India’s top auto brands in dealer service satisfaction

For a 10th consecutive year, Maruti Suzuki ranks highest in customer satisfaction with authorized dealer service in India, according to the JD Power Asia Pacific 2009 India Customer Service Index (CSI) Study released on Tuesday. Maruti Suzuki achieves an overall CSI score of 824 and performs particularly well in the service advisor and service facility factors. Following Maruti in the rankings are Honda and Mahindra.

The study finds that the proportion of customers who defected from dealership service facilities to non-authorized service centers for their vehicle service requirements has decreased to 7% in 2009 from 11% in 2008. This decrease in defection rates is attributable to brands expanding the reach and quality of their service networks, as well as to manufacturers making greater efforts to retain customers.

The study, now in its 13th year, measures satisfaction among vehicle owners who visited their authorized dealership service center for maintenance or repair work during the first 12 to 24 months of ownership. Redesigned in 2009, the study measures overall satisfaction by examining five factors (listed in the order of importance): service quality; vehicle pickup; service advisor; service facility; and service initiation. Overall customer satisfaction is measured on a 1,000 point scale, with a higher score indicating higher satisfaction. The study, which is based on responses from more than 5,800 owners of nearly 50 different vehicle models, was fielded from May to August 2009 and includes customers who had purchased their vehicles between May 2007 and August 2008.

Here we take a look at India’s top auto brands in dealer service satisfaction: