Honda PH satisfies car buyers the most this year, says J.D. Power

Honda ranks the highest in overall sales satisfaction in the Philippines, followed by Mitsubishi and Toyota in a J.D. Power study. Honda had a score of 832, followed by Mitsubishi with 829 and lastly Toyota with a score of 823.

The scores are based on a 1,000-point scale overall Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) from 1,830 respondents. The respondents are new car buyers from July 2018 to April 2019.

Last year (from August 2017 to May 2018), Kia Philippines ranked as the highest in new-vehicle purchase experience, while Honda Philippines was the king of after-sales services.

The J.D. Power study found that first-time buyers are less satisfied when compared to their repeat buyer counterparts. First-time buyers make up 79% of the new-vehicle buyers in the Philippines. The study finds that first-time buyers have an overall SSI of 815. For repeat buyers, on the other hand, their SSI was 837.

The devil is in the details when it comes to customer satisfaction, especially when it comes to the completion of sales-related paperwork. The study found that informal modes of presenting the price, such as handwritten figures, are used more often with first-time buyers (72%) than repeat buyers (44%). Customers who are presented with a signed formal offer have higher satisfaction than those who are not given one.

The study also finds that when it comes to delivering the new vehicles, sales outlets are less likely to provide first-time buyers with a special ceremony compared with repeat buyers (66% vs 73%). In addition to this first-time buyers are also less likely to compare prices across dealerships than repeat buyers. 

First-time buyers are more likely to buy their vehicles with financing compared to their repeat buyer counterparts (81% vs 69%). This brings to light the need for dealers to take more time to guide, advise and help new customers get the best deal possible.

Key findings from the J.D. Power study are that sales consultants that use digital tools to demonstrate vehicles features rank higher than those who do not. This increases the satisfaction score of the customer by 22 points. Another key finding is that using background information is a valuable asset.

Customers who find the dealer to be effective in using the information provided prior to visiting the dealerships increases customer satisfaction.

Another key finding was that when the availability of the variant or model was not met, satisfaction would drop. There is a 24-point gap in satisfaction between customers who found the exact model versus those who did not.