2017 United States Automotive Batteries Product Leadership Award

1. 2017 Frost & Sullivan United States
Product Leadership Award for Automotive Batteries
Frost & Sullivan presents the Product Leadership Award to companies that are outstanding
within their industries based upon independent criteria of excellence. In particular, Frost &
Sullivan is identifying Interstate Batteries, based directly upon the review of United States
automotive technicians’ ratings of automotive batteries, as the overall best brand of
automotive batteries in the United States.
Award Criteria
The Frost & Sullivan Product Leadership Award is based upon Frost & Sullivan’s
independent review of data from end-using automotive technicians. Frost & Sullivan analysts
survey end-users regularly to benchmark their preferences and opinions regarding key
products, services, and vendors across various industries.
Specifically, Frost & Sullivan applied the Product Leadership Index, which measures the best
products based upon Product Leadership Index scores. These scores are calculated by
multiplying the share of ‘overall best’ mentions and loyalty index (LI) scores:
‘Overall best’ responses represent the opinions of survey participants.
LI scores are based on the share of technicians who rank the battery brand that they
install most often as “best.” Frost & Sullivan computes LI scores by dividing the number
of brand users who rank their primary brand “best” by the total number of primary
brand users.
Product Leadership Index values are normalized to cover a range of zero to ten. The
Award recipient is the competitor that achieves a normalized Product Leadership Index
score of ten.

2. The Product Leadership Index plots the leader along with its competitors on a matrix,
identifying the product leaders, companies that are vulnerable—within the total
market or among their own customers—and those that are non-threatening to the
market leaders, as illustrated in this conceptual chart.
Thus, the Frost & Sullivan Product Leadership Award is based strictly on objective data: the
survey participants’ responses. The Frost & Sullivan analyst team, consisting of subject-
matter experts and statisticians, evaluates the results of the survey for significance.
WeightedMeanScore
Loyalty Index
Product Leadership Index
Normalized PLI: 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0
LowHigh
Low High
Product Leader
PLI = 10
Vulnerable to Competitors Product Leaders
Vulnerable due to ProductNon-threats

3. Survey Results (continued)
Technicians Vote Interstate Batteries Overall Best for Nine Years Running!
Interstate Batteries has dominated the automotive batteries market since this Frost &
Sullivan research began in 2007. The majority of automotive technicians have chosen
Interstate Batteries as the overall best brand every year, while the nearest competitor has
never been named by more than 13% of technicians. As such, Interstate Batteries enjoys a
powerful lead on ‘Overall Best’ ratings in the automotive battery product category.
Interstate Batteries Earns an Overwhelming Lead on the Product Leadership Index
In addition to the most ‘overall best’ ratings, 55% of technicians whose shops primarily
install Interstate Batteries’ products rate Interstate Batteries as the top brand. This
combination of top ‘overall best’ rating and a strong LI score gives Interstate Batteries the top
Product Leadership Index score, normalized to 10.0 (shown below). Interstate Batteries is
unchallenged in the Product Leader quadrant, while competitors are in vulnerable-to-non-
threat positions.

4. Source: Frost & Sullivan
Among automotive technicians, Interstate Batteries has a strong reputation for its products;
technicians do not have to be working in shops that install Interstate Batteries to know that
these products are highly regarded. Of those who rated Interstate Batteries as the overall
best, 7% do not primarily install Interstate Batteries.
Interstate Batteries Leads Its Nearest Competitor on Most Key Points
The following chart compares technician evaluations of Interstate Batteries and its nearest
market competitor on 13 specific points. Interstate Batteries leads on all points and is seen
to be particularly strong with regards to quality, reliability, and past experience.
WeightedMeanScore
Loyalty Index
Product Leadership Index
Interstate
Batteries
PLI = 10
Normalized PLI: 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0
LowHigh
Low High

5. Source: Frost & Sullivan analysis
4.79
4.68
4.67
4.64
4.63
4.60
4.58
4.58
4.56
4.44
4.36
4.19
4.16
4.37
4.21
4.05
4.05
4.05
4.53
4.32
4.16
4.32
4.26
3.89
4.00
4.00
High quality
Proven to be reliable
Have had consistently positive past experiences
A warranty that has an extensive coverage
Batteries on the consignment rack are always
fresh
Orders are fulfilled accurately
Always available with the products needed
Provides high overall satisfaction
Has a strong brand reputation
Has timely delivery of products
Our customers request this brand
Willing to make emergency deliveries
Affordable price
Evaluations of the Top Two Competitors (Means): United States,
2016
Interstate Batteries Nearest Competitor
1=Completely Mean Scores 5=Completely
disagree agree

6. Survey Results (continued)
Technicians Reveal Why They Rate Interstate Batteries Best
Technicians who rate Interstate Batteries “best” provided the following verbatim comments to
indicate why they made this judgment. The longevity of Interstate Batteries products and
their ability to hold a charge are frequently mentioned.
Source: Frost & Sullivan analysis
What Are U.S. Automotive Technicians Saying about Interstate Batteries?
(Sample of Verbatim Comments)
"Interstate is the number no. 1 replacement brand battery, they provide a top quality products and a great
customer service, they even provide a recycling services of their batteries"
"Number one seller and Warranty"
"Reputation and weight of batteries"
"They have the best price and the warranty programs in the country."
"Interstate Batteries has a good product quality and a trusted brand."
""…that’s the only brand we use at our shop."
"Interstate provides longevity of life, good quality of service and parts and warranty."
"Our customers consider this to be the best brand of batteries out of all the other battery brands, and the
two main reasons are longevity and an ability to hold a charge."
"Our experience and relationship with this brand is good."
"We have a good business and long standing relationship with them."
"High reputation and good quality and reliability"
"Long lasting battery, makes for all vehicles"
"Best warranty, holds up amazing, wide assortment, fair prices"
"25 years of consistent quality/price."
"Interstate has been my supplier for many years - quality product"
"Consistent performance without defects"

7. Survey Results (continued)
Shop and Technician Profiles
Source: Frost & Sullivan analysis
61%
13%
26%
Shop Type
Independent garage/repair shop Franchise garage/repair shop
Automotive dealership
45%
23%
16%
16%
Number of Employees at Shop
One to five Six to 10 11 to 20 More than 21
Average number of
service bays: 10

8. Survey Results (continued)
Shop and Technician Profiles (continued)
Source: Frost & Sullivan analysis
1% 6%
14%
19%
12%
48%
Years of Experience as a Technicians
Less than one year One to two years Three to five years
Six to 10 years 11 to 15 years More than 15 years

9. About Interstate Batteries
Interstate Batteries’ starting, lighting, ignition (SLI) batteries have been under millions of car
hoods since 1952, each one backed by our service, quality and value. Interstate PowerCare®
offers premier products, technical expertise and reliable service for critical and motive power
needs. Interstate All Battery Centers meet the growing demand for portable power in both
retail and commercial markets. Today, Interstate sells more than 17 million batteries in
North, Central and South America and China. Interstate Batteries has been an Industry
leader in recycling efforts and is a global leader in safe lead handling practices, helping our
environment support future generations of automotive battery consumers. For more
information, please visit www.interstatebatteries.com.
Interstate Batteries’ products are considered the “overall best” for two main reasons: best
quality battery and battery maintenance. Since batteries are perishable products, Interstate
Batteries provides the necessary maintenance through its 300 distributors and 1,500 route
sales managers. They visit their dealers about every two weeks to check their batteries on
shelves, see if they need to be replaced and restock sold batteries. This hands-on approach is
essential to ensure that all of Interstate Batteries’ products are fresh.
While quality and maintenance are the backbone of Interstate Batteries’ success, the
company’s belief system also plays a major role. Guided by a set of common values,
Interstate Batteries is committed to enriching lives as they deliver the most trustworthy
source of power to the world. In doing so, they have built a company that honors its
customers.

10. Method Details
Frost & Sullivan conducted specialized telephone interviews with 469 automotive technicians
from August 2016 to October 2016. To assure that only qualified respondents participate in
Frost & Sullivan surveys, respondents must meet requirements set by a screening process
prior to full survey participation.
For this survey, respondents were required to:
• Be full-time automotive technicians
• Work in independent, franchised, or dealership service shops
• Live in the United States
• Regularly (weekly or more often) replace at least one of the products covered in the
survey (batteries, tires, oil, brake pads)
Technicians were asked only about the products with which they have personal experience.
About Best Practices
Frost & Sullivan Best Practice Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global
markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such
as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product
development. Customer Research analysts conduct the survey research to identify best
practices in the industry.
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