We really look forward to the results of studies which help unravel the behaviour of car buyers in India. This time around, J. D. Power has released the results of the 2018 India Sales Satisfaction Index Study for the Luxury market. It says that with 903 points on a 1,000-point scale, Mercedes-Benz topped the chart, with BMW and Audi taking second and third places with 900 and 888 points respectively. The overall average score was 898.

This particular study’s results are based on responses from 250 new-vehicles owners who bought their vehicle between September 2017 and August 2018. A total of six major factors contribute to the overall customer satisfaction in their new-vehicle purchasing experience in the luxury market. In order of their weightage, they are – dealership facility (22 per cent); delivery process (21 per cent); dealer sales consultant (20 per cent); paperwork completion (17 per cent); working out the deal (15 per cent); and dealership website (4 per cent).

Note: The weightages have been rounded off to the nearest whole number.

Given below are some of the observations that J. D. Power has unveiled:

• 28 per cent of car buyers looked around for options before purchasing and 65 per cent of those using the internet as their main source of information.
• 49 per cent of car buyers contact the dealership directly before visiting it physically and 52 per cent out of those compared prices of the same model across multiple dealerships.
• 61 per cent of car buyers rely on family and friends as their main source of information before zeroing down on a brand or a model.
• 83 per cent of car buyers said their sales consultant used a digital device.
• Tablets are the most commonly used digital device (66 per cent). Overall satisfaction is highest among buyers whose sales consultant used a tablet (910 points out of a possible 1,000).
• Over a quarter of customers faced issues during their car buying experience. The problems revolved around clarity on pricing, paperwork and additional item purchases.
• Among delighted consumers (with an overall sales satisfaction score of 976 or higher), 97 per cent said they definitely would recommend their dealer to family and friends. On the other hand, only 62 per cent of highly dissatisfied customers, (with an overall sales satisfaction score of 848 or less), said so.

This study does give us some insight on what all impact a customer’s car buying experience. That said, considering how many luxury cars are sold in India every year, the sample size is way too small to draw any meaningful inferences from the study.