German carmakers are lagging behind their Japanese rivals in aftersales customer satisfaction in South Korea, according to a survey.
The annual assessment by Marketing Insight, based on a consumer survey on major carmakers, Volkswagen and BMW shared the lowest score of 746 out of 1,000 points in the aftersales sector.
Audi and Mercedes-Benz scored 768 and 808 points, respectively, but none of the four German companies outperformed any of the five major Japanese carmakers.
Lexus was top of the satisfaction list with 837 points, followed by Infiniti, 835 points, Honda, 832, Toyota, 824 and Nissan with 811 points.
Audi, Volkswagen and BMW were also lower than GM Korea (810 points), Ssangyong (809), Renault Samsung (807) and Hyundai Motor (782).
Marketing Insight data showed that the German companies drew many complaints as they failed to meet demands for after-sales service from local consumers.
The research company said that Korean consumers are increasingly prioritising aftersales service when they choose cars.
The report comes at a time when the top German brands are enjoying a sales boom in the country. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Audi account for 65% of the import market.
