Honda reclaims top spot in Australian aftersales service study

The Japanese manufacturer surged into number one position in the 2015 Australia Customer Service Index (CSI) Study into mass-market brands, pipping last year’s leader Mazda to take the crown.

Honda skyrocketed a massive 29 points up the charts this year to a score of 816 out of 1000, rising from beneath the mass market average in 2014 and overtaking six brands on its way to the top in 2015.

Second-placed Mazda’s rating improved seven points this year to 813, leaving it just short of Honda, which returned to the top three years after tying with Toyota in 2012.

Toyota retained its third-place ranking this year on the back of a five-point increase to 807.

Kia was the other bolter this year, soaring 27 points to 804. The result propelled it into fourth position ahead of Subaru, which dipped from second to fifth this year after sliding four points to 800 overall.

Holden was 2015’s big loser, plummeting down the table from fourth in 2014 to third-last this year. It dropped 13 points to 781, leaving it ahead of only Suzuki (762, down seven points) and study first-timer Jeep (757).

This year is the first that JD Power had an adequate sample size to accurately rank Jeep, and its disappointing debut on the CSI table suggests Fiat Chrysler’s leading brand in Australia has work to do at its dealerships.

Despite enduring a tumultuous year, 2014’s loser Volkswagen climbed three places, rising 26 points to 791 and putting it 10^th overall among the mainstream brands.

The rise sees it slot just beneath Ford, Mitsubishi and Nissan, all of which scored 792 points this year, representing an increase of five points for Ford, nine points for Nissan and 19 points for Mitsubishi.

Despite rising four points this year to 795, Hyundai slipped out of the top five and below the market average, which this year is up seven points to 797.

JD Power’s 2015 Australia CSI Study is based on the responses of 4518 owners who purchased their vehicle between August 2010 and October 2015 and had their vehicle serviced at an authorised service centre between August 2014 and October 2015.

In its sixth year, the study measures overall satisfaction with the vehicle service experience at authorised service centres by examining five factors (listed in order of importance): service quality, vehicle pick-up, service advisor, service initiation, and service facility.