International Brands Top Customer Satisfaction Study

Complete ASCI Data

Washington DC August 15, 2006; The AIADA newsletter reported that for the second year in a row, Toyota led the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index for vehicles with a record score of 87 points on a scale of 100.

The industry as a whole rose 1.3 percent to an average of 81 points, Reuters. Honda, Lexus, and Buick all tied for second place with 86 points, and BMW received 85 points.

To collect the data, the University and several partners asked 5,440 car buyers from April through June to rate their vehicle satisfaction level compared with their expectations and their ideal vehicle.

"It remains a telling indicator that only the higher-end nameplates like Buick, Cadillac and Lincoln are competitive on customer satisfaction with the Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai nameplates," said Claes Fornell, head of the Index at the University of Michigan. "While the more comparable U.S. counterparts, such as GM's Pontiac, Daimler-Chrysler's Dodge and Ford, remain well behind."