Porsche. Ferrari. Rolls Royce. Given the antics of Ben Simmons (and your neighbour who just spent his son’s inheritance on a flashy sports car) you could be forgiven for thinking Australia’s high rollers were all about that not-so-subtle vehicular flex. New data from Roy Morgan, however, has tipped that theory on its head, with a surprise winner emerging from their latest investigation into the car brands in Australia with the highest customer satisfaction ratings for August 2019.
Numero uno on the Car Manufacturer of the Month Award for August 2019, with a “near perfect” customer satisfaction record, is Lexus, with the remarkably high customer satisfaction rating of 97% – a record on top of an already impressive five and a half year period during which Lexus has maintained a satisfaction rating between 94% and 98%.
The results from the most recent Automotive Brand Customer Satisfaction Report show Lexus was followed by Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Suzuki, Land Rover, Subaru and Toyota (all of which had customer satisfaction ratings of 94%), then Mazda, Isuzu Ute and Volvo (all on 93%).
These satisfaction ratings come from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, which conducts analysis via in-depth face-to-face interviews with over 50,000 Australians each year in their homes. In response to the findings, Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine said that competitive industries provide the greatest benefit to individual consumers, and the fierce Australian car market demonstrates that.
“The wide-ranging choice that consumers have with vehicle brand, make, size, power and comfort, as well as a selection of cars from all over the world, has contributed to an industry with extremely high levels of customer satisfaction,” she said.
“Lexus’s customer satisfaction rating of 97% is 3% higher than next placed Kia on 94%. While this lead may appear minor, it isn’t. The satisfaction ratings of the following nine leading car manufacturers are separated by only 1%, which shows how significant Lexus’s lead currently is.”
“Compared with a year ago, both Lexus and Volvo have enjoyed the largest increase in satisfaction ratings with a 3% lift. Isuzu Ute – the 2018 Car Manufacturer of the Year – experienced the biggest decline of 3%. All other leading manufacturers remained relatively steady,” Ms. Levine added.
Lexus’ August win was its seventh straight monthly award this year, earning the brand the annual customer satisfaction award for 2019. Lexus has now won five of these since its inaugural win in 2014, and doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.
So far so promising. But how do you tell if a Lexus is right for you? And what does a typical Lexus driver look like? Not to worry: the survey has this all covered too, revealing that the typical Lexus driver is a 35-49 year old man, who lives in New South Wales. He’d also be educated, employed, and far more likely than the average Australian to be earning over $100,000 per year.
More generally speaking, Lexus drivers tend to be professionals and managers, top socio-economic dogs, and big spenders. Unsurprisingly, given their relatively secure financial situation, most of them are optimistic about the future.
Also noteworthy is that Lexus drivers tend to be, as Roy Morgan puts it, “socially aware” and “visible achievers,” traits which account for over half of all Lexus drivers. In other words: Lexus customers tend to hold traditional values about home, work and society, placing great emphasis on providing their families with a high-quality environment, and doing their bit for the environment and society.