J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Honda Ranks Highest Among Manufacturer Websites in Satisfying New-Vehicle Shoppers

Excessive Focus on Quickly Selling Vehicles Leads Some Redesigned Sites To Lower Shopper Satisfaction Scores

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA - June 23: 2009: Honda ranks highest among automotive manufacturer Web sites for usefulness in new-vehicle shopping for a second consecutive time, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Manufacturer Web Site Evaluation Study(SM) (MWES)-Wave 2 released today.

The semi-annual study, now in its 10th year, measures the usefulness of automotive manufacturer Web sites during the new-vehicle shopping process. New-vehicle shoppers evaluate Web sites in four key areas: appearance, speed, navigation and information/content.

Honda ranks highest with an index score of 883 on a 1,000-point scale, performing particularly well in all factors driving satisfaction. Following Honda in the rankings are Porsche (862), MINI (861), and Jeep and Infiniti in a tie (860 each).

"Providing a satisfying Web site experience greatly increases the likelihood that a new-vehicle shopper will visit the showroom for a test drive, which creates a solid opportunity for manufacturers to increase dealer traffic," said Arianne Walker, director of marketing/media research at J.D. Power and Associates. "Given Honda's growing market share compared with 2008, their top-performing Web site, in addition to many other factors, is just another component of the brand's success."

The study also finds that in light of the turbulent automotive market, some manufacturers that have redesigned their Web sites with the intent of quickly selling inventory have earned particularly low satisfaction scores with their Web sites. These manufacturers have focused their sites on lower-purchase-funnel activities, such as "build a vehicle," "get a quote" and "find a dealer," which do not help answer the majority of questions shoppers have when visiting a manufacturer's Web site.

"Specifically, these redesigned sites have considerably low satisfaction scores with regard to navigation," said Walker. "Shoppers on these sites struggle to find simple information, such as compelling vehicle images and clear presentations of vehicle options and features."

However, Kia's and Acura's Web sites, which were also recently redesigned, rank well above the industry average in terms of navigation. These sites similarly offer a number of lower-funnel links, but offer additional upper-funnel links - such as vehicle features, options, photos and videos links - directly on their home pages, which help shoppers find the model-specific information they are looking for.

"Kia and Acura's redesigns have kept the true needs of shoppers in mind by offering five to eight links to model-related information directly on the home page," said Walker. "Offering easy and quick access to vehicle information is an established lesson in the automotive industry. It seems that some OEMs could benefit from a refresher course."

The 2009 Manufacturer Web Site Evaluation Study-Wave 2 is based on evaluations from more than 11,700 new-vehicle shoppers who indicated they will be in the market for a new vehicle within the next 24 months. The study was fielded between April and May 2009.

  Manufacturer Web Site Ranking
  (Based on a 1,000-point scale)

  Manufacturer                          Overall Satisfaction Score
  Honda                                              883
  Porsche                                            862
  MINI                                               861
  Infiniti                                           860
  Jeep                                               860
  Nissan                                             858
  Dodge                                              856
  Kia                                                855
  Acura                                              854
  Mitsubishi                                         850
  Lexus                                              849
  Toyota                                             848
  Lincoln                                            847
  Mazda                                              846
  Ford                                               845
  Land Rover                                         845
  Chrysler                                           844
  SAAB                                               842
  Suzuki                                             841
  Mercury                                            840
  Volkswagen                                         840
  Mercedes-Benz                                      839
  Cadillac                                           837
  Volvo                                              837
  Industry Average                                   836
  Chevrolet                                          832
  BMW                                                829
  HUMMER                                             829
  Jaguar                                             827
  Hyundai                                            821
  GMC                                                817
  Pontiac                                            812
  Subaru                                             810
  Audi                                               803
  Saturn                                             800
  Buick                                              790
  Scion                                              781
  smart                                              770

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