July 24, 2025, Shanghai — J.D. Power, the global leader in consumer insights and market research, today released its 2025 China Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study, marking the 26th consecutive year of this benchmark research. The study evaluates new-vehicle owners’ overall satisfaction with their purchase experience during the first 2-6 months of ownership, covering both successful buyers and “defeated” customers who seriously considered but ultimately rejected a brand.

Key Findings:

1. Industry-wide decline:
   • Overall sales satisfaction scores for gasoline vehicle buyers dropped to 758 points (1,000-point scale), marking the first decline in eight years (-3 points vs. 2024).
   • Premium brands (762) and mass market brands (757) both saw declines (-5 and -2 points respectively), with the satisfaction gap narrowing from 8 to 5 points.
2. Critical pain points:
   • Pre-visit digital experience scored lowest (780 for premium/782 for mass market), becoming the weakest link in customer journeys.
   • Defeated customer satisfaction plunged 24 points industry-wide (-26 points for mass market brands), with biggest drops in pre-visit communication and dealer reception (premium: -23/-24 points; mass market: -32 points both).
3. Market shifts:
   • 76.4% of buyers had predetermined brand/model choices (+7pp vs. 2024), with 52% closing deals at their first dealership visit within one week (vs. 40% in 2024).
   • Test drives become decision-makers: 40% of buyers cited salesperson expertise during test drives as most influential (+4.5pp), with test-driven purchases up 4.6 percentage points.
   • EV consideration rises but abandons surge: 21.4% of ICE buyers considered EVs (+5.7pp), yet 50.2% rejected them pre-visit (+8pp), with dealership/sales staff factors contributing 3.8% more to rejections.

Segment Leaders:

• Premium:
  1. Land Rover (775)
  2. Audi (772)
  3. Porsche (767)

• Mass Market:
  1. GAC Honda (779)
  2. Dongfeng Honda & GAC Toyota (tie, 776)
• Domestic Chinese:
  1. Chery (766)
  2. GAC Trumpchi (765)
  3. Changan & Haval (tie, 760)

Strategic Insights:

“In an era of accelerated decision-making and personalized demands, reconstructing omnichannel journeys is critical for NPS growth,” said Xie Juan, GM of Digital Retail Consulting at J.D. Power China. “Real-time data synchronization between digital platforms and dealerships can transform satisfaction gaps into shareworthy moments—like when test drive preferences transition seamlessly from online booking to showroom experience. Proactive follow-ups (within 24hrs for queries, 72hrs post-test-drive) turn operational metrics into viral storytelling opportunities.”

Methodology:

The 2025 SSI Study evaluates nine factors across two indices:

• Buyer Index: Online experience (14%), pre-visit communication (11%), dealer reception (14%), showroom interaction (15%), test drive (11%), deal process (17%), delivery (19%).
• Defeated Index: Online experience (24%), pre-visit communication (21%), dealer reception (19%), showroom interaction (15%), test drive (11%), price negotiation (10%).

Based on 9,773 responses from buyers between July 2024-March 2025, collected across 81 Chinese cities (January-May 2025), covering 36 purchase brands and 74 rejected brands.

For full report access:
china.marketing@jdpa.com