Lexus back on top for customer satisfaction

LEXUS has picked up its second Car Manufacturer of the Year title in the fourth annual Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards, returning to the top of the table in the 2014 awards handed out in Melbourne last night.

After taking out the automotive category in the inaugural 2011 awards, the Japanese luxury brand has returned to the top of the industry after falling out of the top five in 2012 and climbing back to second position 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.

Lexus put in a dominant performance, finishing on top of the monthly survey results for the first 10 months of the year. Renault was the only other brand to feature, winning the final two monthly surveys.

Last year Volvo was decreed the number-one car-maker – holding off the resurgent Lexus, which won all three surveys across the final quarter – while Mercedes-Benz was the top brand in 2012.

Lexus Australia chief executive Sean Hanley said the award reflected the brand’s long-held emphasis on customer service, which is guided by the motto: ‘Treat every customer as you would a guest in your own home.’He was also confident of continued success in the future, particularly as new models bring more customers into showrooms.

The company is aiming to secure annual sales growth of up to 10 per cent over the next five years after sales have flat-lined at around 7000 units since 2012.

“With the excitement and enjoyment we’ve been injecting into our range, including our recently launched RC (coupe) and NX (compact SUV) lines, we believe that we'll continue to satisfy a growing number of Australian customers in the future,” Mr Hanley said.

In announcing the winners across various categories last night, Roy Morgan Research chief executive Michele Levine said: “By aggregating 12 months’ worth of responses to our consumer single source and business single source surveys, Roy Morgan is able to identify and celebrate those businesses – large and small – that have outperformed their competitors in customer satisfaction.”

Lexus’ performance in the Roy Morgan awards is an important indicator given it was not ranked in JD Power’s inaugural 2014 Customer Service Index (CSI) Study – Luxury Market 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 the standout luxury car brand, placing well ahead of key rivals BMW and Audi – both of which were ranked below the industry average.