Recall Visits in Japan Generate Lower After-Sales Service Satisfaction, J.D. Power Finds
Lexus, Nissan and MINI Rank Highest in Their Respective Segments
TOKYO: 5 Sep. 2024 — Among dealership customers in Japan who brought their vehicle in for a recall,satisfaction is 711 (on a 1,000-point scale) compared with those who brought their vehicle in for otherafter-sales services (725), indicating more negative experiences during the recall visit, according tothe J.D. Power 2024 Japan Customer Service Index (CSI) Study,SM released today.
In 2024, overall customer satisfaction with after-sales service averages 725 points, almost unchanged
from 2023 with an increase of 1 point. By factor, satisfaction for booking/dropping off the car is 728,
while the satisfaction for service quality/car delivery is 724 and 722 for dealer facilities and support.
By segment, overall satisfaction is 775 for luxury brands, 721 for mass market domestic brands and747 for mass market import brands.
“Recall visits to dealerships have considerably increased in the past year,” said Taku Kimoto, senior
managing officer of research at J.D. Power. “Dealerships are struggling with organizing theirschedules due to more owner visits, which is affecting the wait times for all customers. To increasesatisfaction for recall appointments, dealerships can work on customer interactions, such aspresenting more detailed repair explanations and patiently answer their questions. Customers
perceive a recall as an unexpected event and many already have negative feelings when bringing theirvehicle to the dealership, so dealerships need to bear this in mind and provide a basic explanation tothe customer while checking to see that it was understood, as well as being considerate ofcustomers’ feelings and treating them with care and flexibility.”
Following are some of the key findings of the 2024 study:
Recall visits increase and satisfaction drops: In recent years, customer expectations haveincreased for quality and safety, as advanced technologies have evolved and more features havebeen installed on new vehicles. In this context, recalls are brought to the fore in the after-sales
service field, and how to treat customers during a recall visit has received harsh reactions. In thisyear’s study, among customers who used their dealership for after-sales service, 11% say thatthey “had their vehicle repaired or a problem fixed,” unchanged from a year ago. However, among
these customers, 46% “were subject to recall,” substantially increased from 34% in 2023. Amongcustomers who had a recall repair, satisfaction averages 711, 14 points lower than for overall
after-sales service (725), revealing complaints during the recall repair visit.

Improving time efficiency and enhancing customer responses: Among customers who visitedthe dealership for a recall, the majority (53%) made the appointment within two weeks before thevisit, 8 percentage points higher than the overall average (45%). This indicates that many of thesecustomers made an appointment on short notice. Regarding repair time, 39% of customers whovisited the dealership for a recall say within one hour from bringing their vehicle in to being
returned, compared with 58% for the overall average. There are also challenges to be addressed
during handing the vehicle over to customers who visited the dealership for a recall. In terms ofpoor responses during recall visits, 35% say that they never experienced that the service
representative explained one-sidedly and 46% say that the service representative did not givejapan.jdpower.com

proper answers to my questions—both of which are 7 points lower than the overall average. Thissuggests that for customers who visit the dealership for a recall, stress associated with poor
communications with the service representative causes the decrease in satisfaction.
Study Rankings
Luxury Brands
Among the five luxury brands included in the study, Lexus ranks highest, with a score of 807. Lexus
performs particularly well in all of the three factors: dealer facilities and support; booking/dropping off
the car; and service quality/car delivery. BMW (772) ranks second.
Mass Market Domestic Brands
Among the eight mass market domestic brands included in the study, Nissan ranks highest, with ascore of 736. Nissan performs particularly well in two factors, which are dealer facilities and support,
and booking/dropping off the car. Honda (735) ranks second and Toyota (727) ranks third.
Mass Market Import Brands
Among the five mass market import brands included in the study, MINI ranks highest, with a score of783. MINI performs particularly well in all the factors: dealer facilities and support; booking/dropping
off the car; and service quality/car delivery. Volkswagen (772) ranks second.
The Japan Customer Service Index (CSI) Study measures satisfaction with after-sales service among
new-vehicle owners between 14 to 49 months of ownership. The study surveys owners who visited amanufacturer-authorized service center for maintenance or repair work in the past year. The study,
now in its 23rd year, this year is based on responses from 8,670 owners who purchased their newvehicle between April 2020 and March 2023. The online survey was fielded in May-June 2024.
About J.D. PowerJ.D. Power is a global leader in automotive data and analytics, and provides industry intelligence,
consumer insights and advisory solutions to the automotive industry and selected non-automotiveindustries. J.D. Power leverages its extensive proprietary datasets and software capabilities
combined with advanced analytics and artificial intelligence tools to help its clients optimize businessperformance.
J.D. Power was founded in 1968 and has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn
more about the company’s business offerings, visit https://japan.jdpower.com/.
Media Relations Contacts
Kumi Kitami, J.D. Power; Japan; 81-3-6809-2996; release@jdpa.com
Geno Effler, J.D. Power; USA; 714-621-6224; media.relations@jdpa.com
About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/pressrelease-info###NOTE: Three charts follow.

J.D. Power
2024 Japan Customer Service Index (CSI) StudySMOverall Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking(Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Luxury Brands

Lexus

807

Luxury Brands Average

775

BMW772

Volvo

765

Audi

761

Mercedes-Benz

760

NOTE: Brand/Segment are not rank eligible unless they meet study criteria by J.D.Power, including insufficient sample.
Source: J.D. Power 2024 Japan Customer Service Index (CSI) StudySM
Charts and graphs extracted from this press release for use by the media must be accompanied by a statement identifying
J.D. Power as the publisher and the study from which it originated as the source. Rankings are based on numerical scores,
and not necessarily on statistical significance. No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information inthis release or J.D. Power survey results without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power.

J.D. Power
2024 Japan Customer Service Index (CSI) StudySM
Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking(Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Mass Market Domestic Brands

Nissan

736

Honda

735

Toyota727

Mass Market DomesticBrands Average

721

Mitsubishi

720

Mazda

713

Subaru707

Suzuki704

Daihatsu702

NOTE: Brand/Segment are not rank eligible unless they meet study criteria by J.D.Power, including insufficient sample.
Source: J.D. Power 2024 Japan Customer Service Index (CSI) StudySM
Charts and graphs extracted from this press release for use by the media must be accompanied by a statement identifying
J.D. Power as the publisher and the study from which it originated as the source. Rankings are based on numerical scores,
and not necessarily on statistical significance. No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information inthis release or J.D. Power survey results without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power.

J.D. Power
2024 Japan Customer Service Index (CSI) StudySM
Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking(Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Mass Market Import Brands

MINI

783

Volkswagen

772

Mass Market Import
Brands Average

747

Jeep

721

Peugeot

714

Renault

694

NOTE: Brand/Segment are not rank eligible unless they meet study criteria by J.D.Power, including insufficient sample.
Source: J.D. Power 2024 Japan Customer Service Index (CSI) StudySM
Charts and graphs extracted from this press release for use by the media must be accompanied by a statement identifying
J.D. Power as the publisher and the study from which it originated as the source. Rankings are based on numerical scores,
and not necessarily on statistical significance. No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information inthis release or J.D. Power survey results without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power.