Peterbilt Motors Co. has achieved the highest rankings in the first ever J.D. Power and Associates Heavy-Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study in the over-the-road, vocational and dealer service segments - three of the four segments measured.
"Having customers rate Peterbilt products and services as the highest in our industry is a valued honor for everyone within our organization and throughout our dealer network," Peterbilt gm Nick Panza said. "The product attributes where Peterbilt led in satisfaction have very direct impact on the productivity, efficiency and profitability of our customers."
Results of the study are based on interviews with more than 2,000 owner-operators and fleet owners engaged in over-the-road, pickup-and-delivery and vocational applications with Class 8 vehicles.
The study ranks respondents' attitudes toward their service experiences with OEM dealerships and product attributes such as vehicle quality; vehicle engine; vehicle transmission; ride, handling and braking; vehicle interior; and vehicle exterior.
In addition to the top ranking in the over-the-road segment, Peterbilt led in six of seven product factors - quality; exterior; ride, handling and braking; sleeper; engine; and transmission - with scores significantly higher than the industry average.
The company said its ranking was driven by the performance of its Model 379, which received strong scores and showed substantial improvement in satisfaction with the engine and transmission factors.
Peterbilt also led the rankings for customer satisfaction in the vocational segment of the study, consisting of truck applications without sleepers where vehicles operate in particularly rugged or demanding environments. In this area, Peterbilt ranked highest in quality, exterior, engine and transmission, tied for first in ride, handling and braking, and was second in interior.
Also, Peterbilt led in customer intention to repurchase for over-the-road and vocational segments, and tied for first in customer intention to repurchase for the pickup and delivery segment.
Peterbilt ranked highest for customer satisfaction in the delivery of service to customers by its dealer network. This area of the study measured customer satisfaction with the most recent dealer service experience. Peterbilt ranked significantly better than the industry average in five of the seven categories, including dealer facilities, service quality and service delivery.
