The 2013 Ipsos Quality Awards has seen some of South Africa’s popular car brands maintain their top positions in the customer sales and service categories. These awards have been awarded to the industry for the past nine years and remain the benchmark in measuring customer perspective on experiences and vehicle quality in the South African automotive industry.

In contrast to new vehicle sales statistics for 2012 in which Volkswagen dominated, the top performing passenger car brands according to Ipsos include Chevrolet, Audi and Volkswagen while in the Light Commercial segment Chevrolet, Isuzu and Toyota have delivered the strongest performances.

These rankings are based on Ipsos’s Competitive Customer Experience (CCE) where the questionnaire covers all elements of both the sales and service process, from the appearance and staff at the dealership itself to the financing or pricing aspects of the sale or service and then to the post-sale or post-service follow up.

The study gathered information from more than 22 000 South African vehicle owners between January and December 2012, while the survey represents approximately 83% of all new vehicles sold in the Passenger Car market and 98% of the Light Commercial Vehicle market.

The top achievers

The Passenger Vehicle Purchasing Experience received the highest average score for the quality of customer experience at 93.8%, with all the Gold award winners attaining a score of no less than 94.4%

According to Patrick Busschau, Automotive Business Unit Director at Ipsos South Africa, there have been significant advances in technology, facilities, systems and financing processes which have not only made the consumer experience more pleasant but have also contributed to improvements in the product itself.

He added that manufacturers and dealerships are increasingly focusing on the interpersonal and emotional elements of the customer experience. It’s become a matter of providing customers with what they want and need from a product perspective, but in order to do so, really spending time understanding the customer and who they are is becoming increasingly important.

The average score in the Passenger Vehicle Servicing Experience category is at 85.8% which is an increase from last year’s 84.8%. Top winners include Audi, Chevrolet, Volkswagen and Lexus which have maintained Gold in this category for four years in a row.

The Light Commercial Vehicle Purchasing Experience category ranked a very high average of 92.7% which is also a substantial increase from last year, because this category has traditionally performed at a slightly lower level than the Passenger Vehicle Purchasing Experience, however it is catching up to the performance of the Passenger Vehicles.

Lastly, the average score in the Light Commercial Vehicle Servicing Experience category has improved again from last year to 86% in 2013 which is very similar to the passenger car service average.

“The service areas of dealers have become very good at standardising processes and delivering consistently to customers. Again the zone for improvement in recent times is in the softer skills dealer staff is developing to really make the customer feel important to the dealership and that they are receiving value for money with as little inconvenience as possible,” said Busschau.

Passenger Vehicle Purchasing Experience top achievers

AudiVolkswagenChevroletToyota

(Brands excluded from the Passenger Vehicle Purchasing Experience include Mitsubishi, Citroen, CJD, and KIA)

Passenger Vehicle Servicing Experience top achievers

AudiChevroletVolkswagenLexus

(Brands excluded from the Passenger Vehicle Servicing Experience include Kia, CJD)

Light Commercial Vehicle Purchasing Experience top achievers

IsuzuToyotaChevroletNissanVolkswagen

(Brands excluded from the Light Commercial Purchasing Experience include Ford, Mitsubishi, and Mazda)

Light Commercial Vehicle Servicing Experience top achievers

VolkswagenToyotaIsuzuNissanChevrolet