New initiatives vault Tata Motors to No. 3 position in India service and aftersales study

Just how much of a key role service and aftersales support play in a highly competitive passenger car market like India’s can be determined by the level of customer satisfaction a carmaker achieves. 

This fact is very much in evidence in the latest J.D. Power 2016 India Customer Service Index Study, whose findings were revealed yesterday. While Maruti Suzuki India and Honda Cars India have tied for top spot, the surprise package this year is Tata Motors at No. 3 position. The study points out that this year Tata Motors has improved across five factors – service initiation, service advisor, service facility, vehicle pickup and service quality.  

The company, which has seen a handsome response to the Tiago hatchback and is gearing up to roll out the premium Hexa crossover in January 2017, has been ranked among the most improved brands for its customer service levels. On a 1,000-point scale, it has scored a total of 888 – an increase of a substantial 39 points from its 2015 score – and 13 points below the front-runners.

Tata Motors says its performance in the CSI Study has been consistently improving, having risen to third this year from being seventh five years ago.

Commenting on the company’s performance this year, Mayank Pareek, president, Passenger Vehicle Business, Tata Motors, said: “Service is key in the automotive industry and makes a difference in the car buying decision too. We have worked hard on our service offerings last year and are delighted to secure the second highest score in the J D Power 2016 Syndicate Customer Service Index Study, which is also the highest increase in score in the industry, this year. This is a proof of our consistently focused efforts towards customer service.

"Last year, the company rolled out several new, industry-leading service initiatives including the monsoon service and nationwide quarterly mega service camps. With new service programmes like Speed-O-Service and increased usage of technology like V-Tabs, our service team has strived to increase service levels and deliver vehicles within 90 minutes. Customers have recognised these efforts and are witnessing the change in the manner in which we engage with them at our touch-points.”

The JD Power CSI study is designed to provide manufacturers an objective assessment of the customers’ satisfaction with dealer service during the first 12 to 24 months of vehicle ownership. It also examines additional service concepts such as variation in satisfaction among maintenance and repair customers, dealer and non-dealer, service facility usage and loyalty that designates the highest performers in the industry.