WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA — Peterbilt ranks highest in customer satisfaction among conventional cab medium-duty trucks, while Chevrolet ranks highest in medium-duty truck dealer service satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Medium-Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study. Peterbilt and Chevrolet each rank highest in their respective segments for a second consecutive year.

The study, now in its 15th year, measures customer perceptions of 2005 model-year Class 5, 6, and 7 commercial vehicles, and was developed to provide manufacturers with a comprehensive and objective measure of customer satisfaction with products, dealer service and parts, as well as loyalty and brand image in the Class 5-7 commercial vehicle market.

Within the conventional truck segment, four factors are used to determine overall satisfaction (in order of importance): vehicle performance; quality; warranty; and cost of ownership. Peterbilt performs particularly well in three of the four factors: vehicle performance, quality and cost of ownership. Kenworth closely follows Peterbilt in the segment rankings, while GMC Truck, Hino, Freightliner and Chevrolet, respectively, also rank above the segment average. Hino, included in the conventional segment results for the first time, performs particularly well in the warranty factor.

“There were several new conventional models launched in the 2005 model-year, with Hino — a historically strong performer in the cab-over segment — completely changing over their model lineup, and Peterbilt launching the 335,” said Brian Etchells, senior research manager in the commercial vehicle group at J.D. Power and Associates.

Overall customer satisfaction increases in both the conventional truck and service segments this year, due in part to strong performances of the new models in the study. Quality levels have also improved since 2006 with owners reporting fewer problems—particularly engine-related problems—in 2007.

“The average number of engine problems experienced by owners had been steadily increasing between 2003 and 2006, but we see a reversal of this trend in 2007,” said Etchells. “It appears that truck and engine manufacturers are working out the issues they experienced while meeting the new emission standards introduced in 2003, which is good news for manufacturers and customers.”

The study also finds that the amount of downtime needed to fix a problem has improved since 2006. Among those owners who report incurring downtime to fix a problem, the average number of days down has declined from 12.7 in 2006 to 10.7 in 2007.

In the dealer service segment, overall satisfaction is determined by six factors (in order of importance): dealer facility; service quality; service delivery; service initiation; service advisor; and price. Chevrolet ranks highest in the segment for a second consecutive year, followed by Peterbilt, GMC Truck, Hino and Kenworth, respectively. Peterbilt improves considerably since 2006, making sizable gains in each factor and performing particularly well in service facility, quality, delivery, initiation and service advisor.

The 2007 Medium-Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study is based on responses from more than 1,541 primary maintainers of two-year-old medium-duty trucks (Classes 5, 6, and 7).