Japan Vehicle Dealerships Can Boost Customer Satisfaction by Improving Efficiency Despite Staffing Shortages, J.D. Power Finds

TOKYO: 4 September 2025 — Two trends are creating major concerns in customer satisfaction with after-sales vehicle service in Japan. Overall satisfaction has declined 2 points from 2024, to 723 (on a 1,000-point scale), according to the J.D. Power 2025 Japan Customer Service Index (CSI) Study,^SM released today. This reflects dealerships’ increasing challenges to provide adequate staffing to meet customer service needs. By study factor, satisfaction with dealer facilities and support stands at 723, while satisfaction with booking/dropping off the vehicle and service quality/vehicle delivery are each 722. By segment, overall satisfaction averages 781 for luxury brands and 719 for mass market domestic brands. 

“Like many other industries where staffing shortages are currently a major concern, the automotive industry is increasingly facing challenges in securing sales representatives and mechanics,” said Taku Kimoto, Japan CEO at J.D. Power. “To meet these challenges, digitalization has been adopted in after-sales services to improve operational efficiency and service quality. The study finds, however, that more creative approaches are needed in booking systems, particularly internet-based online systems. In addition, to enhance operational efficiency with limited staffing, dealerships need to implement measures at vehicle drop-off and pick-up, instead of depending on the traditional fixed staffing system.”

Following are key findings of the 2025 study:
 

• Further use of websites for booking after-sales service is expected: The study asks customers how they book after-sales service. Use of an appointment form on the make/dealer’s website has risen 3 points from 2024 to 20%. Satisfaction with booking/drop-off is 732 when customers use an appointment form, which is 10 points above the overall average. The most common method remains a call from the representative (33%), with satisfaction at 748, 26 points above average. While only 46% of customers got their preferred date and time using this method, the percentage rises to 54% among those completing a website form, and is the highest among appointment methods. Nearly one-fourth (23%) of customers say they want to use online booking to schedule the date and time of future visits. Enhancing operational efficiency and satisfaction may require internet-based booking, optimizing available slots and better aligning schedules with customer demand.
   
• Dealerships need to optimize operations and review traditional systems: To increase satisfaction, dealerships must deliver inspections and services efficiently for increasingly technologically advanced vehicles while also clearly communicating what services need to be performed. The study shows that mechanics explain service details more often than sales representatives (36% vs. 29%, respectively) and service representatives (36% vs. 28%, respectively) at drop-off, and far more often than service representatives (55% vs. 24%, respectively) and sales representatives (55% vs. 20%, respectively) at pick-up. Responsibility for explanations and satisfaction levels vary by manufacturer, and customer satisfaction with those explanations also differs across manufacturers. Mechanics still handle most customer interactions, but this traditional system doesn’t always improve satisfaction, especially amid growing staffing shortages.

Study Rankings

Luxury Brands

Among the five luxury brands included in the study, Lexus (804) ranks highest. Lexus performs particularly well in two factors, which are dealer facilities and support and service quality/vehicle delivery. Volvo (796) ranks second and BMW (792) ranks third..

Mass Market Domestic Brands

Among the eight mass market domestic brands included in the study, Nissan (734) ranks highest. Nissan performs particularly well in two factors, which are dealer facilities and support and booking/dropping off the vehicle. Honda (732) ranks second and Mazda (723) ranks third.

The Japan Customer Service Index (CSI) Study is now in its 24th year. Satisfaction is measured with after-sales service among new-vehicle owners between 14 to 49 months of ownership. The three study factors are (listed in order of importance): dealer facilities and support (35%); service quality/vehicle delivery (34%); and booking/dropping off the vehicle (31%). 

The 2025 study is based on responses from 8,310 owners who purchased their new vehicle between April 2021 and March 2024. The study surveys owners who visited a manufacturer-authorized service center for maintenance or repair work in the past year. The online study was fielded in May-June 2025.

About J.D. Power
J.D. Power is a global leader in automotive data and analytics, and provides industry intelligence, consumer insights and advisory solutions to the automotive industry and selected non-automotive industries. J.D. Power leverages its extensive proprietary datasets and software capabilities combined with advanced analytics and artificial intelligence tools to help its clients optimize business performance.

J.D. Power was founded in 1968 and has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more about the company’s business offerings, visit https://japan.jdpower.com/.

Media Relations Contacts

Kumi Kitami; Japan; 81-3-6809-2996; release@jdpa.com

Joe LaMuraglia; J.D. Power, USA; 714-621-6224; media.relations@jdpa.com

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