Perceived Quality of Car: Understanding the Customers’ First Impression

Abstract

The customers first impression of the perceived quality of the vehicle interior in a showroom is highly important since it affects the customers final choice of vehicle. This master thesis aims to answer the questions of what it is that affects the customers first impression of perceived quality the most when looking at the interior of a vehicle, and what makes the customers perceive the vehicle as a premium product. These questions are investigated from the perspective that the vehicle should be used for sharing. Theoretical research was conducted on the fields of human perception to understand how first impressions are formed. Furthermore, the field of perceived quality and premium design was researched to gain knowledge about how to apply this within the project. Finally, the fields of car interior and car sharing were researched. To get more knowledge and perspectives to the research, interviews with experts from three different fields – premium design, illumination and material were conducted, and showrooms were visited for a market analysis. User studies with participants from the target group were carried out, and a poll was sent out to gain deeper insights regarding the target group’s perception in terms of the research questions. The knowledge from all research were then analysed and resulted in guidelines and a concept proposal. A total of eight guidelines were established. They covered aspects such as aesthetic appearance, qualitative appearance, appeal to human senses, convey a message through the design etc. These guidelines were visualised in a concept proposal of a re-design of a car interior for a car developed by the company Lynk & Co.