A new chapter is unfolding at Nissan evidenced by four of its vehicles earning top segment honors in the J.D. Power 2020 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, released July 22.
Nissan's four segment wins were the most of any mass market brand in the 2020 APEAL study.
The all-new 2020 Sentra turned in the best performance for Nissan, scoring 42 points above its segment average (compact car). The all-new Versa scored 41 points ahead of segment average (small car); Maxima was 30 points ahead of segment average (large car); and Armada ranked 25 points ahead of its segment average (large SUV). This is the third APEAL segment win in a row for the Nissan Maxima.
“Delighting our customers takes a combined effort in partnership with our dealers,” said Mike Colleran, senior vice president, U.S. Marketing and Sales, Nissan North America. “We're quickly revamping our portfolio with vehicles that thrill in both design and performance, and our dealer partners are experts at matching them to customer needs, which equates to these great customer satisfaction results.”
Among mass market brands Nissan improved its ranking, climbing from 14th place in 2019 to a tie for sixth in 2020.
“This was an extremely positive performance from Nissan as they are looking to reinvigorate their brand image,” said Dave Sargent, vice president of automotive quality at J.D. Power. “Eight of Nissan's 10 ranked models scored better than their segment average, with four achieving Best in Segment. The automaker is performing very well in terms of delighting their customers when it comes to owning and driving Nissan vehicles.”
Now in its 25th year, the JD Power APEAL Study measures owners' emotional attachment and level of excitement with their new vehicle across 37 attributes, ranging from the sense of comfort and luxury they feel when climbing into the driver's seat to the feeling they get when they step on the accelerator. These attributes are aggregated to compute an overall APEAL index score measured on a 1,000-point scale.