Lexus has recovered its famed customer service mojo to top J.D. Power’s 2022 satisfaction survey for luxury brands, while Mini once again ranks first for mass-market brands.
Toyota’s luxury division lost out to Porsche in last year’s Customer Service Index Study (CSI), but the German carmaker had to settle for third place in the 2022 rankings behind Cadillac. Mini repeated last year’s success but Buick was once again snapping at its heels, the pair separated by a single point.
Read: Consumer Reports Says Subaru Makes The Best Vehicles, Jeep The Worst
The Toyota brand scored a middling ninth spot in the mass market tables, ranking only slightly above average, but that’s still better than what several big names managed. Honda joined Ford in the “below average” section of the results table, while Volkswagen, Hyundai, and Chrysler occupied the bottom three spots in descending order. It’s not all bad news for Stellantis brands, however. Dodge moved up four places to 10th, and last year’s biggest loser, Ram, swapped 18th place for 12th.
Few will be surprised to see Alfa Romeo securing the ghetto end of the luxury table, and Land Rover’s position above it is as unlikely to raise any eyebrows. Neither has moved since last year. But Jaguar dragged itself from third bottom to 8th (which is podium stuff for Jag), and you just know Mercedes and Genesis dealers across the country will be getting ripped new ones by head office following the revelation that they’ve tanked to fourth- and third-worst, respectively.
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The CSI study ranks brands according to how satisfied car owners are with the service they receive at franchised dealer or aftermarket service centers for work carried out on one- to three-year-old vehicles. The focus is on service quality, service advisor, vehicle pick-up, service facility, and service initiation, but for its 42nd year, the survey was redesigned to include new features including valet service, remote vehicle servicing, and online/smartphone payment app options.
J.D. Power says its CSI data and feedback reveals that customers increasingly appreciate receiving text notifications that their car is ready and photo or video evidence of service and that dealers need to work harder to close the satisfaction gap between drivers of combustion cars and EVs. Satisfaction among EV drivers scored 784 points, versus 852 for owners of gas or diesel vehicles.
