Honda has taken the top spot away from Toyota in the latest "Customer Retention Study" from J.D. Power and Associates. The global marketing information firm surveyed 147,238 buyers/lessees to determine how likely they were to replace their previously new vehicle with another from the same brand. Honda, for the first time, led the pack with a retention ranking of 64.7%, followed by Toyota (63.2%) and Lexus (60.4%). Mercedes-Benz (58.6%) barely edged BMW (58.5%) for the fourth position. The Germans are being chased by Ford (52.5%) and Chevrolet (52.0%). At the bottom of the list was Jaguar, struggling to retain just 26.2% of its customers (if you are a Jaguar salesman, there is apparently no need to send holiday cards this year).
While JDPA sites Honda's reputation for building safe vehicles with high resale values as instrumental in landing the headline position, they also note that fuel economy, ownership/maintenance costs, and deals/incentives play an increasingly larger role in the process. The firm projects 2009 new vehicle sales will plummet to below 12 million units in 2009, making customer retention more important now than ever before.
J.D. Power and Associates, the influential industry tracking firm, warned that the global auto market may "outright collapse" due to the lack of available credit and the general global economic conditions in 2009. According to the company, credit market restructuring, fewer leasing options, and declining owner equity are adding additional stress to an already burdened market. Don't turn to the automotive markets in China, Europe, or India either -- they are expected to slow next year as well. Much of the domestic sales decline is attributed to consumers delaying vehicle purchases (their studies indicate people are keeping their vehicles four months longer in 2008, compared to 2007). Other contributing factors are the drop in leasing activity, and the loss of fleet sales (down to 2.8 million from 3.3 million last year). While the automotive sales decline over the summer made this a buyer's market, willing consumers who venture into showrooms today are finding dealerships eager to sell, but banks aversive about lending.
J.D. Power and Associates has just released its 2008 Vehicle Dependability Study that attempts to measure vehicle quality throughout the first three years of owning a vehicle, and for the 14th year in a row Lexus leads all manufacturers with a rating of just 120 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). This year's runner up, surprisingly, is Mercury, though it's a distant second at 151 PP100. Cadillac (155 PP100), Toyota (159 PP100) and Acura (160 PP100) round out the top five spots for brands. Lexus also had the most segment leaders with six vehicles leading their respective category, while Toyota tacked on another five. The study also says that long-term vehicle quality has also improved 5% across the industry in 2008, with the industry average dropping 10 PP100 down to 206 this year.
The Vehicle Dependability Study is based on surveys taken of 52,000 original owners of 2005 model year vehicles. Take whatever stock you will in it, as some argue that subjectivity can skew the results. For instance, Lexus owners may tend to report that their vehicles are running just fine out of pride and loyalty to their brand. Nevertheless, J.D. Power's complete press release and results for the industry.
J.D. Power and Associates have lowered their U.S. sales light-vehicle forecast for 2008 to just 14.2 million units. This is the third time the global information services company have updated their numbers. In March, they announced that sales would not hit their initial 15.7 million estimate, instead they would come in at about 14.95 million units. Now, the company is estimating sales at 14.2 million units (the industry sold 16.2 million units in 2007). J.D. Power is citing the prolonged credit crisis, deteriorating economic conditions, and the high cost of fuel as reasons consumers are holding off on purchasing new vehicles. Not helping the matter, fleet sales (a common way for the automakers to boost sales in the past) are also down 21 percent from last year.
We really didn't expect good news... J.D. Power and Associates, the global information services company who seem to have highly regarded insight within the industry, is predicting auto sales this year to hit short of their original estimates. According to the firm, declining consumer confidence, lower spending, and turbulent financial and economic market conditions will contribute to an anticipated drop in new light-vehicle sales in 2008 that will put total sales at their lowest level since 1994.
U.S. light-vehicle automotive sales as recently as 2000 and 2001 topped 17 million units and retail sales last year were a more disappointing 16.2 million units. It was originally assumed that sales in 2008 would even lower, at 15.7 million units. Now, weak retail and fleet sales have driven that number down to J.D. Power's estimate of 14.95 million units.
Of all the auto shows and random events we attend throughout the year, it never dawned on us to book a ticket to San Francisco to scope out the J.D. Power Roundtable meeting. Too bad, considering that Henrik Fisker showed off a "top secret" photo of the bespoke automaker's next project.
According to Automotive News, Fisker flashed a picture of the concept on stage and said that it would use the same lithium-ion plug-in hybrid drivetrain as the Karma sedan. Fisker went on to say that the four-seater convertible would go on sale around the same time as the Karma sedan, sometime in late 2009. A spokesman said that it's expected to be unveiled sometime this fall.
Unfortunately, Fisker wouldn't provide us with an image of the 2+2 cabrio, but if you happen to have a subscription to Automotive News, you can see a shot of the two-door convertible with plenty of styling cues pulled from the Karma, including the flared fenders, elongated hood and patented Fisker haunches.
J.D. Power & Associates, the biggest name in rating everything related to buying and owning cars, has released its rankings of automaker websites. The ratings, which J.D. Power releases twice a year, takes into account the feedback of more than 11,000 online new car shoppers over the course of two months, basing their scores on user-friendliness, content and overall appearance.
While you'd be forgiven for thinking that Japanese companies would have the best websites in the industry, this half's survey placed American automakers at the top of the list yet again. GM's HUMMER division retained its place at the top, just two points ahead of Lincoln. Kia came in third ahead of Honda and Mazda which tied for fourth, while Jeep, Acura, Lexus, Saab and Toyota rounded out the Top 10. We visit our fair share of automaker websites and have found some to be more intuitive than others. Your thoughts are welcome in the comments below.
