Luxury car buyers in India happiest with Audi, says latest JD Power study

German luxury carmaker Audi has topped the J D Power 2015 India Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study (Luxury segment) released today. Audi India ranks highest with a score of 888, followed by BMW India with 885 and Mercedes-Benz India with 878.

Now in its 16th year, the study examines seven factors that contribute to new-vehicle owners’ overall satisfaction with their sales experience (listed in order of importance): delivery process, delivery timing, salesperson, sales initiation, dealer facility, paperwork and deal. Satisfaction is calculated on a 1,000-point scale. Overall sales satisfaction in the luxury segment is 883 in 2015, a 7-point decline from 2014.

The misconception is that luxury vehicle buyers in India, who tend to be more affluent than mass market-vehicle buyers and often own multiple vehicles, spend very  little time and effort during the purchase process. The study finds that the contrary is true: luxury-vehicle buyers in India are quite involved in the overall purchase experience. More than one-third (35%) of these buyers shop around for other models, with 45 percent of them using the Internet as one of their key information sources. Furthermore, luxury vehicle buyers visit an average of three dealerships during the shopping process, with 80 percent of them test driving the vehicle they are considering before purchasing.

“Given the fact that the purchase of a luxury vehicle in India demonstrates the pinnacle of financial and social status, it would be prudent for dealerships to engage with shoppers in a constructive manner, such as proactive communications during the purchase process,” said Mohit Arora, executive director, J D Power Singapore. “Dealerships need to clearly identify and implement structured processes that allow shoppers to have an engaging buying experience.”

KEY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

- The average time to complete the sales transaction has increased to 10 days in 2015 from nine days in 2014, and the time for vehicle delivery has increased to 12 days after booking in 2015 from 10 days in 2014.

- Communication on the committed delivery time is one of the activities that can improve the relationship with customers. Overall satisfaction among the 82 percent of customers who receive regular communications from their dealership during the purchase process is 887, which is 21 points higher than among those who do not receive regular communications.

- Post-sales feedback is another important area to engage with luxury vehicle buyers. Overall satisfaction among the 84 percent of luxury-vehicle owners who are asked for their feedback regarding the buying experience is 886, compared with 870 among those who are not asked for feedback.

- Luxury-vehicle buyers in India expect the initial service appointment to be set up on completion of the purchase process. Overall sales satisfaction among customers who are offered this service is 888, which is 27 points higher than among those who are not offered this service.