A new customer satisfaction survey conducted by the German Automobile Club (ADAC) in conjunction with the Centre for Automotive Research (CAR) group, has delivered some unwelcome news for German car manufacturers.
Whilst Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche did well in the overall ratings, taking the top five places in the survey covering issues such as brand presence, image, perceived quality, technical development and depreciation, they did not do so well in the more practical, long term, customer satisfaction component of the poll.
The comprehensive survey, in which 38,454 ADAC members throughout Germany took part, asked - for the first time - how happy respondents were with both their vehicles and their dealer service.
Somewhat surprisingly, German makers, fared badly. All the more damning, considering the survey was carried out exclusively on their own turf. The findings will be even more unwelcome at a time when some prestige producers there have recently had reason to address a myriad of problems relating to ever more sophisticated on-board electrical systems (see Motors, November 5th 2003, "Systems go to the Wire").
Even worse, the survey would seem to suggest that the German motorist who drives a Toyota is happier, overall, than his/her compatriot driving a car from one of their own country's world-famous marques! That, at least, is one conclusion that can drawn from the response to one of the survey's questions, carried out by means of a questionnaire contained in the organisation's magazine ADAC Motorwelt and its Internet site. The question was: "When you consider your experiences with your vehicle and your dealership, how happy are you overall with your car?" Answers were marked on a scale of one to five, one being "very happy" and five being "very unhappy".
Japanese manufacturers took the top seven places in the 33-strong list - headed by Toyota: the best a German marque could achieve was eighth place in the rankings.
On closer analysis, the results reveal that over 86 per cent of the 2,381 Toyota owners questioned gave their cars a glowing "one" satisfaction rating - the best endorsement possible. In contrast, only 34 per cent of 3,446 Mercedes respondents gave their cars the same vote of confidence. The average age of the cars in the survey was over four years.
It is, of course, worth bearing in mind that there is a certain subjective element involved in such surveys; with customers' expectations playing a big part in how their cars are marked. Hence, the owner of an old car popularly perceived as rather humble might be overjoyed if his/her old jalopy gets through the winter making a relatively passing acquaintance with the jump leads.
However, the proud owner of a "quality" car, will expect it as a given. Crucially, it appears some German makers suffered in this respect - with reliability and dealer service being cited by respondents as a cause for concern. While it is important to keep the findings in perspective, there are good reasons for the Japanese to be pleased and the Germans to sit up and take notice.