Study: German drivers happiest with Japanese cars

FRANKFURT, October 23, 2002, Reuters reported that although they may live in the country that designs and builds furiously fast Porsches, elegant Mercedes and sleek BMWs, but German drivers are happiest at the wheel of a Japanese car, a study said on Tuesday. Automotive market research group J.D. Power said its survey of 15,000 German car owners showed Japanese vehicles came out top in terms of customer satisfaction in all seven size categories from compact cars to luxury cars and off-roaders.

Toyota cars won in six of the categories, while Nissan's Maxima model took first place in the luxury segment -- an embarrassing result for BMW and Mercedes who usually concentrate on scoring points off each other rather than worrying about foreign competitors. Although there are far fewer Japanese cars on the road in Germany than German ones, J.D. Power Europe Director Dave Sargent said the study was not skewed by this because similar numbers of owners were interviewed for each individual car.

"On average Japanese cars have fewer defects than non-Japanese cars and that underpins customer satisfaction," Sargent said.

"Clearly the German manufacturers have an image of making excellent cars, which for the most part they are, but I don't think people have appreciated that the Japanese also make very good quality cars which are enjoyable to own," he said.

In terms of brands those surveyed rated BMW cars the most attractive, but Toyota won on quality, reliability and owner satisfaction with dealers. Toyota's Daihatsu unit was rated best for running costs, J.D. Power said.

Sargent said the German survey broadly reflected findings in studies carried out in Britain and the United States. Japanese carmakers have stolen market share in recent years from the U.S.'s big three manufacturers, General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and the Chrysler unit of DaimlerChrysler.