Chinese Consumers Rebell Against Channel Stuffing, Punish Carmakers

Channel stuffing is taking its toll on China. Customers fight back against "increased sales pressure and an insufficient supply of experienced staff, driven by a disconnect between the dealership network expansion and the market slowdown, " and punish car manufacturers where it hurts second most: On the J.D.Power Sales Satisfaction Survey. The survey, published today, notices "a notable deterioration in overall sales satisfaction among new-vehicle owners in China." Audi ranks highest in that study that measures customer satisfaction with the new-vehicle purchase process. Dongfeng Nissan ranks second, followed by Beijing Hyundai, Dongfeng Citroën and Dongfeng Honda. The preeminence of joint ventures of the state owned enterprise Dongfeng cannot be overlooked.   J.D.Power wants the car companies that rate below industry average to keep face, and does not list them. Easy: If you don't see major makers listed above average, they are below average. According to J.D.Power's Liza Wang, "manufacturers have not aligned production with current demand, but have instead continued to add production capacity and open new dealerships in anticipation of stronger growth in the future. In the current market, this has led to increased inventories at dealerships and acute pressure to sell vehicles. Nearly 80 percent of dealers indicate that high inventories are their greatest challenge, which means dealers are under immense pressure to sell more vehicles at a faster pace, This clearly has had a negative impact on the quality of the purchase experience for new-vehicle buyers." An increasing number of customers complained about excessive pressure from salespersons. In addition, i customers are more demanding and have higher expectations during the sales process than before. Says J.D.Power: "The increasing availability of vehicle information on the Internet—particularly regarding vehicle features and pricing and incentive information—has given new-vehicle buyers more leverage when negotiating their purchase. " China – looks more and more like home. Except for the girls over the hood, sadly. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 680102