Vehicle Owners in Mexico Have Strong Emotional Connection to Purchases, J.D. Power Finds

MEXICO CITY: 24 Nov. 2022 — Vehicle owners in Mexico have very strong emotional connections towards their 1- to 3-year-old vehicles, according to the APEAL (Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) section of the J.D. Power 2022 Mexico Vehicle Dependability Study^SM (VDS), released today. The overall APEAL Index score improves to 890 (on a 1,000-point scale), 18 points higher than in 2021. However, when vehicle owners experience a problem, the APEAL score decreases 48 points, underscoring the importance of customer satisfaction based on quality.

The APEAL Index score is a calculated by the owner’s emotional attachment and level of excitement across 10 areas and combined into an overall Index, with a higher score indicating higher satisfaction. 

“The APEAL satisfaction of premium vehicle owners continues to soar above their mass market counterparts in this year’s study,” said Gerardo Gomez, country manager at J.D. Power de Mexico. “Mass market owners still show strong feelings towards their vehicles, but the results show that deficiencies in key categories can affect satisfaction with an otherwise appealing vehicle.”

Following are some key findings of the 2022 study:

• High-use tactile and money-saving areas see increase in user attachment: Increasing in satisfaction this year are audio, communication, entertainment, and navigation systems (ACEN): storage/space; and fuel economy. The categories of storage/space and ACEN each improve 23 points to 892 and 871, respectively, while the fuel economy category increases 21 points to 875. “Automakers should continue to focus time and effort into these high-touch features,” Gomez said.
• Overall vehicle experience is crucial to satisfaction: There are three areas of a vehicle that drive satisfaction more than others when no problems are experienced: driving experience; vehicle interior; and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. However, when an owner experiences a problem in any of these areas, satisfaction declines at least 40 points.  

Highest-Ranking Brands

Mercedes-Benz ranks highest in APEAL among premium brands, with a score of 925. MINI (919) ranks second and Audi (917) ranks third.

Jeep ranks highest in APEAL among mass market brands, with score of 916. Mazda (911) ranks second and Honda (904) ranks third.

The APEAL section of the 2022 Mexico Vehicle Dependability Study is based on responses from 6,277 original owners of 2019 to 2021 model-year vehicles. The study was fielded from March through August 2022.

About J.D. Power
J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. A pioneer in the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modeling capabilities to understand consumer behavior, J.D. Power has been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands and products for more than 50 years. The world's leading businesses across major industries rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies.

J.D. Power has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more about the company’s business offerings, visit https://mexico.jdpower.com/.

Media Relations Contacts
Fabiana Duran; Mexico City; +52 55 1012 0885; fabiana@mediaroom.mx
Geno Effler, J.D. Power; U.S.A.; 714-621-6224; media.relations@jdpa.com

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