Isuzu Ute Australia has much to crow about, picking up two customer satisfaction awards.
For the second year in a row, it won best car manufacturer in the 2021 Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards, while also being awarded top automotive brand in the 2021 Canstar Blue Customer Satisfaction Awards.
Isuzu was the only automotive brand in Australia to receive perfect five-star scores across all seven of Canstar Blue’s categories, and it was the first time in 11 years of surveying that an automotive brand had received perfect scores.
The comparison site’s categories comprise Overall Customer Satisfaction, Reliability, Value for Money, Driving Experience, After Sales Service, Point of Sale Service, and Car Servicing.
It was followed by Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, Suzuki, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, Kia, Volkswagen and Mitsubishi, all of which received four stars for Overall Customer Satisfaction.
Ford, Nissan, BMW and Audi followed with three-star ratings.
Canstar Blue surveyed more than 12,000 Australian adults, and the results were derived from a group of 2364 respondents who bought a brand new car from a dealership in the last three years.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included.
Past Canstar Blue winners include Audi (2020), Mazda (2020, 2016), Mitsubishi (2019), Suzuki (2018) and BMW (2016, 2017).
Over at the Roy Morgan awards, Isuzu wasn’t the only car brand to come out on top. It won car manufacturer of the year, while Subaru won major car manufacturer of the year.
The distinction in categories is a bit unusual, given Subaru only narrowly outsold Isuzu last year (37,015 sales vs 35,735) despite having a much wider range.
Liquor chain Cellarbrations beat out Isuzu for Roy Morgan’s best brand overall this year, breaking a four-year winning streak by car brands.
Isuzu received the ‘Best of the Best’ award in 2018 and 2020, while Lexus received it in 2017 and 2019.
“The average customer satisfaction for Isuzu UTE in 2021 was an exceptional 96.1% for all customers, an improvement from 94.9% making it the second highest rated brand for the most satisfied customers of any of the 37 categories awarded,” said Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine.
“The result shows that an enduring commitment to meeting and satisfying the needs of customers can pay off big-time.”
“We have always put our customers first, and to be the first brand to receive a perfect [Canstar Blue] survey score is proof of that,” said Isuzu Ute Australia deputy managing director of service, parts and aftersales, Takeshi “Ted” Yasui (pictured above).
“Over the last decade, IUA has built a reputation for customer satisfaction, reliability, and value for money, which is evident with the response from customers surveyed, and the fact that Isuzu Ute Australia has won the 2021 Canstar Blue Customer Satisfaction Award for New Cars.”
“Being singled out as the only automotive brand to score five stars for Reliability is a real testament to our designers and engineers who have invested over four million kilometres of durability testing in the development of the new-generation Isuzu D-Max and MU-X.”
Notably, the latest survey also found 26 per cent of all respondents had modified or accessorised their Isuzus.
“Isuzu was the one to beat in Canstar Blue’s latest overall new car ratings, scoring five stars in all categories, giving it the inside lane on competitors in a crowded Australian market,” said Canstar journalist Dean Heckscher.
