The latest Proactive Insight Competitive Customer Satisfaction Index, released by Naamsa on Thursday, shows Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, BMW and Toyota topping the respective indexes.
:: To view graphs that show the standings in the Proactive Insight Competitive Customer Satisfaction Survey for 2003, click here ::
The latest Proactive Insight Competitive Customer Satisfaction Index, released by Naamsa on Thursday, shows Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, BMW and Toyota topping the respective indexes.
In terms of the customer satisfaction index for purchasing a new vehicle, the industry average has remained above the 90 per cent barrier that was first broken in 2002, and has further exceeded the score, with eight of the automotive brands now above the mark.
In passenger vehicles, Mercedes-Benz led the rankings with a score of 93, followed by Audi (92,3 per cent) and last year’s top ranked manufacturer Chrysler/Jeep in third (92,1 per cent).
That compared with Chrysler/Jeep’s score of 92 per cent in 2002, when Toyota was in a close second position (91,6 per cent). The two manufacturers were followed by Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Mazda and Ford – all of which also topped 90 per cent that year.
The Light Commercial Vehicle index showed that Mitsubishi achieved the top position with a score of 92,1 per cent. It was the first time that the 90 per cent mark was exceeded in the LCV segment and the DaimlerChrysler brand displaced last year’s top-ranked manufacturer Ford, which fell to third (89,5 per cent) behind LCV section runners-up Toyota (89,6 per cent).
Customer satisfaction with the purchasing experience is measured over a 12-month period with results reflecting each brand’s performance between January and December 2003. The results were gathered from 11 800 new car buyers who were interviewed shortly after they took delivery of their vehicle. New car buyers were asked questions about their experience relating to every aspect of the sales transaction.
Servicing Experience
As with the purchasing experience, customers are asked to rate manufacturers on every aspect of the servicing experience. Customers’ from each brand are surveyed over a 12-month period shortly after they have serviced their vehicles at a franchised dealership. The results reflect the outcome of interviews with just over 12 200 customers of the individual brands between January and December 2003.
A significant improvement was recorded on the servicing side with the passenger car average breaching the 80 per cent mark for the first time. BMW scored 82,4 percent, followed by Audi (82 per cent). Toyota, Mazda and VW also scored above 80 per cent.
In 2002, new-entrant Renault was at the top of the ranking with 80,2 per cent. BMW and Toyota were the only other two brands above the 80 per cent mark that year.
Toyota made up for its runner-up position in the LCV purchasing satisfaction index by topping the servicing index and exceeding the 80 per cent barrier. Toyota was followed by Mitsubishi at 79,7 per cent and Ford with 79,4 per cent.
“The improvement (in the LCV servicing satisfaction index) is impressive given the complexity of the servicing transaction and high customer expectations. In the LCV market, the average was just short of 80 per cent, although marked improvements have been demonstrated,” a Naamsa spokesman said.
:: To view graphs that show the standings in the Proactive Insight Competitive Customer Satisfaction Survey for 2003, click here ::
:: To view graphs that show the standings in the Proactive Insight Competitive Customer Satisfaction Survey for 2002, click here ::