A recent survey by What Car? and JD Power and Associates has seen a dramatic improvement in the opinion of British cars in the eyes of motorists. Although they were once notorious for poor quality and unreliability, foreign investment and improved working practices have been the saving grace of UK manufacturers, which are now topping this survey of 16,000 customers.
This improvement has been a steep incline, with Land Rover seeing the most marked improvement. In 2004, it was positioned in 32nd place on a rank of customer satisfaction, and in 2013 it has leapt to 6th place – from 12th just last year.
Jaguar too has seen a significant improvement in the last seven years. In 2004 the luxury brand was 13th in the survey, falling behind even modest brands such as Proton, Daihatsu and Skoda. In 2013 Jaguar retains the top spot for the second consecutive year after bumping Lexus down to 2nd place from its 11 year stint at the top.
Garel Rhys, Emeritus Professor of Motor Economics at Cardiff Business School believes that the improvement of British car manufacturers should be attributed to the Japanese’s setting up of plants across Britain:
‘Their quality has been superb. This has been taken up by the traditional car makers who have benefited from what has been going on. These are mass-market cars which are now built to go like a clock.’
The ‘top 10’ results for car manufacturers from the survey are as follows:
Top 10 Car Manufacturers
1. Jaguar
2. Lexus
3. Honda
4. Skoda
5. Mercedes-Benz
6. Land Rover
7. Volvo
8. Toyota
9= Nissan
9= Seal
9= Volkswagen
Do you agree with the survey’s findings? Get in touch with us through Facebook or Twitter – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
