Tom Libby, the president of the Society of Automotive Analysts, argues that for all its vaunted reputation for customer satisfaction, the Saturn brand has never been able to capture "substantial"
market share. That makes him question whether offering customers an unrivaled customer experience might have limited potential in U.S.
Asians automakers, with a 48.3% share of the market,
have never excelled in customer satisfaction as a group, at least in the non-luxury arena. And the No. 1 brand, Toyota, is a laggard in many measures. "While a superior customer experience may be
paramount for a segment of the buying public," Libby writes, "that segment may be limited in size."
Libby allows, however, that there may be other reasons for Saturn's limited sales.
Perhaps its buying proposition got muddled amid the marketing of the incremental products. Or perhaps it failed to adequately explain how it was a "different" car company in ways that consumers found
beneficial. Whatever the reason, its new owners "will need to provide a compelling buying proposition over and above what has been offered to date," he concludes.
advertisement
advertisement
Read the whole story at Detroit Free Press »