The number of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) in China keeps rising but customer experience satisfaction ratings dropped in 2023 showing that automakers have a lot of work to do. The Chinese arm of J.D. Power published this year’s findings, with Zeekr topping the local automakers’ chart and Mercedes-Benz sitting at the top of international companies ahead of Tesla.
The study evaluates the experience of NEV buyers between 2 and 12 months of ownership. The experience is divided into three stages – purchase, usage, and after-sales service – which are subdivided into smaller categories. This year, the study was based on the answers of 5,059 owners from 81 major cities across China who bought NEVs from 49 different brands.
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The average rating for the overall customer experience satisfaction is 770 out of 1,000, representing a 26-point drop compared to last year. This decline is attributed to the fact that buyers have greater expectations from the vehicles.
Among the domestic brands, Geely’s Zeekr (792 points) had the highest rating, closely followed by Deepal (791) and NIO (789). On the other hand, the top 3 highest rated international automakers were Mercedes-Benz (794 points), Tesla (788 points) and BMW (778 points). The fewer international brands scored better than their domestic rivals with an average of 779 points (-27) compared to 768 points (-23) although both were lower on a year-to-year basis.
Customer satisfaction is crucial for brands as an increased rating leads to more referrals, thus increased sales according to J.D. Power China. The firm also suggests that a direct sales model has a positive effect on user experience in both the purchase and usage stages. Regarding after-sales service, mixed-sale brands tend to perform better, with first-time buyers registering notably higher satisfaction ratings compared to repeat or additional purchasers.
