Press Release

Customers in India Prefer Speaking to a Representative Rather Than Using Digital Tools to Schedule Vehicle Service, J.D. Power Finds

MG Ranks Highest in India Customer Service

In an era of digitalization, customers in India still prefer to schedule their service appointments over the phone, according to the J.D. Power 2021 India Customer Service Index Study (CSI),SM released today. After a hiatus since 2019, J.D. Power has re-launched the India Customer Service Index Study in collaboration with NielsenIQ.

More than three-fourths (77%) of customers said they scheduled their service via a phone call with the authorized dealer workshop. Even for their future service visits, 83% said they would continue to prefer phone-based scheduling. The top two reasons for not using a digital mode are the requirement of an urgent service visit (57%) and the need to speak to someone (38%). In addition, the study finds that among customers who used a digital channel to initiate a service appointment, the dealership staff had to call them back to schedule the appointment.

“Servicing of the vehicle is an essential errand, often done without sufficient advance planning,” said Sandeep Pande, lead of the automotive practice India at NielsenIQ. “The ability to execute the service booking digitally—without human intervention—will not only lessen the effort at the customer’s end but will allow the dealers to use their team for purely revenue-maximization activities.”

Following are additional key findings of the 2021 study:

  • Pinching finances: More than one-fourth (27%) of customers said they thought the cost of their last service was higher than they expected. The average spend on their most recent service was INR 4390, which is less than the INR 5000 average in 2019.
  • Service advisor recommendations: Comprehensive service advisor recommendations tend to increase the amount spent by a customer. Nearly two-thirds (66%) of those who cited agreeing to the work recommended by service advisors ended up spending 6% more than those who did not.
  • Significant churn risk: More than one-third (37%) of customers said they may return to their service dealer for out-of-warranty work, signifying a risk to the overall service business of the dealers.

Study Ranking

MG India ranks highest with a score 868 (on a 1,000-point scale), followed by Hyundai (845) and Kia India (831).

The 2021 India Customer Service Index Study (CSI) is based on responses from 5,313 new-vehicle owners who purchased their vehicle from September 2018 through December 2020. The study was fielded from September through December 2021.

The study measures new-vehicle owners’ satisfaction with after-sales process by examining the dealership performance in five factors (listed in order of importance); service initiation (26%); service advisor (20%); vehicle pick-up (20%); service quality (19%); and service facility (15%). The study only examines the after-sale satisfaction in the mass market segment.

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. A pioneer in the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modeling capabilities to understand consumer behavior, J.D. Power has been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands and products for more than 50 years. The world's leading businesses across major industries rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies. J.D. Power has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

NielsenIQ is the leader in providing the most complete, unbiased view of consumer behavior, globally. Powered by a groundbreaking consumer data platform and fueled by rich analytic capabilities, NielsenIQ enables bold, confident decision-making for the world’s leading consumer goods companies and retailers.

Using comprehensive data sets and measuring all transactions equally, NielsenIQ gives clients a forward-looking view into consumer behavior to optimize performance across all retail platforms. Our open philosophy on data integration enables the most influential consumer data sets on the planet. NielsenIQ delivers the complete truth.

NielsenIQ, an Advent International portfolio company, has operations in nearly 100 markets, covering more than 90% of the world’s population. For more information, visit NielsenIQ.com.

Media Relations Contacts
Geno Effler, J.D. Power; media.relations@jdpa.com; +1-714-621-6224
Kaustav Roy, NielsenIQ; kaustav.roy@nielseniq.com
Sandeep Pande, NielsenIQ; sandeep.pande@nielseniq.com

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2021 India Customer Service Index (CSI) Study