For a third consecutive year, the Toyota Prius ranks highest in satisfying new-car owners in France, according to the J.D. Power and Associates/L’Automobile Magazine 2009 France Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study (VOSS) released today.

At the model level, Toyota ranks highest in three vehicle segments with the Toyota Prius (upper medium car), Toyota Aygo (city car) and Toyota Yaris (small car). With a score of 842 on a 1,000-point scale, the Prius performs particularly well in quality/reliability and ownership costs, according to owners.

“Green elements, such as a car’s environmental impact and fuel consumption, are among the most important purchase criteria for Toyota Prius owners,” said Martin Volk, senior research manager at J.D. Power and Associates. “Understanding customer expectations from the start and exceeding them throughout the ownership lifecycle will result in highly satisfied owners. In turn, this makes customers more likely to become brand loyalists.”

“Prius owners are still the best ambassadors of their car, and each year, they proudly stand behind their choice,” said Stéphane Meunier, editor in chief of L’Automobile Magazine."

Honda models rank highest in two segments with the Honda Civic (lower medium car) and Honda CR-V (SUV). Also receiving segment-level awards are the BMW 5-Series (executive/luxury car) and Škoda Roomster (MPV).

In terms of domestic models covered in the study, the Peugeot 107 ranks second in the city car segment, followed by the Citroën C1. The Peugeot 207 ranks fifth out of 24 models in the small car segment. Additionally, the Renault Grand Scénic ranks fourth out of 22 models in the MPV segment, followed by the Citroën C4 Picasso.

Among manufacturers, Honda performs particularly well with a score of 828 and receives high ratings from owners in three key measures: vehicle quality/reliability, vehicle appeal and service satisfaction. Following Honda at the manufacturer level are Skoda and Volvo in a tie (802 each), BMW (798) and Mazda (796).

The study finds that satisfaction levels and brand loyalty are strongly linked, with 58 percent of highly satisfied customers reporting they “definitely will” consider buying the same vehicle make in the future. Conversely, only 24 percent of customers who report having a less-satisfying experience intend to do the same.

“While incentive schemes for the automotive sector, such as the introduced scrappage programme, stimulate vehicle sales, investing in satisfaction improvement programmes might be the better value proposition for automakers in the long term, especially when the incentive schemes come to an end” said Volk. “Top-performing brands in our studies benefit from enhanced customer loyalty, which is an essential element in a brand’s ongoing success.”

The redesigned 2009 France Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study (VOSS) is the successor study to the France Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Study. The 2009 study is based on more than 15,900 online interviews with French vehicle owners after an average of two years of ownership.  The study includes 24 brands and 95 models. Owners provide detailed evaluations of their vehicles and dealers, which cover 67 attributes grouped in four measurements of satisfaction. In order of importance, they are: vehicle appeal (32%), which includes performance, design, comfort and features; ownership costs (26%) including fuel consumption, insurance and costs of service/repair; vehicle quality and reliability (22%) and dealer service satisfaction (20%).

The annual J.D. Power and Associates/L’Automobile Magazine study gives consumers access to reliable and accurate information about many vehicle models, and helps manufacturers provide high levels of satisfaction to their customers. More comprehensive study results are published exclusively in the July issue of L’Automobile Magazine on sale Thursday, June 11, 2009.

Courtsey: J.D Power and Associates

Best Selling Toyota Car Models:
Toyota Innova
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Corolla Altis
Toyota Camry
Toyota Alphard
Toyota Prado
Toyota Landcruiser
Toyota Lexus

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Related Books:
Lauren Fix's Guide to Loving Your Car: Everything You Need to Know to Take Charge of Your Car and Get on with Your Life
Dream Cars: The Best Cars in the World
Don't Get Taken Every Time: The Ultimate Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car, in the Showroom or on the Internet

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Posted by Amrith K.A on 13 June, 2009 12:41:18 PM IST #