Originally Posted by http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1632653,00020010.htm

Automobile quality in India seems to be improving as more new vehicle buyers continue to show increasing satisfaction on their purchase for the seventh year in a row, according to a survey by automobile information service provider.

The "owners delight" improves seven index points to 787 out of a possible 1,000 as 12 out of the 21 models covered in both 2004 and 2005 studies show improvement, a study 'Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout' (APEAL), conducted by JD Power Asia Pacific has said.

The study got responses from over 4,500 vehicle owners covering 12 makes and 35 models. It includes customers who purchased vehicles between January 2005 and July 2005, India Director JD Power Asia Pacific Mohit Arora said on Tuesday night.

Two cars from India's largest carmaker topped APEAL segment rankings. Maruti Wagon R ranks highest in the reclassified compact car segment closely followed by Maruti Alto and Hyundai Santro, it said.

Maruti Esteem ranks highest in the entry midsize cae segment and is closely followed by Ford Ikon and Opel Corsa/Swing, it said.

Eight categories of vehicles styling, design and performance are measured to assess owner delight at two to six months of ownership, he said.

The compact and entry midsize segments together account for more than 50 per cent of industry sales volumes. These segments therefore witness intense competition, resulting in all manufacturers in the segment working to continuously upgrade their product offerings, he said.

Skoda Octavia ranks highest in the premium midsize segment in APEAL. The re-launched Octavia also emerges as the most improved model in the industry -- improving 37 index points over 2004, it said.

Toyota Corolla ranks second followed by Chevrolet Optra.

On the recentlt launched Toyota Innova, Arora said it ranks highest in the utility vehicle super segment, which is composed of MUVs, SUVs, MPVs and vans. Innova is followed in the segment ranking by Mahindra Scorpio and Maruti Omni respectively, he said.

JD Power Asia pacific conducts customer satisfaction research and provides consulting services in automotive, information technology and finance industries.