Maruti Suzuki Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction in India For a Seventh Consecutive Year.

JD Power Asia Pacific 2006 India Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Study

For a seventh consecutive year, Maruti Suzuki ranks highest in customer satisfaction with authorised dealership service, according to the JD Power Asia Pacific 2006 India Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Study^SM released on 26th Oct, 2006.

 
The industry too has improved with six of the nine makes ranked in the study registering improvements. Ford follows Maruti Suzuki in the rankings, and Mahindra and Toyota both rank third in a tie. Tata, which shows significant improvements in six of the seven factors, emerges as the most-improved nameplate in the study with an increase of 31 index points from its 2005 score.

The study, now in its 10th year, measures the overall satisfaction of vehicle owners who visit their authorized dealer/service centre for maintenance or repair work during the first 12 to 18 months of ownership. Overall satisfaction is determined by utilising seven measures. They are (in order of importance): Problems experienced; service quality; user-friendly service; service advisor; service initiation; service delivery; and in-service experience.

The industry average CSI has increased to 776 index points on a 1,000-point scale in 2006 - up 15 points from the 2005 study. Maruti Suzuki leads the industry in customer satisfaction with a CSI score of 848 points and continues to set the industry benchmark on all measures of the CSI. Maruti Suzuki also improves its performance in all measures from 2005 results.

"Maruti Suzuki's performance in 2006 is a new industry high score, and raises the expectations for other manufacturers in the industry," said Mohit Arora, India director at JD Power Asia Pacific. "Nearly 50 per cent of Maruti Suzuki customer indicated that their expectations were exceeded, which generally results in particularly high levels of loyalty and advocacy intentions toward a vehicle make."

The study finds that during the past 10 years there has been a consistent increase in the number of customers who bring their vehicles into dealerships for regular service, which includes routine maintenance and oil changes but excludes repairs. Among customers who bring their vehicle in for regular service, a quick turnaround leads to higher satisfaction levels, with scores nearly 100 points above the industry average when this expectation is met. Maruti Suzuki again leads the industry in providing a quick service turnaround with nearly one of seven customers reporting they receive their vehicle back within three hours.

 
"While the concept of quick service is prevalent internationally, it is still relatively new to India," said Arora. "Vehicle owners in India appreciate a quick service turnaround if it is done in a cost-effective and high-quality manner. Also, it is beneficial to dealers, as it enables greater service-bay productivity and, therefore, higher overall service revenues."

The study also examines the cost of operating new vehicles, both in terms of actual costs and owner satisfaction with those costs. Operation costs of new vehicles have increased from the 2005 study - up 12 per cent for diesel and 17 per cent for petrol vehicles. The overall cost of operation is an aggregation of three components: fuel; repair and maintenance; and tyre expenses. While the Tata Indica, Indigo and Marina vehicle models post strong performances in the diesel segment in terms of cost of operation, Maruti models continue to dominate in the petrol segment.

The 2006 India Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) study is based on responses from more than 4,500 owners of nearly 40 different vehicle models. The study was fielded from June to August 2006.