German makes disappoint drivers

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German makes disappoint drivers Customer satisfaction survey ranks Japanese manufacturers in first seven places By Rüdiger Köhn Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

German carmakers are falling short of their foreign counterparts when it comes to customer satisfaction, with Mercedes ranked last but one among 33 makes included in the latest customer satisfaction survey Automarxx conducted by the ADAC motorists association and the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). The survey, which polled nearly 38,500 drivers, ranks Volkswagen at No. 31, and Opel at No. 27. The first seven slots, measured in terms of customer satisfaction with the product and the service, are occupied by Japanese makes. Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, the head of CAR, cited electronic problems in the case of Mercedes' E-Class vehicles as well as quality shortfalls in its C-Class and A-Class cars. The study has been comparing automobile brands since 2001 in terms of the image of the brand, advertising effect, quality of the vehicle, situation of the company and technical developments. Based on tests, image surveys, analyses of the residual value and the companies' profit margins, the automobile brands on the German market are examined. Customer satisfaction criteria are new to the study.

A Mercedes spokesperson called the results distorted because the individual grades of the car brands were very close. She pointed out that Mercedes was ranked right behind BMW at No. 2 in the overall ranking. Basically, customers are happy with their cars, the survey found. Grades given for satisfaction with the product and maintenance services range between 1.18 for Toyota and 2.32 for Land Rover. Even Mercedes does not fare badly with a grade of 2.14, "but the second to last rank is beneath the company's standard," the study concludes. Of the Mercedes customers, 39 percent gave their car grade 3 or worse. "Product quality will have even higher priority for Mercedes in the future," Dudenhöffer said.

The results of the customer satisfaction survey stand in stark contrast to the results of the overall evaluation, which factors in all criteria. "The study shows a deep divide between customer demands and reality," Dudenhöffer says, because, on the whole, German brands still top the list. The winner is BMW, now ranked number one, up from rank four last June, a leap BMW owes mainly to its good customer satisfaction ratings, where the company ranked at number 11. Mercedes gave up its pole position on the list for the first time since June

2002, and is now ranked number two.

The first four spots in the overall evaluation are held by German manufacturers. Toyota, at number five, is the most highly ranked foreign manufacturer, pushing VW to number six. Besides Mercedes' poor performance this is the "even greater surprise" for the analysts. Because Toyota topped the customer satisfaction rating, received strong technology and brand grades, a good safety rating, did not have any callbacks and turned out a strong corporate profit, it was the first non-German company to enter the top five. Toyota has successfully invaded the traditional domain of the German auto brands, the study warns. The Japanese company's only weak point is its image. It is still ranked behind VW in terms of brand image and market strength, but the gap is slowly closing.Dec. 5, 2003