Suzuki has achieved a high-ranking position in the latest Institute of Customer Service’s UK Customer Satisfaction Index, taking 23rd place overall and third in the automotive sector.

The index is a barometer of customer satisfaction measuring sentiment across the country and asks over 10,000 consumers to rate their experiences of dealing with over 250 different companies across 13 sectors, including those in the motor industry.

The Automotive industry sector average UKCSI score was 78.4 points measured across 26 brands and with a score of 81.6, Suzuki was ahead of the industry average and just 0.9 points behind the overall winner.

As part of the survey, customers were asked questions relating to various aspects of the way they were treated when dealing with brands including Trust, Experience, Customer Ethos, Emotional Connection and Ethics with Suzuki scoring well across these dimensions, and for Ethics in particular.

Nobuo Suyama, managing director of Suzuki GB, said: “We are very proud of our achievement to have again been recognised as a highly ranked car brand in the Index particularly with 2020 having been such a challenging year. Continuing to evolve the Suzuki customer experience remains a core focus for us and the ongoing efforts of our staff and dealers has clearly paid off.

 “Without the support of our nationwide dealer network, and the hundreds of people that work tirelessly for the brand to deliver exceptional standards for our customers we could not have delivered such a fantastic result. I would like to congratulate everyone who has played a part to achieve yet another strong score”.

Suzuki achieved the highest Net Promoter Score (NPS) in the automotive sector, which is a calculation of the ratio of respondents that would likely recommend a brand to others.

Jo Causon, CEO of The Institute of Customer Service comments: “In this challenging period for the automotive industry is it clear that some businesses have managed to maintain services and respond to changes in their customers’ circumstances and needs well.

“Suzuki’s continued strong showing in the UKCSI is encouraging and the organisations that best support their customers through these times – by reassuring, engaging and providing appropriate advice – will be best placed to thrive as we come out of this crisis.”

Fellow Japanese brand Mazda has been awarded the Feefo Gold Trusted Service Award, with an average score of 4.8 and 4.2 out of five stars, based on reviews from the last 12 months for Mazda UK and Call Mazda First retrospectively.

David Wilson-Green, customer service director at Mazda UK, said: “Being awarded the Feefo Trusted Service Award for the fourth consecutive year demonstrates what customers think of our philosophy around exceptional customer care. We take away post collision trauma allowing customers to ensure they are okay rather than worrying about their car.

“We will manage their car repair correctly, using new genuine parts fitted by Mazda experts and ensure it is returned back to factory build standards. Providing Mazda customers this reassurance and fantastic experience demonstrates our commitment never to cut corners but give exceptional experiences in every situation.”