Tweet

Oct 1, 2003 12:00 PM

Fleets say they intend to purchase more new Class 8 trucks in the future, according to J D Power's 2003 Heavy Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Survey.

“While some of the upward sales momentum in 2002 may have been driven by the changing emissions regulations with ‘pre-buying,’ rising intentions to buy are a good sign for the industry,” said Linda Schulz, partner in transportation industry practice at J D Power.

However, just 39% said they would repurchase the same make again — down from 44% in 2002.

The study was based on responses from 2,675 primary maintainers of two-year-old Class 8 trucks. The average fleet size was 64 trucks.

Peterbilt ranked highest in customer satisfaction in over-the-road trucks, with Kenworth also performing above average in the segment. In the vocation segment, Peterbilt also ranked first, followed by Western Star. Peterbilt was highest in dealer service, followed by Mack.