Lexus took top honours in the 2008 J.D. Power and Associates Customer Satisfaction Index, published exclusively in the February 2009 issue of CAR, while Honda captured four segment awards to finish as runner-up manufacturer.
Now in its fifth year, the annual study comprehensively measures customer satisfaction after 10 to 21 months of ownership (in this case, more than 21 100 new owners who first registered their vehicles between October 2006 and September 2007), and covers 77 attributes grouped into four factors which are, in order of importance, vehicle quality and reliability (32%); vehicle appeal (29%), which includes performance, design, comfort, styling and features; cost of ownership (20%), which includes fuel consumption, insurance and cost of service/repair; and dealership service satisfaction (19%).
The CSI performance is reported as an index score based on a 1 000 point scale, which means a higher CSI score indicates a more satisfying ownership experience.
Lexus took the top spot with a CSI score of 896 and performed particularly well in all four areas of customer satisfaction, while Honda trailed with 879 – with Volvo (864), Mercedes-Benz (860) and Subaru (855) rounding off the top five.
At segment level, four Honda models captured awards – more than any other manufacturer included in the 2008 study. The Honda Civic saloon, CR-V, FR-V and Jazz each ranked highest in their respective segments. Other segment award winners include the BMW X3, Hyundai Atos, Lexus IS250, Opel Corsa Utility, Toyota Hilux and Volkswagen Citi Golf.
“Lexus exhibits particularly strong performance in satisfying customers in South Africa, which is consistent with the brand’s performance in other markets where we conduct the CSI study. Top performers within our studies generally show similar patterns and achieve a notably greater share of customers with high satisfaction levels,” said Brian Walters, vice president of J.D. Power and Associates Europe, Middle East and Africa operations.
The study found that satisfaction levels and brand loyalty are strongly linked, with more than 70 percent of highly satisfied customers reporting they “definitely/probably will” consider buying the same vehicle make in the future. Conversely, only 26 percent of customers who report having a less satisfying experience intend to do the same.
“Satisfying customers should not be a brand’s only goal – rather, causing customers to return to the brand and therefore increasing the share of brand loyalty should be considered the true goal of any satisfaction improvement strategy being implemented. Especially in challenging economic times, investing in customer satisfaction and earning trust among your customer base can have considerable benefits,” concluded Walters.
Check these and all the other results of the fifth annual J.D. Power and Associates Customer Satisfaction Index in the February 2009 issue of CAR Magazine.
