Lexus still on top for customer satisfaction

LEXUS has again claimed the Car Manufacturer of the Year title in the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards, winning for the third time since the program was established five years ago.

This is the Japanese luxury brand’s second successive win in the Roy Morgan awards, reinforcing its position as a leader in the industry for customer service after falling out of the top five in 2012 before climbing back to second position in 2013.

It also took out the automotive category in the inaugural 2011 awards, while Mercedes-Benz was decreed the number-one car-maker in 2012 and Volvo was the top brand in 2013.

The awards are based on the results of Roy Morgan Research’s ‘single source’ surveys of 50,000 ordinary Australians and 12,000 business decision-makers throughout the year.

The surveys cover drivers of both new and used vehicles and applies to all ownership periods.

As was the case in the 2014 awards, Lexus put in a dominant performance last year, finishing on top of the monthly survey results for seven of the 12 months.

Subaru and Isuzu Ute each claimed two Car Manufacturer of the Month awards – Subaru’s came in February and March, Isuzu Ute’s in August and September – while Renault was deemed the top brand in January.

Lexus’ regional operations manager for Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia, James Szabo, accepted the award from Roy Morgan Research chief executive Michele Levine at a gala event in Melbourne last week.

Ms Levine said the awards – which cover a broad range of industry sectors and included 32 winners this time around – recognised a vibrant mix of Australian businesses, celebrating their “tireless commitment to customer satisfaction”.

“From industries as diverse as automotive and utilities, banking and retail, all of the 2015 award winners have one thing in common: they go the extra mile for their customers and their customers recognise their efforts,” she said.

Ms Levine also claimed that the awards were “widely considered to be the most accurate, reliable measure of customer satisfaction in Australia”.

“Results are calculated using 12 months’ worth of responses to our single source surveys, allowing us to determine which businesses have most impressed the Australian public and business sector with their excellence in customer satisfaction,” she said.

Acknowledging the award, Lexus Australia chief executive Peter McGregor described customer service as “the foundation of the Lexus business” and said the company and its retail network was “unflinching in its dedication to providing the highest levels of customer service”.

Lexus’ performance – and the emergence of Isuzu Ute – in the Roy Morgan program is a significant indicator given they have not been not ranked in JD Power’s influential Australian Customer Service Index (CSI) study due to small or insufficient sample size.

In the JD Power study, which measures new-vehicle buyer satisfaction with the service experience at authorised dealerships, Mercedes-Benz was again the standout luxury car brand last year, remaining ahead of key rivals Audi and BMW.

Subaru, meanwhile, has been a consistently strong performer among the mass-market brands since the local JD Power CSI study was initiated in 2010.