Isuzu overtakes Lexus for top customer satisfaction

Isuzu UTE Australia has emerged as the ‘Best of the Best’ in the annual 2020 Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards, overtaking Lexus and all other brands both in and beyond the auto industry.

The independent research company this week crowned Isuzu as the standout performer for customer satisfaction during the pandemic-struck 2020 – a year in which the all-new Isuzu D-MAX ute was released.

The Japanese ute and SUV specialist outperformed 39 other category winners that included First Choice Liquor, Bunnings and Aldi to receive the ‘Best of the Best’ award, which it also achieved in 2018.

The 2020 award was based on seven top-placed monthly rankings among the auto brands last year, while 2019 winner Lexus took the other five.

Other brands identified as performing “exceptionally well” in 2020 were Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Suzuki.

An average of 50,000 Australians were interviewed over a 12-month period from January to December 2020 to produce the results, which found 94.92 per cent of respondents were most satisfied with Isuzu.

“This not only speaks volumes about the reliability and durability of Isuzu vehicles but also about the support team that works day in and day out to ensure their drivers are satisfied with their owner experience,” said Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine.

Isuzu UTE Australia managing director Hiroyasu Sato said the recognition is an honour for the brand and will “drive our commitment to paying special attention to customer feedback and delivering on promises made”.

“Having just celebrated 200,000 unit sales since our arrival in Australia in 2008, Isuzu UTE Australia is honoured to have received another milestone complementing our continual drive for excellence within the Australian market,” said Sato.

“The Isuzu UTE brand has experienced exceptional growth over the last 13 years and with it is our commitment to customer satisfaction, evident through our comprehensive ‘Service 6-7-7’ care package and promise to providing our owners with complete peace of mind.”

Australian buyers have been flocking to the new Isuzu D-MAX, which rated highly in the recent carsales Best Dual-Cab 4x4 Ute 2021 mega-test and last month racked up 3058 sales – an all-time record for the ute that helped the brand to ninth position in the overall market.

The trend is expected to continue, supply permitting, as the all-new 2021 Isuzu MU-X large SUV draws near.