Customer Service Satisfaction Gap Continues to Narrow between Mass Market and Luxury Car Brands, J.D. Power Finds

SHANGHAI: 29 Sept. 2022 — Customer service satisfaction with mass market and luxury car brands this year is 755 and 768 points, respectively (on a 1,000-point scale), according to the J.D. Power 2022 China Customer Service Index (CSI) Study,^SM released today. The gap between these market segments is just 13 points this year, compared with 14 points in 2021 and 18 points in 2021.

The China Customer Service Index (CSI) Study, now in its 22^nd year, measures satisfaction with after-sales service at authorized dealers in the past 12 months among owners of one- to four-year-old vehicles.

The study shows that the overall customer service satisfaction index of the industry in 2022 is 757, a decline of 2 points from 2021. Among factors measured in the study, the service team is the factor with the highest weight this year, reflecting that customers are paying more attention to the strength of service by dealer personnel.

“With the improvement of digital service tools, the connection between automakers and customers extends from the vehicle purchase and after-sales service to the whole vehicle life cycle,” said Ann Xie, general manager of the digital retail consulting practice at J.D. Power China. “The customer experience has evolved from one point of service to a cohesive, continuous experience. This has put forward higher expectations on the customer service experience design capabilities and service execution capabilities of OEMs. Automakers need to go from behind the stage to the front of the stage to face customers, establish a systematic customer experience management and form a service synergy with dealers, which will become the key to success with customer service satisfaction in the future.”

Following are additional findings of the 2022 study

• Chinese domestic vehicle owners' satisfaction with service value has increased the most compared with last year: In 2022, the overall CSI score among Chinese domestic brands is 753. Domestic brand vehicle owners have higher satisfaction with fairness of charges this year, mainly due to more accurate cost estimates, higher execution rate of billing explanation and more accurate and successful service promotion. In terms of usefulness, customers say that dealers of domestic brands have shown a higher level of professionalism than previously in service details, such as explaining repairs needed, resolving vehicle issues at one time and providing helpful advice.

• Scheduling experience of mass market vehicle owners has not had any positive effect on overall satisfaction: Satisfaction with scheduling among mass market vehicle owners is 753 when a reservation is made and 758 when no reservation is made, showing that scheduling an appointment does not greatly affect satisfaction. Mass market brands have the highest churn rate for phone reservations, as customers indicate the phone was not answered. Mass market brand vehicle owners also cite the most complaints about waiting in stores even after making reservations.

• Adoption of pick-up/drop-off services is rising: In recent years, major manufacturers have launched pick-up/drop-off services. The study finds that 67% of luxury brand vehicle owners acknowledge pick-up/ drop-off services, but only 35% of owners say they used it, indicating there is a large opportunity for dealers to promote this service. German brands have the highest usage rate of pick-up/drop-off services.

• Young vehicle owners' satisfaction with welcome and diagnostic improves the most: Satisfaction among young vehicle owners (under the age of 29) is higher than average. Among the key factors, the satisfaction of welcome and diagnostic (777) improves the most, which is 20.4 points higher than the industry average. Service quality (781) has the highest satisfaction score. During reception, these owners pay more attention to the efficiency of the hand-over process, while in terms of quality, they care most about the one-time repair rate and the maintenance of personal vehicle settings.

Study Rankings

Audi ranks highest in customer service satisfaction among luxury brands with a score of 786. Land Rover ranks second with a score of 772.

GAC Honda ranks highest in customer service satisfaction among mass market brands for the second consecutive year with a score of 783.

GAC Trumpchi (773) ranks highest among Chinese domestic brands and ranks second among mass market brands. Geely (770) ranks second among Chinese domestic brands and ranks third among mass market brands. Chery (762) ranks third among Chinese domestic brands.

The China Customer Service Index (CSI) Study measures customer satisfaction based on six factors: service team (21%); service facility (18%); welcome and diagnostic (17%); service quality (16%); service value (16%); and service reservation (13%).[1]

The 2022 China Customer Service Index (CSI) Study is based on responses from 37,176 vehicle owners of 47 automotive brands in 70 major cities who purchased their new vehicle between December 2017 and May 2021. The study was fielded from January through June 2022.

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. Those capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. Established in 1968, J.D. Power has offices serving North America, Asia Pacific and Europe. For more information, please visit china.jdpower.com or stay connected with us on J.D. Power WeChat and Weibo.

Media Relations Contacts

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Geno Effler, J.D. Power; USA; 001-714-621-6224; media.relations@jdpa.com

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[1] The weights are presented in rounded form, and the actual calculation is based on decimal places.