Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Ram, and Alfa Romeo all scored below their segment averages in J.D. Power’s 2021 Customer Service Index survey.
The four Stellantis brands all suffered in a year when the average customer satisfaction rose. That improvement in satisfaction came as a result of many dealers rising to the challenges of the pandemic.
Although dealer visits were down 6% from last year, overall satisfaction rose for the sixth year in a row. According to J.D. Power, people were more likely to visit dealerships than go to private shops last year.
“When one- to three-year-old vehicles required service in 2020, dealers captured an even greater share of service visits, which is the highest level in at least five years,” said Chris Sutton, vice president of automotive retail at J.D. Power. “Dealerships made the most out of a disruptively bad situation.”
Although the reasons for the Stellantis brands lagging aren’t quite clear, other brands used contactless payment methods and express services to boost their customer satisfaction rankings.
The automotive brand with the happiest customers, according to J.D. Power, was Porsche, which scored 899 out of a possible 1,000 points. Lexus wasn’t far behind, though, with 895 points and Infiniti and Cadillac both scored well with 887 points and 883 points, respectively among luxury marques. On the other side of the spectrum, Land Rover was second to last with just 799 points and Alfa Romeo scored a measly 797 points finishing at the very bottom of the list
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The average score for premium brands was 870 points. For mass-market brands, the score was a bit lower at 843, as you might expect.
As far as mass-market brands are concerned, though, MINI scored highest, with 864 points, while Buick and Mitsubishi were the second- and third-best scoring mass-market brands with 859 and 857 points, respectively.
Dodge, meanwhile, received 824 points, Jeep 820 points, Chrysler got 818 points, and Ram scored just 817 points. VW didn’t fair any better either with just 820 points, while Ford did only slightly better with 830, still well below the average
American brands didn’t all struggle, though, as GM’s brands kept above their segment averages in the customer service index, with Buick finishing in second best with 859 points among mass market brands and GMC fourth with 856 points.
Owners of electric vehicles, meanwhile, were among the least satisfied by their customer service. The challenge of trying to service the new style of vehicle correctly and the relative infrequency of their service visits meant that each interaction was high-stakes from a customer satisfaction point of view.
