Mitsubishi, Honda Top Jd Power Survey

Hindustan Motors-Mitsubishi and Honda Siel Cars Ltd have topped the JD Power Asia Pacific's sales-satisfaction chart. The leading auto-consultancy firm has assigned the highest rank to the two companies for "creating a hassle-free service experience at the time of sales and delivery." Both have scored 114 points.

This is the first such survey conducted by JD Power Asia Pacific in India. According to the survey, Honda and HM-Mitsubishi "perform well in all the factors, except price evaluation, where they fall below the industry average."

The survey spells bad news for Telco. The company has scored the lowest points, 89. After performing badly in the Consumer Satisfaction Survey (where Indica came second from the bottom), which was released in November last year, and in the JD Power Indian Quality and Appeal Survey (announced in December last year) in which both Tata Safari and Indica scored much below the industry average, this survey spoils Telco's image further.

As per these three surveys, Telco scores poorly in consumer satisfaction, quality and in customer experience at the time of sale and delivery.

JD Power's Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI), which was released yesterday, reveals that auto companies like General Motors, Toyota Kirloskar, Hindustan Motors, Fiat and Telco have performed below the industry average (of 100) in terms of various indicators like sales experience, price evaluation, delivery timing and post-delivery contact. JD Power had surveyed new car owners who purchased their vehicles between September 1999 and April 2000. Six major factors were studied, of which sales experience was the most important factor accounting for 37 per cent of the SSI score.

Scoring 110 points, Ford India comes a close second (after HM-Mitsubishi and Honda) followed by Mahindra and Mahindra (109), Daewoo Motors (105), Hyundai (102) and Maruti Udyog Limited (102). The study highlighted a shift in the market _ which is increasingly becoming customer-driven from a manufacturing-driven one. In a manufacturing-driven market, consumers were at the mercy of manufacturers and dealers when it came to vehicle choice and delivery timing. "The dynamics of selling cars is changing and manufacturers and dealers who fail to meet the rising needs and expectations of customers will lose out to those who can perform better," the survey said.

"The study shows that some dealers are still more concerned about making a quick sale by promising an early delivery date than building a long-term relationship with their customers," JD Power Asia Pacific Director Chris Bonsi said.