ASH8

Well Done Mazda Australia...again!!...

http://www.pressreleasepoint.com/maz...ey-3-june-2009

SYDNEY: 3 June 2009

—

Mazda ranks highest in satisfying new-vehicle owners in Australia for a second consecutive year, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Australia Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction StudySMreleased today.


Now in its second year, the study measures new-vehicle satisfaction in Australia during the first 36 months of ownership. Overall satisfaction is determined by measuring customer experiences in four areas: vehicle quality and reliability; vehicle appeal (satisfaction with the design, style, performance and comfort of the vehicle); dealership service; and ownership costs.


Mazda ranks highest in ownership satisfaction with an overall index score of 782 on a 1,000-point scale, well above the industry average of 761. Honda follows Mazda in the rankings with a score of 779. Mazda performs particularly well in the quality and reliability and vehicle appeal factors, while Honda performs well in ownership costs and service.


“Mazda has a reputation in Australia for producing high-quality vehicles,” said Brian Fine, managing director of J.D. Power and Associates’ Australia and New Zealand operations. “Mazda’s strong performance, along with Honda’s ranking among the top two, indicates that Japanese automakers have done well in satisfying Australian new-vehicle owners.”


The study also finds that new-vehicle owners with higher levels of satisfaction are more likely to purchase the brand again and to recommend the brand to others. For example, satisfaction scores average 811 points among new-vehicle owners who say they “definitely will” recommend the brand to others, while satisfaction scores average only 614 points among new-vehicle owners who say they “probably will not” recommend the brand.


“Improving customer satisfaction can have a positive impact on both loyalty and advocacy, which ultimately benefit the bottom line,” said Fine. “By focusing on the key factors driving customer satisfaction, such as performance and style, manufacturers can considerably increase the likelihood that customers will purchase and recommend their vehicles.”


Overall quality declines slightly, with problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) increasing to 134 PP100 from 129 PP100 in 2008. Problems are summarized as the number of reported problems per 100 vehicles, with lower scores indicating fewer problem incidences and higher quality. Additionally, overall satisfaction among new-vehicle owners in Australia remains stable compared with 2008 (762 points).


The 2009 Australia Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study is based on responses from 3,051 new-vehicle owners during the first 36 months of ownership. The study was fielded in January 2009.

DrGonzo

It's great to see Mazda rank so highly but I wouldn't read too much into it - 3,000 responses out of how many new cars sold in the last 3 years? Close to 3 million?

It's also interesting to note that the European marques were excluded from the survey and as an ex-Ford owner it is surprising that they are second-last and not last.

http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/new...spx?ID=2009099

ASH8

"Included in the study but not ranked dues to small sample size are , Mercedes-Benz, Suzuki, Peugeot and VW."

DrGonzo

Yeah, that's my point - it's not a true representation of anything really.

Don't get me wrong - my Mazda hasn't skipped a beat since I have owned it and everyone I know with Mazdas (MX5s, 3s, 6s) love them and have never had problems with reliabilty or quality either.

ASH8

Its a sample, like ALL of these surveys, it is very similar in the US, I think (from memory) they sample about 33,000 car owners, normally, so given their population size it is even less than the Australian sample...although the end result there is vastly different.

So how many would you like them to take, 10,000, 20,000 in Australia??..the results will still be the same.

Even your own example shows the quality of the brand, I have known that for over 35 years.

Remember 2 years ago, JD Power surveyed around 500,000 car owners in the UK and US, and guess which car company came out on top....

DrGonzo

I just don't think that sampling 0.1% of all car buyers is a true representation of the market and the fact that the Euros were excluded for lack of numbers proves that they didn't survey enough people.

Would the survey results have changed with a bigger sample? I would say yes, definitely. Would Mazda still have come out on top? I would say there's still a good chance although in my opinion VW and Audi would probably come out ahead.

ASH8

The Euro's were not EXCLUDED from the study at all, where does it say that, it's just there were not enough numbers or "vehicle park" out there to include a "Ranking"

Keep in mind the 2.89 million cars sales in the past 3 years includes approx 30% of Government and Fleet sales which are not included in this survey, these are only private results.

So the participants would be from about 2 million RETAIL sales or slightly less.

And even if they did 10% the fundamentals of the results would not change that much.

The "Euro's" as you put it combined would be, what, 2-3% of the market and that is generous.

So you would have less than 99 participants.

In the end it is all weighted per 100 vehicles, to find a ranking.

Even with a larger group of Surveyee's IMO would not change the top 10 result that much from the order they are in now, Mazda, Honda and Toyota have consistently ranked high here., and in many countries.

Then you see some that are done by "on-line" Auto Experts like in the UK which rate SKODA as the number 1 make....like many of these Polls/Surveys, it depends on the questions being asked and how the "judges" rate the responses... like does "Squeaky Brakes" mean a make of car is poorly made/designed, or is it owner related??

BTW: Most if not all of these surveys like Political Polls are done with less participants, usually 500.

thisllub

Considering that the Holdens Viva and Epica are the worst cars I have ever driven I can easily understand this.