Mazda wins JD Power’s 2009 Australian Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study

Mazda beat traditional Japanese favourite nameplates Toyota and Honda to be Australia's most satisfying car brand to own for the second year in a row. In a survey done by JD Power, Australian owners of new vehicles were asked to rate their experience in the first 36 months of ownership in the areas of vehicle quality and reliability, vehicle appeal (satisfaction with the design, style, performance and comfort of the vehicle), dealership service and ownership costs.


According to JD Power, Mazda scored particularly well in the area of quality, reliability and vehicle appeal while second placed Honda performed well in ownership costs and service. This is a considerable achievement for Honda Australia, given that Honda is a a bit of an underdog in Australia. Despite its commercial success in many parts of the world, Honda is only the 8th best selling brand in Australia, trailing behind "lesser" brands like Nissan, Mitsubishi and even Hyundai.

Honda Australia's current Managing Director and CEO Yasuhide Mizuno was previously attached to Honda Malaysia. He was transfered to "fix up" Australia after a colourful 4 year stint in Malaysia. Along the way, he successfully convinced principal company Honda Motor Co. to allow Malaysia to be the only country outside Japan to officially sell the JDM Civic Type-R, as well as raising the profile of its bread and butter City model to give market leader Toyota Vios a serious run in the game. 


For April 2009, according to Australian automotive vehicle registration tracking authority VFACTS the Mazda 3 outsold traditional favourite Toyota Corolla. Mazda is the 4th best selling brand in Australia, trailing behind market leader Toyota, Holden and Ford. However these 3 brands rely a lot on fleet sales. If one were to only consider private vehicle purchase, the Mazda 3 is the best selling privately purchased car in Australia.


Related link
Australia's Favourite Car - Mazda 3
2009 Mazda 3 and Mazda's Design Led Revival