Kia tops Fada's overall customer experience index in mass-market space

In the luxury segment, Audi takes the top spot

South Korean carmaker Kia was on Tuesday declared the top mass-market performer in the overall customer experience index (CEI), an annual survey done by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (Fada) to assess and quantify customer experience across 97 parameters related to sales, product, and after-sales quality.

Fada conducted this survey in collaboration with consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, with a sample size of 8,685 respondents.

Vinkesh Gulati, chairman, Fada Academy & Research, told reporters that features in cars are a "given" now and they have a limited allure when it comes to customer satisfaction.

"Features in cars are a given. Customers want the basic things. A good vehicle, service, resale value, and importance and respect as a customer are what they are looking for," he added.

"Companies are creating a big showroom with a café-type arena, a stimulator, etc., whereas this is not what the customer wants. He wants a base that will support his vehicle buying decision, vehicle service decision and the product needs," he mentioned.

While Kia was the top CEI performer in the mass-market segment, Audi was the top performer in the luxury segment.

Toyota, Tata Motors, JSW MG Motors, and Mahindra & Mahindra held the subsequent positions between number two and five in the mass-market segment. India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki was at the number sixth position in the CEI index.

Gulati stated: "If I relate the sales volume numbers with customer satisfaction, it does not work because the price of the vehicle, the overall product proposition, makes a difference (to the customer). Maruti is selling about 150,000 units per month... they have something that others don't have, that is why they are selling those numbers. But it does not mean that the customer is equally satisfied with Maruti and Kia (which is a much smaller player).”

The sample size of each company was taken in proportion to their market share in India, he clarified. Therefore, Maruti, being the largest carmaker in India, also had the largest proportion of customers in the total sample taken in the survey for this index.

Hardeep Singh Brar, Senior Vice President (Sales & Marketing), Kia India, said, “We are overwhelmed on topping the customer experience index, this is a testament to our unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional experiences to our customers at every touchpoint. Our top ranking reflects our dedicated efforts to put the customer at the heart of everything we do.We thank our dealer partners for providing the superlative experience to all our customers."