Significant Improvement in Sales Satisfaction with Domestic Brands Leads to an Increase in Brand Loyalty to the Automaker

Shanghai: 30 June 2015 — Overall customer satisfaction with the new-vehicle sales process increases in both the luxury and mass market segments, with the most significant improvement among Chinese domestic brands, which has led to an increase in the repurchase rate for these brands, according to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2015 China Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study^SM released today. 

The study, now in its 16th year, measures customer satisfaction with the new-vehicle sales experience based on five factors (in order of importance): delivery process (23%); sales initiation (21%); deal (20%); dealer facility (19%); salesperson (17%). Sales satisfaction is calculated on a 1,000-point scale.

Overall sales satisfaction with luxury brands averages 720 in 2015, a 14 point increase from 2014, while satisfaction with mass market brands averages 682, up 11 points. In the luxury segment, delivery process satisfaction improves the most (+17 points) among all factors. In the mass market segment, dealer facility improves most (+14).

Domestic brands, compared with foreign or non-domestic brands, improve the most (+31 points) from 2014, which is the primary driver of the satisfaction increase in the mass market segment.

Higher levels of sales satisfaction have led to higher repurchase rates among customers whose first vehicle was a domestic brand. The same-make repurchase rate among domestic brand buyers has risen in each of the past three years— to 11 percent in 2015 from 7 percent in 2013—while the repurchase rates for all other brand origins have declined year over year.

“Domestic brands have been making tremendous efforts to improve the sales experience for new-vehicle buyers, with a special focus on building long-term customer relationships,” said Dr. Mei Songlin, vice president and managing director at J.D. Power Asia Pacific, Shanghai. “Those efforts have, in turn, been rewarded with an increase in sales volume and customer loyalty.”

Domestic brands have also made progress in building long-term customer loyalty through improved interactions. Among domestic brand buyers, 83 percent are introduced to service personnel during the delivery process, up from 81 percent in 2014. Satisfaction among these customers is 71 points higher than among those who are not introduced to service personnel.

The percentage of domestic brand customers who receive such services as scheduled a maintenance visit post-delivery has increased to 50 percent from 47 percent in 2014, and the percentage of those who receive an invitation to an owner event has increased to 22 percent from 13 percent. Satisfaction among these groups is 45 points higher than those who do not receive these initiatives after delivery.

KEY FINDINGS

• Nearly one fifth (17%) of new-vehicle buyers use a loan to finance their purchase. Satisfaction among this group is 54 points higher than among those who do not use a loan.
• Satisfaction among new-vehicle buyers whose dealer recommends the insurance company they prefer is 23 points higher than among those whose dealer does not recommend their preferred insurer (683 vs. 660, respectively). Among female buyers, satisfaction improves by 26 points when their dealer recommends their preferred insurer, compared with when their preferred insurer is not recommended (675 and 649, respectively).
• More than half (54%) of new-vehicle buyers indicate they used the Internet during their shopping process to search and compare vehicle information; make a test drive appointment; confirm a price; or make a deposit or full payment. Satisfaction among customers who use the Internet while shopping for a new vehicle is 703, which is 12 points higher than among those who do not use the Internet.

Rankings

For a third consecutive year, Audi ranks highest among luxury brands in satisfaction with the new-vehicle sales experience, with a score of 795. This also marks the sixth consecutive year Audi has ranked highest in the study[1]. Infiniti ranks second with a score of 760.

Beijing Hyundai ranks highest among mass market brands for the second consecutive year, with a score of 812. Dongfeng Citroen ranks second (799) and Dongfeng Nissan ranks third (777).

The 2015 China Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study is based on responses from 15,633 vehicle owners who purchased their new vehicle between July 2014 and February 2015. The study was fielded from January through April 2015 in 57 major cities in China.

Media Relations Contacts

Michelle Meng; Beijing, China; +86 01 6569 2702; yutian.meng@jdpa.com

John Tews; Troy, Michigan USA; 001 248 680 6218; john.tews@jdpa.com

About J.D. Power Asia Pacific: www.jdpower.com

About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules www.jdpower.com/corporate

About McGraw Hill Financial www.mhfi.com 

[1] Audi ranked highest in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 studies, when all brands were included in one segment.