Honda, Toyota among Alabama auto companies that rank high
Honda and Toyota, two automakers with a significant presence in Alabama, made strides in a new measure of customer satisfaction, while the other major manufacturers with state operations, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai, turned in middle-of-the-road performances.
The University of Michigan’s National Quality Research Center today released the second quarter American Customer Satisfaction Index. ACSI is updated each quarter with new measures for different sectors of the economy, and every second quarter it includes manufacturing durable goods.
In Alabama, several foreign automakers have set up shop during the past 15 years.
Among those, Japan’s Honda and Toyota tied for second place with identical ACSI scores of 86. Honda builds sport utilities and minivans in Lincoln, while Toyota produces engines in Huntsville.
The companies ranked behind first-place finishers Lexus and BMW, which tied at 87.
Mercedes, which builds sport utilities in Vance, used to top the index, but has seen a slow and steady erosion in customer satisfaction. The German automaker’s score is now the industry average of 82, a 1.2 percent decline from last year and a 3.5 percent decline from 1994, when the index started.
Meanwhile, Hyundai, which builds sedans and sport utilities in Montgomery, finished with a score of 83.
For Toyota and Honda, the latest scores represent a 2.4 percent increase over last year for each company.
For Toyota, the latest score is the same as its original 1994 ranking, since the automaker lost some ground over the years and has since made it up. For Honda, the latest score is 1.2 percent higher than its initial performance.
AMERICAN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION INDEX SCORES Lexus and BMW, tied at 87:
Toyota and Honda, tied at 86
Buick, Cadillac, Saturn, tied at 85
Lincoln, Mercury, Hyundai, GMC, tied at 83
Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, tied at 82
Volkswagen, 81
Pontiac, Ford, Chrysler,Mazda, Kia, tied at 80
Chevrolet, 79
Dodge, 78
Jeep, 76.
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