Mercedes tops vehicle sales satisfaction for luxury brands in India: Study

New Delhi: German carmaker Mercedes-Benz has topped sales satisfaction in the luxury vehicles segment followed by rival BMW in India, according to a study by global market research firm JD Power.

According to the J D Power 2018 India sales satisfaction index (luxury) study, Mercedes-Benz with a score of 903 ranks highest followed by BMW and Audi at second and third positions with scores of 900 and 888, respectively.

The study is based on responses from 250 new-vehicle owners who purchased their vehicle from September 2017 through August 2018.

It measures overall satisfaction in six factors — dealership facility, delivery process, dealer sales consultant, paperwork completion, working out the deal and dealership website.

The study also concluded that luxury car buyers in India are deeply involved in the pre-purchase shopping process. The proactiveness of these buyers to be better informed requires dealership staff to be more prepared in interacting with these customers.

More than one-fourth (28 per cent) of luxury car buyers shopped around for other models before making a purchase decision, with 65 per cent of them using the internet as one of their key information sources, it noted.

Besides, 49 per cent of luxury car buyers contacted the dealer directly prior to their first physical visit of the dealership and 52 per cent of these buyers compared prices of the same model across multiple dealerships, it said.

Nearly two-thirds of buyers rely on friends and family as their primary source of information while deciding on the vehicle brand or model to purchase, the study said.