Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards 2023: automotive and airline winners
The annual Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards were awarded in early April and there were several familiar faces in the automotive and airline winner’s circle.
Car Manufacturer of the Year Skoda continued its excellent run by going back-to-back and winning a second straight Annual Customer Satisfaction Award.
The subsidiary of global automotive giant Volkswagen performed exceptionally well during 2023 by winning ten monthly awards with an average customer satisfaction of 97.1% - a record high for the category and the second highest for any company.
Of the year’s five winners in these categories, it was Australian Open major sponsor Kia that emerged as the only first-time winner in one of the most closely contested categories of all – Major Car Manufacturer of the Year.
Kia took home five monthly awards in 2023 to edge out rivals Subaru (four monthly wins) and Mitsubishi (three monthly wins) for the overall title and an impressive average customer satisfaction of 91.9%.
The most consistent performer in the automotive and airline categories is undoubtedly Singapore Airlines – winner of the International Airline of the Year for a fourth straight year (2018, 2019, 2022 & 2023 – the award was not held during the pandemic impacted years of 2020 & 2021).
Singapore Airlines has now won the annual award for a record eighth time (2012-2015 & 2018-2023) – and managed six monthly wins in 2023 and a highly impressive average customer satisfaction of 93.4%.
Australia’s two major domestic airlines had contrasting years with both picking up victories – although swapping categories from a year earlier. Virgin Australia won all 12 monthly awards to win the Domestic Airline of the Year for the first time in a decade – after previous wins in 2012 and 2013.
Qantas won the Domestic Business Airline of the Year for the first time since 2020 in a more tightly fought contest with seven monthly victories during 2023 for the iconic Australian airline. The victory for Qantas is the eighth overall in the category following a run of seven straight victories from 2014-2020.
Automotive and Airlines category winners for 2023:
| Car Manufacturer of the Year | Skoda |
| Major Car Manufacturer of the Year | Kia (NEW) |
| Domestic Airline of the Year | Virgin Australia |
| Domestic Business Travel Airline of the Year | Qantas |
| International Airline of the Year | Singapore Airlines |
Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan, says:
“The automotive and airline winners at the Roy Morgan Annual Customer Satisfaction Awards include a first-time winner in Kia, a first-time back-to-back winner in Skoda, as well as three airlines that have won multiple awards over the years – Qantas (16 annual wins), Singapore Airlines (eight annual wins) and Virgin Australia (four annual wins).
“The new company in the winner’s circle is the Australian Open’s major sponsor Kia. Kia notched up an impressive five monthly wins during 2023 at an average customer satisfaction rating of 91.9% to narrowly beat rivals Subaru (four monthly wins) and Mitsubishi (three monthly wins).
“The win for Kia came on the back of a strong year for the Australian automotive industry with record annual sales for the industry of over 1.2 million for the first time – beating the previous record of 1.19 million in 2017. Kia was the fourth largest car company in Australia during 2023 in terms of sales and delivered better customer satisfaction to Australians than any of its major rivals.
“Also performing well in the automotive sector was back-to-back Car Manufacturer of the Year Skoda. The Czech-based subsidiary of global automotive giant Volkswagen won 10 monthly satisfaction awards – including the last seven of 2023. Skoda’s average customer satisfaction of 97.1% during 2023 was a record high for the category and the second highest yearly average of all-time – a stunning result.
“The good news for fans of electric vehicles is that Skoda is set to release its first Australian EV later this year. The new release will look to tap into the growing preference Australians have for hybrid and fully electric vehicles, which overtook petrol vehicles for the first time in 2023. Read more about Australians preferences for new vehicle types here: Over 4.3 million Australians plan to buy a new vehicle in the next four years – with hybrid vehicles up significantly (April 9, 2024).
“Australia’s airline industry endured a tumultuous period during the pandemic years of 2020-2022 but last year was the first full year with no significant pandemic-era restrictions – and we saw many familiar names on the winner’s list.
“Singapore Airlines is the airline of choice for Australians travelling overseas – winning a fourth straight International Airline of the Year and an eighth overall. The Asian carrier won the first four awards in the category from 2012-2015 and has now backed up with four in a row since 2018.
“Closer to home its Qantas taking out Business Airline of the Year for an eighth time – but the first since 2020 and Virgin Australia winning the Domestic Airline of the Year for the first time since 2013 which have returned to the winner’s list again. Both airlines won awards in 2022 but for different categories than this year.”
To learn more about Roy Morgan’s automotive and airlines data call (+61) (3) 9224 5309 or email askroymorgan@roymorgan.com.
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Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
