Hyundai leads the J.D. Power 2019 India Sales Satisfaction Index

JD Power has released the India Sales Satisfaction study results. As per the study Hyundai leads in the Sales Satisfaction Index with 873 points, Mahindra in 2nd place with 872 points followed by Toyota with 854 points. Tata Motors stand at the 4th place followed by Ford, Volkswagen, Maruti Suzuki, Honda and Renault.

The J.D. Power 2019 India Sales Satisfaction Index (Mass Market) StudySM is based on responses from 6,583 new-vehicle owners who purchased their vehicle between September 2018 and June 2019. The study was fielded from March through September 2019. Now in its 20th year, the study examines six factors that contribute to overall customer satisfaction with their new vehicle purchase experience in the mass market segment. In order of effect on overall sales satisfaction, those factors are dealership facility (22%); delivery process (21%); dealer sales consultant (21%); paperwork completion (17%); working out the deal (15%); and dealership website (3%).

Customers with a monthly household income exceeding ₹75,000 account for 33% of all buyers in 2019—a marked increase from 18% in 2017. Consequently, customers are now able to cover the cost of a car with fewer months of income than before (15 months in 2019 vs. 18 months in 2017).

The study finds that buyers place more emphasis (up 9 percentage points from 2018) on vehicle styling, both exterior and interior, when deciding on a model. Other aspects such as performance and reliability (both up 7 percentage points), as well as technology (up 5 percentage points), also play bigger roles in determining choice of vehicle. On the other hand, aspects declining in importance are price of the vehicle/installments and the ability to obtain financing (both down 4 percentage points).

“The Indian car buyer of today is far more discerning than ever before,” said Kaustav Roy, Director and Country Head for India, J.D. Power. “With clear expectations on vehicle design and features, today’s buyer preferences are shifting from price consciousness to those that are driven by vehicle looks and content.”