As Korean cars continue to set new monthly sales records, they’re going backwards when it comes to customer service.
Genesis and Hyundai ranked last by brand and segment in the 2023 U.S. Customer Service Index (out of 1000) survey released today by JD Power.
Genesis ranked last among 14 premium brands with a score of 819. This is its lowest score since it was first included in the 2020 premium brand assessment, and the industry average is 864.
After ranking 11th with 834 points in 2020, its first year in the U.S. market, Genesis rose to 9th place with 864 points in 2021, but fell to 12th place with 836 points last year, earning the shameful title of “worst in the industry” this year.
Genesis also dropped to last place in the sedan (10 vehicles) and SUV (13 vehicles) categories with scores of 831 and 811, respectively.
In the 18 general brands segment, where the industry average score is 842, Hyundai earned only 817 points, placing it at the bottom of the list for the second consecutive year at 17th place, following last year’s score of 831. Hyundai ranked last in the sedan (12) and SUV (14) categories with 815 and 818 points, respectively. Hyundai, which ranked 11th in the 2019 and 2020 brand rankings, has been at the bottom of the list since last year after dropping to 12th in 2021.
Kia, which ranked fifth in 2021 (855 points), plummeted to 15th last year (834 points) before rebounding to 12th this year with 835 points. However, in the sedan and SUV categories, it fell to 10th and 12th place, respectively, with 835 points.
An industry official in Los Angeles said, “Korean cars are enjoying strong sales, but are ironically ranked lowest in terms of customer service satisfaction due to lack of dealers and delays in procuring parts. They need to improve the quality of customer service as much as they improve the quantity.”
The top premium brand was Lexus with a score of 900. It also took the top three spots in the premium sedan and SUV categories with scores of 902 and 900, respectively. Lexus, which also took the top spot in 2020 and 2022, continues to dominate the industry, taking second place behind Porsche in 2019 and 2021.
Mitsubishi took the top spot in the Best General Brand and SUV categories with 884 points each, while Subaru earned 866 points in the Sedan category.
The customer service satisfaction survey, now in its 43rd year, was conducted from August through December of last year among 64,248 drivers who owned or leased a 2020 or 2022 model year vehicle.
The total score combines scores from five categories: customer service quality (32%), service advice (19%), vehicle pickup (19%), service facilities (15%), and service initiation (15%). This year, the overall average service satisfaction score was 846, down two points from the previous year.
This is the first time in 28 years that the overall average satisfaction score has declined, with the proliferation of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) having a negative impact. In fact, BEV owners were 42 points less satisfied than owners of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, with BEV recall rates scoring more than twice as high as ICEs due to a lacking knowledge of BEVs among service providers.
BY NAKHEE PARK [naki@koreadialy.com]
