Suzuki owners in New Zealand are more satisfied with their cars than any other brand, according to the results of an authoritative survey.
The Suzuki marque topped the list of the ten most popular makes of cars with the highest rating of 98 per cent in the Roy Morgan Research into customer satisfaction for the year ending October 2011.
This was 6 per cent better than the average for the top ten, and a 4 per cent rise on Suzuki’s result in the 2010 survey when the brand finished third equal with Mazda.
Toyota, Honda and Ford finish second equal on 94 per cent in the latest survey that surveyed drivers of more than 18 years of age. There are currently 2.9 million drivers in the 18-plus category in New Zealand.
Pip Elliott, client services director for Roy Morgan Research, said Suzuki sales for 2011 represented positive growth for the brand. The make increased its sales last year at a higher rate than the industry average.
“With satisfaction being one of the key drivers of future brand loyalty, this is a key metric for all manufacturers to be aware of,” he said.
Roy Morgan Research is the largest independent Australian research company, with offices in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The company has more than 65 years experience in collecting objective, independent information on consumers. It is a highly respected source of information on financial behaviour, readership, voting intention and consumer confidence.
Tom Peck, general manager of marketing for Suzuki New Zealand, said the result reinforced Suzuki’s position within the private car sector.
“It would seem that with our ‘real value driveaway’ pricing, people can see the value for their money in our vehicles,” he said. “With the lowest overall emissions across the fleet of any of the top ten brands we are also meeting their environmental concerns.
“This latest result shows that the Suzuki brand is trusted by consumers, and that we are delivering vehicles that meet their expectations and address the diverse needs that New Zealand motorists want,” said Peck.
The Roy Morgan survey comes soon after Maruti Suzuki was named number one in customer satisfaction in India by the 2011 JD Power survey.
In the fifteenth annual AutoPacific vehicle satisfaction awards, the Suzuki Kizashi registered the highest in total satisfaction for all new purchased or leased mid-size vehicles sold in the United States for the second successive year.
Suzuki’s New Zealand lineup of 30 passenger car models includes 12 with four-wheel-drive versatility. Prices range from $16,500 for the five-door Alto GLX hatchback to $48,500 for the range-topping Kizashi Sport AWD sedan with a continuously variable automatic transmission.
