Volkswagen Group tops in customer satisfaction in SA

The results of the extensive survey, which involved in-depth interviews with 23 000 people who bought new vehicles or had them serviced in 2015, were released recently.

Audi received a platinum award for sustained customer satisfaction in both the passenger car purchasing and servicing experience categories, having won gold awards every year from 2012-2015. The Volkswagen brand received a platinum award for the purchasing experience with cars and LCVs from 2012-2015.
Other brands to receive platinum awards were Isuzu for the LCV purchasing experience, while Toyota and Nissan received these prestigious awards for LCV servicing in the period 2012-2015.

Audi and Volkswagen were the only brands to gain gold awards for the passenger car purchasing experience in 2015. Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Opel and Toyota all won silver awards and bronze awards went to Ford, Honda, Lexus and Renault.

Audi was the only brand to earn a gold award for passenger car servicing. Chevrolet, Lexus, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen gained silver awards, with bronze awards going to Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Opel and Renault.

The outstanding level of customer satisfaction in terms of the LCV purchasing and servicing experience in South Africa is underlined by the fact that four brands – Isuzu, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen - won gold awards for purchasing and three – Isuzu, Nissan and Toyota – won gold for servicing in the 2015 survey.
Chevrolet and Ford gained silver awards for purchasing, while Chevrolet and Volkswagen earned silver for servicing. Ford was the only recipient of a bronze award for LCV servicing.

“The achievements by the industry overall in our ongoing study over the past four years have been outstanding and are a tribute to staff at the manufacturers’ head offices who are responsible for training and supporting the dealers as well as for the commitment of the dealers themselves. In particular the consistent excellence of Audi, Isuzu, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen brands must be highlighted for special praise,” said Patrick Busschau, the Ipsos SA Automotive Business Director. “It is amazing how the retail industry manages to lift the bar ever higher each year.”