes in their lifestyles because

we thought that electric scooters was a part of a change in their lives. We thought that later their

preference could be used to devise the marketing strategies by putting more focus on factors that

motivates people the most. For that, we provided them with 5 options given in the table above and asked

them to rank those according to their preferences, one being most preferred while five being the least

preferred.

According to results that we got, changes in environment (technology, economy, political and legal) had

maximum population ranked as the first choice while responsibility towards environment and society was

the second option that was ranked first by most of the population while the option “personal needs and

experience” was the third best.

2.1.2.7 Features that people look into while buying a two-wheeler

Fig2: Features that the buyers look into while buying a two-wheeler

Respondents were asked what they look into while buying two-wheelers and the respondents had to

choose multiple options among the available options shown in the table above. Among the available

options, most of them chose brand and association (646) among the available options, while power and

646

488

284

450

619

339

641

215

564

722

926

760

591

871

569

995

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Brand and association

Design

After sales service

Parts availability

Power and Performance

Operating cost

Safety

Resale value

Perception of respondent about feature to buying two-wheelers

Frequency No Frequency Yes

performance (619) came in second and design (488) was the third best among the options. Resale value

(215) was the least chosen option.

This result shows the two wheeler owner’s affinity to brand, performance and design among all.

2.1.2.8 The personal factors that determine the purchase decision of two-wheelers in people

Fig 3: Personal factors that affect the purchase decision

Respondents were given multiple choice options on the question which asked them to choose the

personal factors that motivated them or will motivate them to buy a two wheeler; and among the options

available, needs and requirement (949) was chosen by most, current trends and styles (850) was second

and ease and comfort in mobility (807) came in third while family/ peer pressure came in last.

2.1.2.9 Satisfaction with the features offered by current two wheelers

949

360

807

155261

850

403

1055

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Needs and requirement Current trends and styles Ease and comfort inmobility

Family/ Peer pressure

THINGS THAT AFFECT THE PURCHASE DECISION

Frequency Yes Frequency No

With the thought that the current two wheeler owners who are not satisfied with their two wheelers

could be our potential customers, we asked the respondents directly by asking them whether they really

were satisfied or not. Then we tried to cross- tab the responses with the 3 segments that we had divided.

It is seen that the maximum percentage i.e. 41.4% of respondents are satisfied with what they currently

own while 37.5% people are not sure. So, barring these two; only 21.1% of respondents are not satisfied

with the current two wheelers. Among the unsatisfied, 40.7% are the student plus corporate group while

39.4% are from corporate group. Thus only 19.9% is from the student group.

Thus, the target should be majorly, student plus corporate group and corporate group.

2.1.2.10 Use of two wheelers in long distance travelling

Occupation Use of two-wheelers for long distance travelling

Very often Not too often Not at all Total

Corporate 84 173 139 396

Student 93 236 178 507

Student + corporate 38 152 117 307

Total 215 561 434 1210

Since the electric two-wheelers have limitation for long distance travelling, those people who constantly

take two wheelers for the long distance travelling cannot be the target customers. They would definitely

not consider electric scooters as the option. So, to find out which segment uses it for long distance

travelling, we cross tabulated the responses with the 3 segments that we had targeted.

No Yes Not sure Total

Corporate 97 171 128 396

Student 98 213 196 507

Student+corporate 48 124 135 307

Total 243 508 459 1210

Q9.Are you satisfied with the range of features offered by the two- wheelers currently?

Occupation

The result showed that almost 50% of the students plus corporate sector do not travel long distance too

often and 38% said that they do not travel long distance in two wheelers at all. While in the corporate

sector 44% said that they do not take two wheelers for long distance too often and 34% said “not at all”.

Even though students segment also shows huge percentage of population towards “not too often” and

“not at all section”, we still do not believe that this could induce them to consider buying two-wheelers.

This is because even though students don’t go for long distance travel, they might think about it while

buying the two wheelers. Thus, the lucrative sector is still the student plus corporate and corporate sector.

2.1.2.11 Awareness of electric scooter brands

Respondents were asked to choose the electric scooter’s brand that they were aware of. The brands were

the ones that are there in the table above. Additionally, there was an option “don’t know any” if they

were unaware of any of the brands mentioned above. Maximum of them chose Hero electronics (740),

but may be their choice was guided by the brand “hero” rather than “hero electronic” as a brand for

470

70

203142

50 1597 65

592

740

1140

10071068

1160 11951113 1145

618

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Heroelectronics

Vmoto TerraMotors

BMCelectric

scooters

Bela Motors NIU Trust Motorac Don’t know any

Awareness about e-scooter

Frequency Yes Frequency No

electric scooters. Terra came in second in their choice with 203 respondent’s choosing it over others. But

592 people chose that they “do not know any” electric scooter brand which is 48.9% of the total

respondents.

2.1.2.12 Ranging of features in an electric scooter:

Features Total Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

Weight 1210 1 7 4.38 1.606

Operating cost

1210 1 7 4.52 1.556

Power 1210 1 7 3.09 1.716

Speed 1210 1 7 2.91 1.665

Stylish 1210 1 7 3.19 1.72

Resell value 1210 1 7 2.63 1.819

Spare parts 1210 1 7 2.57 1.561

Purchase price

1210 1 7 5.59 1.602

During the course of survey, we compiled a range of features that is present in a two-wheeler. We wanted

to know the perception of the people regarding those features in the e-scooters. Thus, we gave them

options to range those features according to their perception from 1 to 7, 1 being the extreme point of

all the negative aspects such as heavy weight, high operating cost, less power, less speed, less stylish;

and 7 being the extreme of the positive portion like low weight, low operating cost, high power and so

on and so forth; average being 3.5.

All other aspects except weight, operating cost and purchase price were in the negative side i.e. below

the mean.

2.1.2.13 Factors that could motivate in buying an e-scooter

During the research we wanted to see which factors could motivate people in buying the electric scooter.

Hence, we gave them eight options and wanted them to choose 3 best options and rank them according

to their preferences. Regarding the options that were chosen: environment friendly, low purchasing price

and free from the hassles of the fuel crisis and availability of spare parts were the most considered options.

Among the most chosen options, maximum number of population chose environment friendly as their

first priority while low purchasing price came in second while fuel crisis and spare parts availability came

in next.

Even though environment friendly feature is chosen by most of the respondents, their choice might have

been guided by just the thought of “electric” as something which is environment friendly. Hence, the

result that environment friendly feature could be the first priority of the maximum population in

considering the electric scooter might be misleading. This could be validated by the fact that in the results

regarding people’s perception towards environment, it was seen that people do not consider too much

about the environment aspect. However low purchasing price, availability of spare parts and exchange

offer could be the things that they would consider. Similarly, attractive product offering has also been

something which people have prioritized more.

2.1.2.14 Thought of switching/ buying an e-scooter at any point of time

Factors Not chosen 1 2 3 Total Mean

Environment Friendly 268 577 231 134 942 1.39

Attractive Product Offering 889 139 75 107 321 1.57

Extensive maintenance Support 975 78 94 63 235 1.67

Low Purchasing Price & Maintenance 652 158 241 159 558 1.72

Exchange Offer 888 78 101 143 322 1.76

Free from hassle of occasional fuel crisis 768 92 207 143 442 1.79

Availability and Cost of spare parts 833 78 98 201 377 1.79

Warranty, Guarantee of parts 772 90 124 224 438 1.79

Occupation Thought of switching to/buy an e-scooter at any point of time?

No Yes Not sure Total

Corporate 70 168 158 396

Student 135 191 181 507

Student +corporate

46 150 111 307

Total 251 509 450 1210

In this section we asked the respondents if they ever thought about switching to electric scooter. 20.7%

said no while 37.2 % of respondents said not sure. This could not guarantee that there are certain number

of people eager to switch, but during the course of the survey it could be said that some kind of curiosity

was generated in 42.1% of the sample.

2.1.2.15 Factors that would motivate to switch to e-scooter

Fig 5: Motivating factors for switching to e-scooter

Freq…

Freq…

0

1000

Performanceof vehicle you

use/haveused

SwitchingCost

Exchangeoffer

Operating andMaintenance

Cost ofvehicle youuse/have

used

Betterofferings from

others

570428 514 462 362

640782 696 748 848

Motivating factors of e-scooter

Frequency Yes Frequency No

In this section, we had asked the respondents what could motivate them to switch to electric scooters.

This was targeted to people who already had existing petrol variant two wheelers. Multiple choice was

given with five choices. Maximum respondents chose performance of the existing vehicle (570); while

exchange offer (514) came in second and operating and maintenance cost of existing vehicle (462) came

in third.

This means maximum would switch to electric scooter only if the performance of the existing vehicle is

unsatisfactory and only if good exchange offer is provided to them while switching.

2.1.2.16 Perception regarding whether there is future for electric scooter

Occupation Q16.Do you feel that with the increasing petrol prices and environmental concerns, petrol scooters would be replaced by electric scooters in the near future?

No Yes No Idea Total

Corporate 44 265 87 396

Student 66 348 93 507

Student+corporate

21 220 66 307

Total 131 833 246 1210

Just to figure out the general perception of the people regarding the future of electric two wheelers, we

asked them direct question relating to their perception related with the future of the e-scooters. 68.8%

said “yes” while 10.8% said “no” and 20.4% said they had no idea.

This to some extent proves that there is certain chunk of population who think that electric scooter would

take the market at some point of time. Although, there is no significant result from the electric scooter

market at present, it gives the glimpse of the perception of the market in the future. These people could

be our market in the days to come who believe that there would be market in the future.

2.1.2.15 Satisfaction of the range of features offered by two-wheelers

The respondents were asked whether they were satisfied by the range of features offered by the two

wheelers. Among them only 20.1% said that they were unsatisfied, 42% said that they were satisfied while

37.9% said that they were not sure about it.

2.1.2.16 Two-wheelers for long distance travelling

The respondents were asked how often they used two wheelers for travelling. 17.8% said that they

travelled very often, 46.4% said that they travelled not too often while 35.9% said that they didn’t travel

at all.

2.2 Qualitative analysis

Focused group discussion:

Total of five groups were there for the focused group discussion. The five groups were divided as: students

group, students plus corporates group, corporate group, mixed group and terra owner’s group. Varied

views were taken from each group of the focused group discussion on the topics.

Pictorial identification of the electric scooters

Each of the 30 participants were given a sheet of paper containing 9 images of two wheelers. Among

the images: 2 were Terra e-scooters, 3 were mopeds and 4 were other types of scooters. Participants

were allowed to make multiple choices on the images that they thought represented e-scooters. Total

of 98 choices were made. Table below shows what people chose as e-scooter.

Mopeds Others Terra scooters

57 29 12

58.16% 29.6% 12.24%

58.16% of choices made by the participants were for mopeds while 29.6% were the choices for other

scooters while only 12.24% choices came for Terra scooters. This shows that majority of people are

still unaware about the electric scooters. They perceive electric scooters as mopeds and something

with very ugly design. Though mopeds are not particularly electric vehicles, still people perceive them

as electric scooters.

Participant’s concerns related with environment and fuel crisis:

In this section of the focused group discussion the participants were asked about their concern related

with environment and the constant fuel crisis that takes place in Nepal the things that were observed

are as follows:

Student plus corporate group said that they are concerned about the environment but they

viewed environment problem in terms of lack of waste management and so on and so forth.

They said that they were concerned that pollution is a very serious issue here but they didn’t

think that their vehicles contributed much to this cause. Similarly, regarding the fuel crisis,

they said that they have started to move on because they viewed it as something that couldn’t

be changed.

The response from the student group was also somewhat similar. They were frustrated by

pollution but they thought that the contribution of their two wheelers in this cause is

minimum as they regularly maintained and serviced their vehicles. When they were asked

about their contribution towards “go green” concept, they viewed their contribution from

only waste management perspective. Similarly, fuel crisis seemed to be something that they

have accepted and moved on with.

In the same way, corporate group also didn’t associate their vehicles contribution towards

pollution. Most of them believed that they produced less sound and drove slowly as well as

did timely servicing of their vehicles. Regarding the fuel crisis, they said that they try to

mitigate the impact by creating petrol reserves at home rather than looking for the

alternatives. One of the participant even said that he don’t trust electric scooters at all.

Similar was the case in mixed group. They said that they have developed tolerance for these

kinds of things

So, from all these things it is clear that eco-friendly nature of terra scooters and their “all electric no petrol”

feature may not be the only driving force in selling the e-scooter in Nepalese market. People are

comfortable with the level of pollution that their vehicle create and don’t seem much more concerned

about it. Similarly, they also have developed a level of tolerance towards the fuel crisis and don’t seem to

go for the alternative.

Perception towards existing two wheelers options:

In this section, the participants were asked about what they thought about the two wheelers that they

currently own. From this section we wanted to know about their experience and satisfaction. The results

were as follows:

Most of the people in mixed group preferred the brand of two wheelers because of design and

brand (Vespa), performance and resale value (Honda), mileage and off road experience. The

seemed fairly satisfied with what they owned except for minor glitches such as decrease in

performance, mileage etc. Speed range that they were comfortable with was 40-50 kmph. Most

of them said that their family was the influence in their purchase decision. And they preferred

brand and power and performance in vehicles most.

Students group also said that they preferred the particular brand because of mileage, style,

comfort and budget. Apart from what they own, they prefer bikes with more power, performance

and looks. The speed range that they were comfortable with was 40-60 kmph. In financing aspect

most of them were financed by family for their two wheelers.

Corporate and students plus corporate group were also fairly on the same standpoint in this

aspect. They said particular brand because of budget, comfort, safety, mileage, durability. Most

of them were fairly satisfied with what they owned and said that they occasionally took their two

wheelers for long range travelling.

From this, it also became clear that performance, brand, safety, etc; mattered most for them as a whole.

So, it is very difficult for the electric scooter to tap in those values and create the market.

Participant’s views regarding electric scooter:

Regarding the perception of the people regarding the two wheels the response was fairly similar.

Almost all of them seems to have no prior experience of the two wheelers

When asked about what they think about when they hear the term electric scooters, most of

them said no sound, safe, cost effective, less weight, smooth, slow, less power. Students

group seem fairly negative as unreliable, cheap, difficulty in charging etc. Most of them

thought that the design is similar to that of mopeds.

Regarding the scope of e-scooters in Nepal, most of them thought that the roads might not

be friendly here, geography of Kathmandu valley might not support it. Some thought that it

could do great if it is backed by power and looks

Regarding the price range most of the respondents thought that it was really cheap. They

thought that the price range would come around 50,000 to 130,000.

Then finally they were asked about the “no sound” aspect of the electric scooter. They said

that they would feel uncomfortable if that happens they would not want their vehicle to not

make any sound.

Thus, from the observation it seems that the range of features offered by electric scooter is perceived

fairly negatively by the participants as a whole. Even, the price range that they perceive is much lower

than the actual price of the electric two-wheelers.

Things that could tempt them to switch to e-scooter

Most of them said that they haven’t thought about switching to electric scooter and don’t even think

about buying one at the present. They said that they would only buy the electric scooter if they are

financially strong i.e. if they can afford another two wheeler in addition to the existing two wheelers.

Some of them said that they would wait and see if the market absorbs the product or not and then

only they would make decision. Most of them also said that they would buy electric scooters only if it

was really cheap 40-50k. Some participants said that they would only buy it if it matches the

performance of the current two-wheeler that they own.

So, electric scooter is something which is yet to generate that kind of vibe and market which would

curb the enthusiasm in people.

Terra owner’s experiences:

As a part of gathering their opinion, terra owners were also called up for the discussion. Regarding

the age of the owners, they seemed to be fairly old people who did not have license for the two

wheelers. They seemed to be satisfied by the power and performance. Their dissatisfaction was

related with the indicators. They thought that it would have been helpful if the indicators have had

sound. Similarly, they had some technical issues with the light. Similarly, they were a bit concerned

about the scooters getting wet during the course of rain and hampering the battery unit. License and

number plates was another major issue they faced during the travel in Kathmandu.

3. Recommendations

Association of freedom comfort and independence with the scooter:

The top three things that people valued most were freedom, independence and comfort. While doing

the focused group discussion respondents were asked how they associate these things with the two

wheelers. They said that two wheelers took them where they wanted to go so freedom; independence

they associated with not being dependent on parents or even public transport too much and comfort

was related with the ease in mobility. So, while promoting the scooter the theme could be like “Feel

comfort, independence and freedom by owning a terra scooter”

Environment focus not recommended

Most of the respondents didn’t seem to be too much concerned about the environmental issues and

during the focused group discussions also they said that contribution from their two wheelers in

pollution is minimum. So, going by the theme that the scooter is environment friendly won’t help for

the promotion of the scooter for the general mass of people. But, there is still a potential for this.

Terra could target the companies and SMEs and promote in such a way that using Terra could be a

part of their CSR activities. Specially, in manufacturing industries which contribute to environment

pollution a lot.

Massive social media and Facebook campaigns:

While doing the focused group discussion, people were shown the pictures different scooters

including some mopeds and were asked to identify electric scooters among them. Most of the

respondents chose mopeds because they thought that the electric scooters would be like those. This

highlights the fact that people are still not conscious that electric scooters could look like normal

scooters. So, massive social media campaign is needed to highlight the design and the style aspect of

terra scooters. It is needed to make them aware that e-scooters can also be stylish and fashionable.

Market assessment for Terra assuming people are frustrated by petrol crisis can be misleading:

The result shows that the fuel crisis has certainly bothered the people but that hasn’t been turned

into massive frustration and people have developed a certain level of tolerance. So, petrol pump

activations and human billboard thing could be used to develop a kind of inquisitiveness for the

electric scooters which can induce footfalls to the showroom. But preconceiving the fact that there is

market for e-scooters because people are really frustrated from constant fuel crisis can be misleading.

Massive test ride campaigns:

When respondents were asked to range the features in the electric scooters, most of the respondents

thought that electric scooters have less speed, less power, less performance etc. So, this highlights

the fact that massive test ride campaigns could be done in colleges and public places. Similarly, events

and programs targeting the test ride could also be done. This would ensure that the people experience

terra scooters and it is pretty sure that once people experience it, they would definitely change their

opinion.

Home takeaway campaign

Another thing that could be done is letting people to keep terra scooters for 2-3 days. They could

deposit their existing two-wheelers for 2-3 days at the showroom and can take terra scooters with

them. This would ensure that they would have experience of riding the terra scooters.

Promoting brand and power and performance factor

From the research it was found that power and performance as well as brand is another important

aspect that people look into while buying the two wheelers. Power and performance is something

which seems very good in this scooter. People could experience this with the test ride. Similarly, for

brand value it has backup from the Japanese technology. So that Japan and Japanese technology

aspect could be taken into consideration while promoting Terra as a brand.

Long distance charging stations in the outskirts

Long distance travelling is not too frequent in people. But while doing the focused group discussion,

it was found out that even though people might not go for long distance travelling after all, they still

consider it as a factor while buying the two wheeler. So, facilitating charging stations in the outskirts

of the valley just to let them know that there are charging stations if they really want to go to the

outskirts in weekend; would ensure some kind of assurance that there is no problem going out.

Price factor concern

During research, it was found that regarding the price range also people seemed to be a bit more

hesitant. They said that if they could add Rs.20k more in that price range they could get a “real”

scooter rather than going for the electric variant. So, it is important to give justification to people why

that price range is justifiable in terms of features and values that it gives to the people. Hence, while

campaigning, this thing could also be pushed.

Highlighting changes in environment

According to research it was found that many people opt to change their lifestyles because of the

changes in the environment around them. So, unless there is some kind of rapid movement for electric

scooters, it is very difficult to change the mindset. So, theme of the activations could be something

like: “Let’s be a part of change”.

Strengthening the important aspects of two wheelers

Another 5 important aspects in a two wheelers are: Easy financing, License, Insurance, Number plate

and Blue book. Terra scooters lack in these things. While doing focused group discussion with the

terra owners, it was found that they bought terra scooters just because it didn’t needed license and

registration. This thing might be the USP of the electric scooters but in long run it creates a negative

image. If it really wants to compete with petrol variant, these negative things should be removed and

it should be made competent. So bringing all those things is equally important.

Target market

From the research it is proven that student group or even the student and corporate group might not

be our target market as for now. In fact, our target market could be a reasonably settled 35-45 years

chunk of population working in government offices who have limited mobility (just the daily commute

from office to house). In that segment also if we target the working women segment then that would

be fruitful. Similarly, tying up with the corporate houses as a part of their CSR activities could be

another alternative to push the scooter through.

Annex:

Crosstab age and gender

Age

Total Below 20 21 to

30 31 to

40 41 to

45

Gender Male 133 467 59 40 699

Female 123 314 57 17 511

Total 256 781 116 57 1210

Crosstab gender occupation

Occupation

Total Busines

s Servic

e Professiona

l Studen

t Retire

d Student+corporat

e Other

s

Gender

Male 75 90 59 290 0 176 9 699

Female

38 87 32 217 1 131 5 511

Total 113 177 91 507 1 307 14 1210

Crosstab age occupation

Occupation

Total Business Service Professional Student Retired Student+corporate Others

Age Below 20

3 5 1 181 0 66 0 256

21 to 30

67 94 54 323 0 232 11 781

31 to 40

34 48 23 3 0 5 3 116

41 to 45

9 30 13 0 1 4 0 57

Total 113 177 91 507 1 307 14 1210

Crosstab with occupation

Things that are valued most in life

Group Freedom Independence Comfort Smartness Pride Fashion

Students 71% 66% 49% 43% 36% 15%

Both 69% 60% 48% 46% 36% 25%

Corporate 74% 68% 55% 37% 33% 16.5%

Features to look into while buying two wheelers

Group Brand Design After sales services

Parts availability

Power and performance

Operating cost

Safety Resale Value

Students 50% 41% 19% 37% 61% 32% 52% 15%

Both 58% 40% 27% 36% 41% 24% 49% 13%

Corporate 54% 40% 27% 39% 46% 27% 57% 24%

Factors affecting purchase decision

Group Needs Current trends Ease in mobility Family and peer pressure

Students 76% 32% 69% 11%

Both 75% 36% 64% 12%

Corporate 84% 22% 67% 15%

Factors motivating to buy electric scooter

Group Performance Switching cost Exchange offer Operating cost Better offering from others

Students 50% 30% 35% 43% 30%

Both 44% 39% 53% 31% 26%

Corporate 46% 40% 45% 37% 34%

Crosstab with gender

Things that are valued most in life

Gender Freedom Independence Comfort Smartness Pride Fashion

Male 75% 63% 50% 42% 36% 9%

Female 67% 68% 52% 41% 33% 11%

Features to look into while buying two wheelers

Gender Brand Design After sales services

Parts availability

Power and performance

Operating cost

Safety Resale Value

Male 52% 52% 22% 39% 55% 30% 50% 21%

Female 56% 41% 34% 35% 46% 26% 57% 14%

Factors affecting purchase decision

Gender Needs Current trends Ease in mobility Family and peer pressure

Male 77% 30% 65% 14%

Female 80% 29% 69% 11%

Factors motivating to buy electric scooter

Gender Performance Switching cost Exchange offer Operating cost Better offering from others

Male 46% 38% 40% 39% 29%

Female 48% 32% 45% 37% 31%

Satisfied with the two wheelers or not

Gender Yes No Not sure

Male 44% 23% 33%

Female 39% 16% 45%

Two wheelers in long distance travelling

Gender Very often Not too often Not at all

Male 19% 49% 32%

Female 16% 43% 41%

Thought of buying/ switching to electric scooter

Gender Yes No Not sure

Male 23% 41% 36%

Female 17% 44% 39%