Nissan ranks highest in satisfying customers with the vehicle sales and delivery process in Malaysia, according to the JD Power Asia Pacific 2005 Malaysia Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) study.
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Overall satisfaction is measured based on performance in six factors covering the different aspects of the sales experience. In order of importance, they are: delivery process, delivery timing, salesperson, dealer facility, paperwork and deal.
The industry posts an improvement of 13 points over 2004, now standing at 767 (out of a possible 1,000 points).
This improvement is fuelled by a 22-point increase for the national segment, which includes Proton, Perodua, Inokom and Naza. In contrast, the rapidly growing non-national segment declines by 13 points.
Nissan continues to lead the industry for the second consecutive year, topping the rankings with an overall index score of 780. Nissan receives high ratings in all six factors and leads the industry on delivery timing, which includes the ability to deliver the vehicle at the promised time and the length of time needed to deliver the vehicle.
Perodua gains 23 points over 2004 to rank second in overall sales satisfaction. Perodua improves on all six factors, with especially strong gains in the factors of deal and dealer facility. Perodua has the lowest percentage of customers reporting that they felt sales pressure (48%), followed by Nissan (50%).
Inokom experiences the greatest improvement in sales satisfaction in 2005—up 46 points to finish sixth in the rankings. Inokom garners strong improvements on all six factors, with the largest increases in the factors of salesperson, dealer facility and delivery timing.
In other findings, 64% of shoppers rely on the recommendations of friends and family as at least one of the information sources they use when shopping for a new vehicle. Other information sources cited most often are auto shows, price guides and owners of the same vehicle make. The likelihood to recommend the sales dealer is greatly influenced by satisfaction with the sales experience. Forty-one percent of customers who are highly satisfied (scoring above 841 points) report that they definitely would recommend the sales dealer, compared to only 15% of those who record scores below 702 points.
The 2005 Malaysia Sales Satisfaction Index Study is based on evaluations from more than 2,700 new-vehicle owners at two to six months of ownership and includes owners who purchased their vehicles between August 2004 and February 2005.
Lexus ranks highest in new-vehicle sales satisfaction in Taiwan for the sixth consecutive year, according to a similar study there.
The Taiwan study is based on evaluations from more than 2,600 new-vehicle buyers who were surveyed at two to six months of ownership. The survey was conducted from January 2005 to April 2005 and includes buyers who purchased their new vehicle between July 2004 and February 2005.
The study measures six factors that contribute to overall customer satisfaction with the sales experience. In order of importance, the factors are: delivery process, salesperson, delivery timing, deal, dealer facility and paperwork.
Lexus leads the industry with a score of 840 (on a 1,000-point scale), with particularly strong ratings in the salesperson, delivery process and dealer facility factors.
Mercedes-Benz follows Lexus in the ranking with an SSI score of 837, leading the industry in the deal and paperwork factors.
Toyota ranks third, overtaking Honda as the highest-ranked non-luxury make. Toyota performs particularly well on the delivery process factor.
Hyundai registers an impressive increase in performance in 2005, moving from below industry average in 2004 to tie with BMW in fourth position. Hyundai sets the industry benchmark on delivery timing, with the highest proportion of customers reporting better than expected delivery timings.
Satisfying customers with the sales process remains essential in promoting customer loyalty and advocacy. The study finds that customers recording high ratings for the new-vehicle sales process are more likely to repurchase and recommend the same make than those less satisfied with the sales experience. High sales satisfaction also plays an important role in increasing the likelihood that customers will return to the dealership for maintenance and service work, as well as to purchase their next vehicle.
