The Mystery Shopper Study Across 168 Authorized Automotive Dealers
An independent mystery shopper exercise was conducted with 168 official dealers representing a wide range of car brands across Russia. Each brand had eight participating dealers located in four major cities: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Krasnodar, and Kazan. The study, carried out by the market research group Romir, evaluated both the initial sales experience and the quality of aftersales service, providing a comprehensive view of customer interactions at the point of sale and beyond.
Polite and helpful sales staff
The survey results are presented in two parts: the experience during the purchase and the service quality after the sale. In the initial purchase category, Hyundai led the standings with a score of 93.3 percent, marking the strongest year-over-year improvement of 15 positions. Subaru, from Japan, followed with 91.9 percent, and the domestic brand Lada secured third place with 88.9 percent. Other highlights in the top five for new car sales included Volkswagen at 88.6 percent and Audi at 87.8 percent, underscoring solid performance by established brands in the showroom environment.
A representative image shows Tekhinkom Lada in Khimki, within the Moscow region, illustrating a moment when the brand performed well in both sales and ongoing maintenance in 2022.
The study also tracked shifts among brands in the market; notably, Chinese brands Haval and Geely rose in the rankings by 13 and 8 positions respectively, though they did not crack the top five. In contrast, last year’s leader Lexus dropped out of the top ten, settling at 12th place in the latest results.
Aftersales performance and maintenance quality
In the maintenance and aftersales segment, Lexus and Toyota stood out with the strongest results, achieving 97.6 percent and 92.1 percent, respectively. Hyundai remained strong, claiming third place with a 92.1 percent score, and the brand has made a notable gain of 13 positions since the previous year. Lada also performed well in aftersales and maintenance, securing fourth place with 91.7 percent and adding five positions over the year. The Infiniti brand, representing Japanese luxury, faced a decline in aftersales rankings, finishing in the top five with a maintenance score around 90.6 percent.
Overall, the research team highlighted a trend where core brands demonstrated consistent performance both at the point of sale and in ongoing service. The findings were complemented by additional in-field observations, such as price audits and service process checks conducted during follow-up visits. The researchers noted that customer perception of service quality could be influenced as much by staffing demeanor and process transparency as by price competitiveness. These insights help brands understand where to focus training, process improvements, and customer engagement efforts to sustain high satisfaction levels across the dealer network.
- Further field visits were conducted to verify pricing parity and service options across the dealer network.
- Additional insights were shared in a private briefing and are available for authorized partners through internal communications channels.