1. The Effect of Country-of-Origin onThe Effect of Country-of-Origin on
Turkish Automobile Consumers’Turkish Automobile Consumers’
Perception ofPerception of
Local Production Automobiles andLocal Production Automobiles and
Light Commercial VehiclesLight Commercial Vehicles
Project Advisor:Project Advisor: Prof.Dr. Muzaffer BodurProf.Dr. Muzaffer Bodur
Submitted By:Submitted By: İnalcan Güleçİnalcan Güleç
June 4June 4thth
, 2012, 2012

2. ContentsContents
• IntroductionIntroduction
• Literature ReviewLiterature Review
• Putting the Survey in PracticePutting the Survey in Practice
• Data Analysis and FindingsData Analysis and Findings
• DiscussionDiscussion
• Conclusion and Main RemarksConclusion and Main Remarks

3. ContentsContents
• IntroductionIntroduction
• Literature ReviewLiterature Review
• Putting the Survey in PracticePutting the Survey in Practice
• Data Analysis and FindingsData Analysis and Findings
• DiscussionDiscussion
• Conclusion and Main RemarksConclusion and Main Remarks

4. IntroductionIntroduction
• Auto industry is a main source of export revenues
• In June 2011 alone, approximately 59,000 passenger
automobiles were produced in Turkey.
• But in the same period, 39,000 passenger automobiles were
imported into the market.
• In 2010, imports accounted for 69% of the automobile and
LCV purchases.
• So, could it be the case that Turkish automotive customers
perceive imported vehicles differently?

5. IntroductionIntroduction
• Recent excise duty regulations can favor local production vehicles.
• The majority of production of automobiles and LCVs ranges from 1200 cc to 1600 cc,
only a portion of automobiles exceeding 1600 cc.

6. IntroductionIntroduction
• Q1: What is the extent of influence of country of origin on consumers’ views on
automobiles and LVCs?
• Q2: Is country of origin employed as summary, or a halo construct?
• Q3: Is there a significant difference influence of gender on automotive evaluations?
• Q4: Are there any patriotic consumers for the automotive market?
• H1: Respondents’ driving purpose alters their evaluations local production vehicles.
• H2: Spare parts availability is a leading factor, positively evaluated by respondents.
• H3: Age is an important factor, influencing evaluations of local production vehicles.
• H4: Those with local production vehicles’ overall evaluations likely from their own.

7. ContentsContents
• IntroductionIntroduction
• Literature ReviewLiterature Review
• Putting the Survey in PracticePutting the Survey in Practice
• Data Analysis and FindingsData Analysis and Findings
• DiscussionDiscussion
• Conclusion and Main RemarksConclusion and Main Remarks

8. Literature ReviewLiterature Review
• Pharr (2005) contests presence of COO effects because of increasingly global operations
of brands in our present day
• Chao and Gupta (1995) state that COO may enter the purchaser’s decision making at an
early stage, to easen the process
• Chao and Gupta (1995) believe information cues such as warranty, brand, price can have
mitigating effects.
• Han and Terpstra (1994) find that customers use COO as a halo attribute, when they are
not familiar with a country’s products.
• COO may also act as a summary attribute, summing up consumers’ knowledge of product
attributes.

9. Literature ReviewLiterature Review
• Maheswaran’s (1994) tripartite study, comparing and contrasting behaviours of novices
and experts.
• During the experiments, experts gave verdicts based on product’s attributes, whereas
novices relied more on COO-related information.
• At second phase, experts were found to be generating more attribute related thoughts,
while novices elaborated on COO and came up with COO related inferences.
• When information on products’ attributes is ambiguous, both groups relied on COO to
formulate evaluations. However, experts used COO information more selectively.
• Gerard Haubl’s (1996) used a nine-construct study on German and French consumers’
perception of vehicles made in former Eastern Bloc country.
• This study will inherit three constructs – evaluation of cars made in the country, attitude
towards the model and evaluation of the model’s features.

10. ContentsContents
• IntroductionIntroduction
• Literature ReviewLiterature Review
• Putting the Survey in PracticePutting the Survey in Practice
• Data Analysis and FindingsData Analysis and Findings
• DiscussionDiscussion
• Conclusion and Main RemarksConclusion and Main Remarks

11. Putting the Survey in PracticePutting the Survey in Practice
• A 29-question survey, was designed initially as an online form. Most responses were
received online.
• However, responses were also collected on printed surveys during face-to-face
interviews with respondents – mainly taxi drivers, commercial vehicle drivers.
• Main demographics

12. ContentsContents
• IntroductionIntroduction
• Literature ReviewLiterature Review
• Putting the Survey in PracticePutting the Survey in Practice
• Data Analysis and FindingsData Analysis and Findings
• DiscussionDiscussion
• Conclusion and Main RemarksConclusion and Main Remarks

13. Data Analysis and FindingsData Analysis and Findings
• Group 1: Respondents with imported vehicles
• Group 2: Respondents who said they had local production vehicles.
• 74 respondents cited Turkey as the origin of their vehicles, while 66 said their vehicles
were imported.
• On comfort evaluations, almost 70.3% of Group 1 were completely satisfied with their
vehicles’ comfort, but complete satisfaction dropped to 43.9% for Group 2 respondents.
• On their vehicles’ fuel consumption evaluations, 36.5% said they were somewhat
satisfied and 35.1% completely satisfied. 37.9% of Group 1 weresomewhat satisfied and
34.9% was completely satisfied.
• On their vehicles’ safety evaluations, 59.5% of Group 1 respondents were completely
satisfied, whereas 33.3% of Group 2 were completely satisfied.

14. Data Analysis and FindingsData Analysis and Findings
• On their vehicles’ material quality, 54.1% of Group 1 respondents were completely
satisfied and 25.8% of Group 2 completely satisfied.
• On service maintenance costs, 17.6% of Group 1 said their vehicles’ costs were very high
and 60.8% somewhat high. For Group 2 respondents, only 7.6% said costs were very
high and 51.5% said costs were somewhat high.
• On spare parts availability, 44.6% of Group 1 respondents said parts are highly available,
whereas 71.2% of Group 2 respondents gave the same response for spare part
availability.
• On whether they considered buying/driving a new local production vehicle, 15% of
Group 1 respondents said they somewhat agreed and 29% definitely agreed. 36.4% of
Group 2 respondents somewhat agreed, whereas same amount of Group 2 respondents
said they definitely agreed.

15. ContentsContents
• IntroductionIntroduction
• Literature ReviewLiterature Review
• Putting the Survey in PracticePutting the Survey in Practice
• Data Analysis and FindingsData Analysis and Findings
• DiscussionDiscussion
• Conclusion and Main RemarksConclusion and Main Remarks

16. DiscussionDiscussion
• Both groups’ evaluations of their vehicles’ safety and comfort imply that imported
vehicles may be found to offer a higher level of comfort and safety.
• Overall purchase reasonability, fuel consumption, material quality, craftsmanship of local
production vehicles, received good ratings from both groups of respondents.
• Age is found to be a significant factor in respondents’ overall evaluations of local
production vehicles. Respondents categorized in higher age intervals generally provided
a more positive evaluation.

17. ContentsContents
• IntroductionIntroduction
• Literature ReviewLiterature Review
• Putting the Survey in PracticePutting the Survey in Practice
• Data Analysis and FindingsData Analysis and Findings
• DiscussionDiscussion
• Conclusion and Main RemarksConclusion and Main Remarks

18. Conclusion and Main RemarksConclusion and Main Remarks
• A recent survey by OYDER reveals that in 2011, 90% of purchases came from vehicles
with up to 1.6 cc engine volumes.
• 21% cited price as an important contributor to decisions, whereas 15% cited fuel
consumption.
• Consumers below the age of 35 accounted for more than 50% of automobile and LVC
purchases.
• With a proven and sustained record of production quality, the national auto industry can
rightfully be given the right to produce the incumbent brands’ higher priced and
premium models.
• This may increase the percentage of local production vehicles in the aggregate sales
volumes, also increasing the overall perception of local production vehicles in the minds
of Turkish clientele.

19. THANK YOUTHANK YOU
Project Advisor:Project Advisor: Prof.Dr. Muzaffer BodurProf.Dr. Muzaffer Bodur
Submitted By:Submitted By: İnalcan Güleçİnalcan Güleç
June 4June 4thth
, 2012, 2012