You may be surprised at brands that aren’t making new-vehicle buyers all that chuffed. . . .

By Gary S. Vasilash

Maybe it has something to do with comparatively low numbers.

The J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study ranks Porsche, for the second year in a row, as having the most satisfying sales experience. It has a score of 851 out of 1,000.

Industry average is 818.

In the first nine months of 2024 Porsche delivered 61,471 vehicles in North America (so this is the U.S. and Canada and Mexico).

The brand that arguably built itself on customer satisfaction, Lexus, is below average in SSI, at 812 (putting it in a tie with Mercedes, and putting those two above only Alfa Romeo at 810 and Genesis at 781).

In the first nine months of 2024 Lexus delivered 248,200 vehicles in the U.S. (just U.S.)

(And Mercedes sold 264,600 in North America.)

There are 202 Porsche dealers in the U.S.

There are 244 Lexus dealers in the U.S.

So, assuming (unrealistically, of course) that each dealership sold the same number of vehicles during the first nine months:

• Porsche dealer: 304 vehicles
• Lexus dealer: 1,017 vehicles

Needless to say, the people working at the Lexus dealership is a whole lot busier.

According to J.D. Power: “Buyer satisfaction is based on six factors (in order of importance): delivery process; dealer personnel; working out the deal; paperwork completion; dealership facility; and dealership website.”

You know: the regular routine of going in to buy a car, which is often not unlike going to an endodontist for some serious work.

Now certainly there probably isn’t a tremendous amount of cross-shopping between a Lexus store and a Porsche facility: the least expensive Lexus is a UX, which starts at $37,515 and the least expensive Porsche is a Macan, starting at $62,900.

But the SSI puts Lexus behind (in order): Infiniti, Jaguar, Acura, Land Rover, Lincoln, Volvo, Cadillac, BMW, and Audi, which are cross-shoppable.

What is also surprising is that Toyota brand, which competes in the “Mass Market” SSI category, is also third from the bottom, above only Mitsubishi and Chrysler—and with 777 points, it is well below the segment average of 798 and remarkably below the leading marque, MINI at 829.

Of course, MINI had sales of just 17,552 in the first nine months of 2024, which is a fraction of Toyota’s 1,481,319. Still, that puts Toyota well behind other mass market brands like Ford (805 points), which sold 1,473,642 vehicles through Q3.

Product, which Lexus and Toyota certainly have, is one thing.

Getting people to buy those products while feeling good about the experience is another thing entirely.

Seems like the folks in the sales department of Toyota Motor North America have some work on their hands.