Mahindra and Toyota Rank Highest in Sales Satisfaction

As the demand for new vehicles has increased in showrooms across India, dealers have focused on maximizing sales conversions rather than providing a satisfying customer purchase experience, according to the J.D Power Pacific 2015 India Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) study conducted by Global Market Research company.

Mahindra and Toyota rank highest in a tie, with a score of 872 each. Toyota performs particularly well in the Sales Initiation factor and Mahindra performs highest in the Paperwork factor.

The Study examines seven factors that contribute to new vehicle owner's overall satisfaction with their Sales Experience - Delivery Process, Delivery Timing, Sales-person, Sales Initiation, Dealer Facility, Paperwork and Deal.Satisfaction and is calculated on a 1000 point scale.

Nearly one in five customers (18%) is dissatisfied with several critical aspect of the purchase process, including negotiations for their new vehicle, Delivery commitments and the overall Delivery Process. Satisfaction with the delivery Process and Delivery Timing declines the most year over year, dropping by 9 points in each factor. The average time for vehicle delivery has increased to 11 days after booking in 2015 from 9 days in 2014.

Study findings show that purchase reasons and shopping behaviour vary significantly over demographics.

Key Findings:

1. Satisfaction with the Delivery Process and Delivery Timings declines the most year on year, dropping by 9 points in each sector.
2. The average time for vehicle delivery has increased to 11 days after booking in 2015 from 9 days in 2014.
3. More than one third (39%) of new vehicle owners visited showrooms atleast 3 times during their shopping process, up by 4% from 2014.
4. Among new vehicle owners who are highly satisfied with their purchase experience, 82% say, they definitely will recommend their purchase dealer to family and friends and 74% say they "definitely will" purchase the same vehicle make in the future.

The 2015 India Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) is based on responses from more than 7,895 new vehicle owners who purchased their vehicle between September 2014 and April 2015, and includes evaluation of more than 75 Models within the mass Market Segment.The study was fielded from March to July 2015.