Owner satisfaction with new-vehicle design and performance has rebounded after two years of unprecedented decline, according to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) StudySM released today. Overall satisfaction is 847 (1000-point scale), an increase of 2 points from a year ago. Satisfaction with non-Tesla battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is at an all-time high (877), surpassing Tesla at 87). (Read AutoInformed on 2023: APEAL Study of New Vehicle Owner Satisfaction Down Again)
“Traditional manufacturers have listened to the Voice of the Customer,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power. “They’re launching enhanced vehicles that are more in line with what customers want, including improved interior storage and higher quality materials, as well as ensuring features have ease of use. For BEVs, recent launches from traditional manufacturers have surpassed perennial leader Tesla when it comes to owners’ level of emotional attachment and excitement with their new vehicle.”
However, one problem area continues to trouble all vehicle fuel types – infotainment, one of the 10 factors on which the study is based. Despite satisfaction improving 5 points this year to 823, infotainment remains one of the lowest-scoring categories industry wide. While satisfaction with in-vehicle infotainment systems averages 805, it is higher among owners who use Android Auto (832) or Apple CarPlay (840). “This shows that customers prefer to have the simplistic usability of their phone extended into their vehicle more so than what manufacturers are providing,”Power said.
*Now in its 29th year, the APEAL Study complements the J.D. Power U.S. Initial Quality StudySM (IQS) and the J.D. Power U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) StudySM by measuring owners’ emotional attachment and level of excitement with their new vehicle. The APEAL Study asks owners to consider 37 attributes, ranging from the sense of comfort they feel when climbing into the driver’s seat to their exhilaration when they step on the accelerator. Vehicle owners’ responses to queries about these attributes are aggregated to compute an overall APEAL Index score.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
J.D. Power 2024 US APEAL Study Improves Slightly
Owner satisfaction with new-vehicle design and performance has rebounded after two years of unprecedented decline, according to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) StudySM released today. Overall satisfaction is 847 (1000-point scale), an increase of 2 points from a year ago. Satisfaction with non-Tesla battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is at an all-time high (877), surpassing Tesla at 87). (Read AutoInformed on 2023: APEAL Study of New Vehicle Owner Satisfaction Down Again)
“Traditional manufacturers have listened to the Voice of the Customer,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power. “They’re launching enhanced vehicles that are more in line with what customers want, including improved interior storage and higher quality materials, as well as ensuring features have ease of use. For BEVs, recent launches from traditional manufacturers have surpassed perennial leader Tesla when it comes to owners’ level of emotional attachment and excitement with their new vehicle.”
However, one problem area continues to trouble all vehicle fuel types – infotainment, one of the 10 factors on which the study is based. Despite satisfaction improving 5 points this year to 823, infotainment remains one of the lowest-scoring categories industry wide. While satisfaction with in-vehicle infotainment systems averages 805, it is higher among owners who use Android Auto (832) or Apple CarPlay (840). “This shows that customers prefer to have the simplistic usability of their phone extended into their vehicle more so than what manufacturers are providing,”Power said.
*Now in its 29th year, the APEAL Study complements the J.D. Power U.S. Initial Quality StudySM (IQS) and the J.D. Power U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) StudySM by measuring owners’ emotional attachment and level of excitement with their new vehicle. The APEAL Study asks owners to consider 37 attributes, ranging from the sense of comfort they feel when climbing into the driver’s seat to their exhilaration when they step on the accelerator. Vehicle owners’ responses to queries about these attributes are aggregated to compute an overall APEAL Index score.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.