Maruti tops customer satisfaction with dealer service:JD Power

Country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has topped customer satisfaction with dealer service for a 14th consecutive year, rated by market research firm JD Power Asia Pacific.

According to JD Power Asia Pacific study, in a 1,000-point scale MSI had a score of 876, while the mass market average was 834.

"Maruti Suzuki performs particularly well across all factors," JD Power Asia Pacific said in a statement.

MSI was followed by Hyundai (833), Honda (825), Mahindra and Toyota (813 each), and Tata (799) in the rankings.

"Hyundai is also the most improved brand in the study, with significant improvements achieved across all five factors," it added.

The study measured satisfaction among vehicle owners who visit an authorised dealership service center for maintenance or repair work between the first 12 to 24 months of vehicle ownership.

Service quality, vehicle pick-up, service adviser, service facility and service initiation were the five factors used for measuring overall customer satisfaction.

The study said the overall quality of service completed continued to show consistently strong performance across the industry in India year over year.

"While 93% of owners indicate that the work was done correctly the first time, which is consistent with 2012 results, 71% of owners indicate that their vehicles were returned cleaner after the service - a 7% increase from 2012," it said.

Commenting on the findings of the study, JD Power Asia Pacific Executive Director Mohit Arora said: "The quality of service remains consistently high, evidence that the automakers and their dealer networks are working hard to make service a satisfying experience for their customers."

The 2013 India Customer Service Index Study was based on evaluations from 7,477 vehicle owners, JD Power said adding, it was fielded from May to August 2013 and included owners who purchased their vehicle between May 2011 and August 2012.