Customers at an Audi dealership in Beijing. The German brand ranked first in JD Power's 2011 dealer sales service satisfaction study.[Photo/China Daily]

BEIJING - Satisfaction with dealer sales services in China improved by 24 points over the past year to the highest level since industry analyst JD Power Asia Pacific began surveys of new car owners 12 years ago.

Overall satisfaction averaged 847 out of a possible 1,000 points in the study conducted between February and May in 37 major cities in China.

The survey measured factors including the delivery process, delivery timing, dealer facilities, performance of sales people, transactions and sales initiation.

Dr Mei Songlin, general manager of research services at JD Power Asia Pacific in Shanghai, noted that sales services are more important than in the past.

In China's fledgling auto market, competition centered on products and prices, but today's models carry similar price tags in the same segment, so the battle has moved more to services, Mei said.

Audi ranked the highest in the latest survey with a score of 887 points.

Rounding out the five highest-ranking brands were Dongfeng Nissan, FAW Volkswagen, Dongfeng Honda and GAC Toyota with scores ranging from 880 to 866 points.

Audi has taken the top spot seven times in the past decade, said Mei. Among the factors measured, the German automaker had the best performance in six. It only ranked lower delivery timing.

Mei said that Audi has been in the Chinese market longer than almost all other brands and is more familiar with customer expectations.

Luxury automakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz received 856 and 854 points respectively, ranking 12th and 15th among the 20 brands above the industry average.

One reason for lower rankings is the high expectations of luxury car buyers, Mei said. As the entire industry improves, even low-cost buyers now enjoy services that used to be exclusive to luxury vehicle customers, he noted.

Another reason is that services have sometimes struggled to keep up with rapidly increasing sales in the luxury vehicle segment, he said.

BMW sold 168,998 vehicles in China in 2010, an 86.7 percent increase over the previous year. China has become its third-largest market following Germany and the US.

Mercedes-Benz sold 147,670 cars in 2010, a 115 percent increase over the previous year.

"Automakers would benefit from further investment in several areas, such as communication with customers and improving customer perceptions of service timing, convenience and value for the price paid," said Jacob George, managing director of JD Power Asia Pacific.

"Compared with mature markets, such as the United States, automakers and dealers in China still have a lot of room for improvement in these areas," he added.

Mei added that sales people have a big impact on perceptions and satisfaction.

The 2011 study is based on responses from 11,496 new vehicle owners who purchased vehicles between August 2010 and March 2011 and includes 57 passenger vehicle brands.