The J.D. Power U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study has been a rollercoaster for Lincoln over the past few years. In 2021, the luxury automaker dropped from first to fifth amongst its premium-segment peers, then slipped to seventh place in 2022 before rising back to fourth place in the 2023 rendition of the study. The results of the 2024 J.D. Power U.S. SSI Study are now in the books, showing that Lincoln lost some ground once again, slotting in sixth this time.
As a reminder, the J.D. Power U.S. SSI Study measures customer satisfaction with the sales experience when purchasing a new vehicle, as well as those that opted to do so from a different dealer after rejecting one. It examines data collected from six factors: delivery process; dealer personnel; working out the deal; paperwork completion; dealership facility; and dealership website. Rejecter satisfaction is based on five factors: salesperson; price; facility; variety of inventory; and negotiation. The 2024 version of the U.S. SSI Study collected responses from 34,596 buyers who purchased or leased a new vehicle between March and May of 2024. Automakers are then graded on a 1,000-point scale.
Lincoln raked in 822 points in this year’s study, putting it above the premium segment average, but sixth in the division. It was outperformed by Porsche (851), Infiniti (840), Jaguar (838), Acura (825), and Land Rover (824). Lincoln matched Volvo (822), while it outranked several key competitors, including Cadillac (820) and Lexus (812). The premium segment average, meanwhile, was 818 points.
Industrywide, satisfaction increased from 793 to 801 points, largely due to improvements in pricing and inventory. The study returned that the number of buyers who purchased their vehicle above MSRP declined considerably as supply improves.
“In 2023, improvements in new-vehicle inventory and pricing moved customer satisfaction in an upward trajectory from the lows of 2022, and that’s apparent again this year,” said Stewart Stropp, vice president of automotive retail at J.D. Power. “It marks a return to form. As shoppers see a wider variety of vehicles to choose from, pricing becomes more competitive across the market. But this year’s study shows satisfaction with other parts of the sales experience has not improved nearly as much. Plenty of opportunity remains to optimize the path to purchase.”
Comment
Like JDPs Initial Quality Study, this is hokey. We had a terrible experience last week trying to buy a new Buick (because of the current conquest idiocy). And they’re #2? LOL. And Mitsubishi and Nissan flip-flopped in one year? LOL. And CDJR split when the dealers are the same? And so on.