Threepeat: Lexus Australia national sales manager James Szabo (right) pictured with Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine after Lexus’ third straight Customer Satisfaction Awards win.

LEXUS Australia has continued its dominance of the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction awards, taking first place in the automotive category for the third year running, marking four wins since the awards began six years ago.

The awards process is based on face-to-face interviews with approximately 50,000 Australian customers across 12 months, who are asked to rate their experience with their respective automotive brand on a sliding scale of satisfaction form ‘very satisfied’ to ‘very dissatisfied’.

The Roy Morgan awards are also issued monthly, with Lexus coming out on top in eight of the 12 months from February to September, with Isuzu Ute winning the other four months.

Lexus took out the inaugural awards in 2011, with Mercedes-Benz and Volvo winning in 2012 and 2013, followed by three straight wins for Lexus.

The customer satisfaction awards were held at a gala in Melbourne last week, with 32 businesses awarded across a range of categories including finance, retail and telecommunications.

Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine said the winners of each category should be proud of their achievements.

“Reliable, accurate and totally objective, the Australian awards reflect the experiences of some 50,000 consumers, as aggregated in our Single Source survey over 12 months,” she said.

“Big or small, first-timer or veteran champion, the 32 businesses honoured in last night’s awards may come from diverse industries but they all share one crucial characteristic: their unrivalled dedication to ensuring their customers are satisfied, and their success as rated by their customers.”

The latest Roy Morgan award is the latest in a series of wins for the Japanese premium car-maker, with Lexus ranking the highest of any luxury vehicle brand in the JD Power 2016 Australia Customer Service Index Study.

The JD Power study looked at aftersales support and ranked each manufacturer on a scale out of a maximum 1000 points.

Lexus finished first with 852 points, leading Mercedes-Benz on 828 points and Audi with 826.

Lexus Australia chief executive Peter McGregor said that aftersales and customer service was an integral part of Lexus’ business.

“At Lexus, we pride ourselves on producing passenger cars and SUVs that exhibit the finest quality and craftsmanship,” he said.

“Just as importantly, we remain committed to building on the foundation of our business, which is to deliver an exceptional ownership experience.”

By Robbie Wallis

James-Szabo