New Delhi/ India, December 31st, 2008… According to the findings of the 2008 four-wheeler total customer satisfaction study released today by leading market information provider, TNS, the diesel car segments have shown a remarkable improvement in delivering customer satisfaction.
The 2008 four-wheeler Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS) study conducted by TNS specialist division, TNS Automotive, is the largest syndicated automotive study in India, representing the responses of more than seven thousand nine hundred new car buyers. This comprehensive study covers over 45 models with customer evaluations taken in the key areas of sales satisfaction, product quality, vehicle performance and design, after sales service, brand image, and cost-of-ownership. The TCS index score provides a measure of satisfaction and loyalty a given model enjoys with its customers.
The Indian car market is dominated by small and relatively low priced petrol cars, which have traditionally delivered a high level of satisfaction. In 2008, the scores of small car segments have remained largely unchanged, but there is a clear improvement in the scores of diesel car segments, Premium Midsize, Entry Luxury Cars and Premium SUVs.
“The two diesel segments viz small car diesel and midsize diesel show remarkable improvement on practically all aspects. This talks a lot about the improved performance of diesel cars” said Pradeep Saxena, Senior Vice President, TNS Automotive. “They have done well not just because of the `low cost of ownership’. In fact the satisfaction with `Performance & Design’ and `Quality’ is even higher” he added further.
The improvement in the satisfaction scores of small diesel car segment also has a lot to do with the all-round improvement in Tata Indica scores which has a high share in this segment. The improvement in the overall scores of Premium Mid Size Car and SUV segments is accompanied by an improvement on all aspects of ownership experience in these segments.
Rankings for the TCS study are done at the vehicle segment-level to provide comparisons among similar groups of vehicles. The models ranking highest in their respective segments for total customer satisfaction are: Maruti Alto in “Entry Compact”; Hyundai i10 and Wagon R (Jointly) in “Premium Compact”; Hyundai Getz Petrol in “Upper Premium Compact, Maruti Swift Diesel in “Small Car – Diesel”; Wagon R Duo in “ Small Car – Alternate Fuel”; Hyundai Accent Petrol and Mahindra Renault Logan (Jointly) in “Entry Midsize”; Honda City in “Midsize”; Skoda Octavia Petrol in “Premium Midsize”; Chevrolet Optra Magnum Diesel in “Midsize Car – Diesel”; Toyota Camry in “Entry Luxury”; Toyota Innova in “SUV/ MPV”; and Honda CRV in “Premium SUV”. (ANNEXURE 1)
Overall the industry score has gone up by one point over last year. Most of the manufacturers have maintained their last year’s level. However Mahindra has improved its score by six points and Toyota by 4 points.
Among small cars the new entrant Hyundai i10 scores well on Performance and Design, Quality and Brand Image, whereas Wagon R scores well and improves upon Maruti’s strength of low cost of ownership.
Some traditionally strong models continue to delight their customers. The Maruti Alto finds extremely high satisfaction levels across all product and customer service areas. The Hyundai Accent, Swift Diesel and Honda City are able to do much the same and this indeed speaks highly of how these manufacturers have been able to manage these brands using a holistic approach encompassing product quality, after sales service and brand image. However a word of caution here, none of these models have improved their scores over 2007.
Honda City keeps company with Honda CRV the highest rated model in the premium SUV segment. The biggest car company in the world, Toyota also has two top scoring models – Innova in the SUV / MPV segment and Camry in the Entry Luxury segment. All of these models have shown an improvement on all aspects over their 2007 performance. General Motors which ruled the auto world for a long time also makes its presence felt. It’s Optra Magnum Diesel scores the best in the Diesel mid size segment.
Overall the India car industry has put up a brave performance in terms of satisfying customers with their products and services in a year which otherwise saw the mightiest crashing globally.
Annexure1: 2008 TCS Model Rankings
Charts and graphs extracted from this press release must be accompanied by a statement identifying TNS Automotive as the publisher and TNS Automotive 2008 India Four-Wheeler Total Customer Satisfaction Study as the source.
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Note to editors
2008 Four-Wheeler TCS Study
The TCS study was conducted from September through November 2008 across 28 centers:
Agra, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar , Calicut, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Delhi (NCR), Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jallandhar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Patna, Pune, Raipur, Ranchi, Surat, Trivandrum, Vadodara and Vijaywada.
About TNS Automotive
TNS Automotive is the leading global provider of market research and insights to the automotive industry, with a specialist network of over 300 dedicated researchers in over 50 countries.
Living and breathing automotive, our experts address the complex research needs of clients including major global automotive and tyre manufacturers, component suppliers, oil companies, repair specialists, parts distributors, dealerships and advertising agencies. Whether our clients are developing new products, optimizing advertising and media expenditures, defining new market segments or consolidating their position in the marketplace, our complete portfolio of expert customized and syndicated automotive research solutions delivers added value.
We help our clients drive better business with innovative insights.
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About TNS
TNS is a global market information and insight group.
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TNS delivers innovative thinking and excellent service across a network of 80 countries. Working in partnership with clients, TNS provides high-quality information, analysis and insight that improves understanding of consumer behaviour.
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