Customer satisfaction has dropped across three consecutive years amongst new car buyers; a decrease not seen in the 28-year history of the J.D Power APEAL study, with Hyundai dominating the awards overall.
Specifically, the latest report from J.D. Power maps out new car buyers’ reception of the automotive performance, execution and layout of their new car within the first 90 days of ownership, which is given the acronym APEAL.
Overall, customer satisfaction stood at 845 on a 1000-point scale, which sits two points lower than 2022’s results and three points lower than 2021.
JD Power bases its rankings on 10 factors in total, nine of which have slipped backward in recent years, with only fuel economy improving 15 points higher than last year to 771 out of 1000.
One of the major findings of the study was yet another significant decrease in customer satisfaction for both the more affordable end of the spectrum and premium vehicles alike.
Interestingly, Jaguar took out the top spot for the premium segment with a score of 887, followed by its Land Rover sibling and Porsche tied at 883 and BMW taking fourth place with a score of 878.
The top mass-market brands included Dodge in first place, followed by RAM, GMC, MINI, Kia, Chevrolet, Hyundai and Nissan, all of which ranked higher than the segment average.
The Hyundai Motor Group received a total of nine awards across a range of segments, with the Genesis GV60, Kia Carnival, Kia EV6, Kia Rio and the Kia Stinger each topping the class for their respective segments.
The overall model winner went to the Porsche 911 once again, while the Taycan was ranked the top midsize premium package.
Across other segments you’ll find the BMW 7 Series listed as the best large premium car, while the Mini Cooper was ranked as the most satisfying compact sports car package.
For the SUV segment, the Lexus RX received the most positive reports from owners in the midsize premium SUV segment, while the Kia EV6 and the Nissan Ariya tied for first place in the compact SUV segment.
The Genesis GV60 was awarded the top-ranked small premium SUV in front of the Volvo C40 and the BMW X1, while the BMW iX beat out the X6 and the Land Rover Range Rover Sport as the most satisfying upper midsize premium SUV.
Senior Director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, Frank Hanley has said that “the decline in consecutive years might look small, but it’s an indicator that larger issues may lie under the surface.”
“Despite the technology and design innovations that manufacturers put into new vehicles, owners are lukewarm about them,” he added.
“This downward trajectory of satisfaction should be a warning sign to manufacturers that they need to better understand what owners really want in their new vehicles,” Hanley concluded.
