Mercedes-Benz secured the top spot in sales satisfaction among luxury brands in the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Index Study after a large improvement compared to last year’s performance.
It seems that when it comes to new-car buying customer satisfaction, Americans have a soft spot for European car brands and this trend was constant in 2014 as well.
At least this is what the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index Study tells us, especially after Mercedes-Benz managed to score 761 points on the index.
Mercedes-Benz was also the top performer as it recorded the largest improvement over 2013, jumping 33 points. Last year, the German brand secured fifth place among luxury brands.
Quoted by Autonews, Steve Cannon, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA said that it was the first time in 24 years that the brand has clinched the top spot. At the same time, Cannon credited the accomplishment to the launch of various programs to improve customer service during the past three years.
“According to their survey, we are using tablets at about twice the rate of all our key competitors. The experience we create ranks higher among Generation Y-ers than all of our key competitors,” explained Cannon.
The study, now in its 28th year, measures satisfaction with the sales experience among new-vehicle buyers and rejecters—those who shop a dealership and purchase elsewhere.
Buyer satisfaction is based on four factors (in order of importance): working out the deal (17%); salesperson (13%); delivery process (11%); and facility (10%). Rejecter satisfaction is based on five factors (in order of importance): salesperson (21%); fairness of price (8%); experience negotiating (8%); variety of inventory (7%); and facility (7%).
