Shiotsu Autotrade Japan – President’s Blog

Exporter of Used Japanese Cars and Trucks & Japan Auto Auction Agent

October 8th, 2006

Hino tops in Japanese Heavy Trucks

In a recent customer satisfaction study  conducted by J.D. Power Asia Pacific, it was revealed that  ‘After sales service‘ is the most important factor in satisfying heavy-duty truck owners in Japan.

Hino Heavy Truck

This study was conducted to measure the customer satisfaction with Japanese heavy-duty truck manufacturers and their local authorized truck dealers in Japan. Four factors were examined to quantify customer satisfaction.  These factors were:

1. After Sales service experience provided by the authorized dealers

2. Products

3. Total cost of ownership

4. Sales experience

More than 35 percent of customers expressed that after-sales service as the most important factor in achieving overall satisfaction.

Four truck manufacturers – Hino, Nissan Diesel, Isuzu, Mitsubishi Fuso- were considered for the study. Hino ranked the highest in overall customer satisfaction with a score of 637. Hino received particularly high ratings from owners for the total cost of ownership too. Isuzu followed Hino in the rankings with a score of 615, while Nissan Diesel and Mitsubishi Fuso were tied to third rank with a score of 608.

“By providing their customers with high quality products, Hino excels in the industry rankings.  Hino’s strong ratings from customers for fuel economy, reliability, and durability contribute to its benchmark-setting score for the total cost of ownership factor, said Kan Kawai, manager at J.D. Power Asia Pacific.

This study also revealed that customer satisfaction goes with customer retention rates in the Japanese heavy truck market. This Japan Heavy-Duty Truck Ownership Satisfaction Study was based on responses from 2,904 maintenance managers and/or fleet managers of over-the-road commercial fleets nationwide.

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October 5th, 2006

Mitsubishi launches new Pajero in Japan

Mitsubishi Motors is launching a fully redesigned Pajero this week in Japan. This popular SUV (2.5 million already on the road) now also lends its name to the new Pajero Forest & Local Mountain Restoration Initiative. The initiative means Mitsubishi will work with the town of Hayakawa-cho in Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan to cultivate a three-hectare area that will be known as the Pajero Forest. Volunteer employees from Mitsubishi will plant trees in this area and take care of the area for at least 7 years.  Mitsubishi’s initiative to conserve Japan’s forests will also give a free publicity for the new Pajero.

Mitsubishi says the new Pajero is better for the environment than its predecessors. Hexavalent chromium, lead, mercury and other environment-loading substance levels have been substantially reduced in the new Pajero model. All new Pajero models also reach Japan’s three-star emission ratings, which means emission level are 50 percent below the Japanese 2005 Emission Standard requirements.

Mitsubishi Pajero

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