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Buyer satisfaction up for new cars
By Lu Nengneng |
August 22, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
NEW-VEHICLE sales satisfaction in China has reached a 12-year high, and signals more competition in services to come, the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2011 China Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) study shows.
The average index climbed by 24 points on a 1,000-point scale from last year to reach 847, indicating increased satisfaction with the new-car sales services performed by 57 passenger car brands in 37 major cities of China.
Built on the feedback from 11,496 new-vehicle owners who bought their cars between August 2010 and March 2011, the study examines seven factors contributing to the overall purchase experience. They include delivery process, delivery timing, dealer facilities, salespersons, paperwork, deals, and sales initiation. (1 factor missing, this is 6)
All the seven have seen great improvement since 2010, with the greatest coming from the deal (31 points), delivery timing (29 points) and paperwork (25 points) factors.
"One of the main changes observed during the past 12 years is that many actions once considered as extra or value-added are now standard practices," said Mei Songlin, general manager of research services, J.D. Power Asia Pacific, Shanghai.
Greeting customers immediately and answering customer questions at delivery, for example, have reached an average of 96 percent industry-wide implementation.
And more differentiation points and new services are about to be discovered and presented, J.D. Power predicts, since achieving higher purchase satisfaction is considered conducive to sustaining growth in car sales.
Sales of passenger cars in the e first half of 2011 have posted an 11-percent year-on-year increase, which, however, is considerably lower than the 37 percent growth rate of 2010, compared with 2009.
A key area for service improvement could be providing sufficient fuel at vehicle delivery, the study shows. Seventy-five percent of customers in China get a car with less than nine liters of gas, or even one-fifth of a full tank, while 95 percent of customers in the United States leave with a full tank.
"Compared with mature markets, auto makers and dealerships in China still have a lot of room to improve," said Jacob George, managing director of J.D. Power Asia Pacific, Shanghai. "They would all eventually benefit from those further investments in improving customer perceptions of service timing, convenience and value for the price paid."
Premium brands as a whole have added 22 points from 2010, while non-premium brands have gained 24 points.
BMW (856) and Mercedes-Benz (854) are the two highest-scoring premium auto makers; BMW ranks No.11 and Mercedes-Benz No.13 among 57 passenger car manufacturers.
Audi perches on the top of the list, with its overall purchase satisfaction of 887, followed by Dongfeng Nissan (880), FAW-Volkswagen (869), and Dongfeng Honda and GAC Toyota, in a tie (866 each).
The average index climbed by 24 points on a 1,000-point scale from last year to reach 847, indicating increased satisfaction with the new-car sales services performed by 57 passenger car brands in 37 major cities of China.
Built on the feedback from 11,496 new-vehicle owners who bought their cars between August 2010 and March 2011, the study examines seven factors contributing to the overall purchase experience. They include delivery process, delivery timing, dealer facilities, salespersons, paperwork, deals, and sales initiation. (1 factor missing, this is 6)
All the seven have seen great improvement since 2010, with the greatest coming from the deal (31 points), delivery timing (29 points) and paperwork (25 points) factors.
"One of the main changes observed during the past 12 years is that many actions once considered as extra or value-added are now standard practices," said Mei Songlin, general manager of research services, J.D. Power Asia Pacific, Shanghai.
Greeting customers immediately and answering customer questions at delivery, for example, have reached an average of 96 percent industry-wide implementation.
And more differentiation points and new services are about to be discovered and presented, J.D. Power predicts, since achieving higher purchase satisfaction is considered conducive to sustaining growth in car sales.
Sales of passenger cars in the e first half of 2011 have posted an 11-percent year-on-year increase, which, however, is considerably lower than the 37 percent growth rate of 2010, compared with 2009.
A key area for service improvement could be providing sufficient fuel at vehicle delivery, the study shows. Seventy-five percent of customers in China get a car with less than nine liters of gas, or even one-fifth of a full tank, while 95 percent of customers in the United States leave with a full tank.
"Compared with mature markets, auto makers and dealerships in China still have a lot of room to improve," said Jacob George, managing director of J.D. Power Asia Pacific, Shanghai. "They would all eventually benefit from those further investments in improving customer perceptions of service timing, convenience and value for the price paid."
Premium brands as a whole have added 22 points from 2010, while non-premium brands have gained 24 points.
BMW (856) and Mercedes-Benz (854) are the two highest-scoring premium auto makers; BMW ranks No.11 and Mercedes-Benz No.13 among 57 passenger car manufacturers.
Audi perches on the top of the list, with its overall purchase satisfaction of 887, followed by Dongfeng Nissan (880), FAW-Volkswagen (869), and Dongfeng Honda and GAC Toyota, in a tie (866 each).
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