If you bought a Mercedes this year, odds are you're happier about that than other new car buyers.
For the second year in a row, Americans are less satisfied with their new cars and trucks. Customer Satisfaction with new vehicles dropped 1.2% last year as 16 of 21 nameplates saw declines.
According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, the makers averaged 82 points out of 100 with Mercedes-Benz getting the highest rating of 86 points. The drop is somewhat ironic given the harried pace of sales for much of the last two years.
“There is a lot going on in the area of big incentives,” said Forrest Morgeson, director of research, told the Wall Street Journal. “Many of the car companies are getting rid of those deals to improve profitability. That is weighing on the customer satisfaction.”
Of the 21 brands, just two – Chevrolet (+4%) and Buick (+1%) – turned in better scores. As has been the case for some time, imports retain a significant advantage in driver satisfaction: six of the top seven ACSI cars are imports.
As noted earlier, Mercedes is down 2% but still leads with an 86. The German maker was followed by Subaru at 85: a 1% drop. Lexus fell 3% and into a tie Volkswagen, which remained flat, at 84. While Toyota and Honda each dropped 3% to 83 Buick’s aforementioned jump pushed it to 83. It is the only domestic nameplate to exceed the industry average.
(Volvo may be the first to export vehicles from China to the U.S. For more, Click Here.)
Other scores included:
- Chevrolet, GMC and Kia: 82
- Ford, Nissan, Hyundai and Chrysler: 81
- Cadillac, Mazda and BMW: 80
- Jeep and Audi: 79
- Dodge: 78
- Acura: 77
Acura and Cadillac suffered precipitous drops of 7% and 6%, respectively. Luxury brands took it on the chin in this year’s survey.
(Click Here for details on GM’s ongoing plans to reform its IT plans.)
“(A) notable finding is that several of the luxury brands do poorly,” said Claes Fornell, ACSI Chairman and founder. “That didn’t use to be the case, and suggests that consumers now expect more for their money when they pay a premium price.”
(To see how the auto industry outperformed other sectors, Click Here.)
Another interesting note in is the impact recalls had on customer satisfaction – in a record-setting year for recalls. Car owners who had at least one recall in the past year rate their vehicle 6% lower than those who did not experience a recall. The ACSI tracks cars purchased within the past three years, so the industry-wide deterioration in customer satisfaction is not affected by earlier model recalls.