Press Release

Overall Customer Satisfaction with After-Sales Service Improves Driven by the Vehicle Pick-Up and Service Representative

Lexus Ranks Highest in the Luxury Segment for a 9th Consecutive Year; MINI Ranks Highest in the Mass Market Segment for a 3rd Consecutive Year

Tokyo: 17 September 2015 ― Overall customer satisfaction with the after-sales service process has gradually increased due in part to an improved customer experience with vehicle pick-up and the service representative, according to theJ.D. Power Asia Pacific 2015 Japan Customer Service Index (CSI) StudySM today.

The study, now in its 14th year, measures overall satisfaction with after-sales service among new-vehicle owners who visit an authorized service center for maintenance or repair work during the first 15 to 50 months of ownership based on five factors (in order of importance): vehicle pick-up (21%); service representative (21%); service quality (21%); facility (19%); and service initiation (18%). Overall customer satisfaction is measured on a 1,000-point scale with a higher score indicating higher customer satisfaction.

Overall service satisfaction increases slightly in 2015, up by 2 points to 654 from 652 in 2014. In the luxury segment, overall satisfaction remains at 726 year over year. In the mass market segment, overall satisfaction increases by 2 point to 651 from 649 in 2014.

“Overall satisfaction is gradually improving as vehicle sales have increased from 2014, however not all brands have improved,” said Taku Kimoto, executive director of the automotive division at J.D. Power Asia Pacific, Tokyo. “Among those brands that did improve, it is the quality of dealer’s performance, such as the flexibility of the dealers in meeting their customers’ convenience, or how thorough the explanation is about the service work that helps drive customer satisfaction. Manufacturers should focus on the dealer services provided and how they can improve the customer experience.”

Key Findings

  • In the luxury segment, satisfaction improves in the service representative (+4 points) and facility factors, (+3); however, satisfaction declines in service initiation (-2), vehicle pick-up (-1) and service quality (-1). In the mass market segment, satisfaction increases in the vehicle pick-up (+6 points), facility (+3), service initiation (+2) and service quality (+1) factors, while satisfaction declines in service representative (-2).
  • With respect to service initiation, the service activities performed most frequently that have increased by dealers include protecting the vehicle interior before the service work (+7.5%); checking the vehicle exterior for scratches (+2.5%); checking the condition of the areas not requested prior to beginning the work (+3.0%); checking the condition of the areas asked to be worked on prior to beginning the work (+2.2%); and checking the vehicle’s past service history (+1.8%).
  • Providing an outstanding after-sales service experience can generate high levels of dealer loyalty. Among highly satisfied customers (overall satisfaction scores of 800 points or higher), 78 percent say they “probably will” or “definitely will” recommend the dealer to others; however, advocacy drops substantially among customers with lower levels of satisfaction (scores below 500), as only 32 percent of those customers say the same.

2015 Ranking Highlights

Lexus ranks highest in the luxury segment, with a score of 805, which is 79 points higher than the segment average of 726.

MINI ranks highest in the Mass Market segment for a third consecutive year, with a score of 714, followed by Nissan (665) and Toyota (663).

The 2015 Japan Customer Service Index (CSI) Study measures passenger-vehicle owner satisfaction with after-sales service obtained during the most recent one-year period at an authorized dealership. The study is based on responses from 9,164 domestic and import vehicle owners during 15 to 50 months of ownership. The online survey was conducted from late May through late June 2015.

About J.D. Power Asia Pacific

J.D. Power Asia Pacific has offices in Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai and Bangkok that conduct customer satisfaction research and provide consulting services in the automotive, information technology and finance industries. Together, the five offices bring the language of customer satisfaction to consumers and businesses in Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Information regarding J.D. Power Asia Pacific and its products can be accessed through the Internet at japan.jdpower.com.

About McGraw Hill Financial www.mhfi.com 

Media Relations Contacts

Shizue Hidaka; J.D. Power Asia Pacific; Metro City Kamiyacho 8F; 5-1-5 Toranomon; Minato-ku, Tokyo; Japan 105-0001; Phone +81-3-4550-8060; shizue.hidaka@jdpower.co.jp

John Tews; Director, Media Relations; J.D. Power; 320 E. Big Beaver; 5th Floor, Suite 500, Troy, MI, 48083 USA; 001 248-680-6218; john.tews@jdpa.com

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power. www.jdpower.com