ACSIAUTOMOBILEREPORT2017ACSIINDUSTRYRESULTSFOR:Automobiles&LightVehiclesAugust29,2017ABOUTACSITheAmericanCustomerSatisfactionIndex(ACSI®)isanationaleconomicindicatorofcustomerevaluationsofthequalityofproductsandservicesavailabletohouseholdconsumersintheUnitedStates.TheACSIusesdatafrominterviewswithroughly180,000customersannuallyasinputstoaneconometricmodelforanalyzingcustomersatisfactionwithmorethan300companiesin43industriesand10economicsectors,includingvariousservicesoffederalandlocalgovernmentagencies.ACSIresultsarereleasedthroughouttheyear,withallmeasuresreportedonascaleof0to100.ACSIdatahaveproventobestronglyrelatedtoseveralessentialindicatorsofmicroandmacroeconomicperformance.Forexample,firmswithhigherlevelsofcustomersatisfactiontendtohavehigherearningsandstockreturnsrelativetocompetitors.StockportfoliosbasedoncompaniesthatshowstrongperformanceinACSIdeliverexcessreturnsinupmarketsaswellasdownmarkets.Atthemacrolevel,customersatisfactionhasbeenshowntobepredictiveofbothconsumerspendingandGDPgrowth.AmericanCustomerSatisfactionIndex®Automobiles&LightVehicles81-1.2%©2017ACSILLC.ALLRIGHTSRESERVED.Customersatisfactionwithautomobilesandlightvehiclesslips1.2%toascoreof81ontheAmericanCustomerSatisfactionIndex’s(ACSI®)scaleof0to100.Ayearago,theindustryimproveddriversatisfactionandsaleswereatrecordhighs.Thisyear,demandseemssomewhatsaturated,andtotalcarsalesaredown11.4%forthefirsthalfof2017.So,too,iscustomersatisfactionfortheindustry,althoughindividualnameplatespostmoregainsthanlosses.Amongthe25automakerstrackedbytheACSI,12improvefromayearagoandonly8platesdecline—4ofwhicharedomesticbrands.Foreign-madevehiclescontinuetohavethehighestdriversatisfactionand77%oftheabove-averagenameplatesintheACSIareimports.Manyforeign-madecarsarenotpartofthecustomersatisfactiondownturnfortheindustry,andEuropeanautomakersmatchJapaneseandKoreanmanufacturerswithanACSIscoreof82.ThegapbetweeninternationalanddomesticautomakerswidensasU.S.companiesfallto80.CustomerSatisfactionChallengesforDetro...
