Peugeot tops in fuel economy

French carmaker Peugeot is the brand that customers are most satisfied with when it comes to fuel efficiency, according to Marketing Insight.

The automotive research firm polled 22,819 drivers who purchased vehicles less than three years ago and released its index on brand satisfaction in the area of fuel economy. According to the result, Peugeot ranked top, scoring 86 points out of 100, followed by Volkswagen with 85.5 points and BMW with 78.8 points.

Among local automakers, Renault Samsung and GM Korea shared the honours, scoring 60.7 points. However, customer satisfaction with fuel efficiency between imported and local brands showed a wide gap.

Imported brands had an average of 74.5 points, while local brands scored only 57.2 points on average, below the industry average of 59 points.

In the words of a researcher with the firm, “Customers have shown a clear difference in satisfaction between foreign cars and local ones. That difference was even wider in the diesel car category. It signifies that if the local diesel cars don’t catch up with the imported cars’ fuel efficiency, the current phenomenon where customers are fast moving to purchase foreign brands will only accelerate.”

By fuel types, hybrid cars have seen their customers most satisfied with their mileage, followed by diesel, liquefied petroleum gas and gasoline vehicles. In particular, imported diesel cars received an average of 81.8 points, while local diesel cars were 22 points lower.

By vehicle models, the Toyota Prius earned 92.4 points, while the BMW 1 series and Renault Samsung QM3 closely followed behind, scoring 91.9 points and 91.3 points, respectively. Market analysts forecast that the imported brands’ market share may surpass 15 percent in the local market by the end of this year, since more customers seek cars with better fuel economy when their prices are in a similar range.

With that in mind, local brands are working to improve their fuel efficiency. Hyundai Motor has been developing a gasoline direct-injection compression ignition engine which could improve mileage by more than 20 percent.

Last month, Hyundai also unveiled its new new T-GDI turbo engines and transmissions during the Hyundai-Kia International Powertrain Conference. In terms of fuel efficiency, however, local carmakers have a long way to go to catch up with European and Japanese car brands in the large and luxury car segment, says an expert.

“Local diesel cars’ fuel efficiencies lag behind European ones. Local gasoline cars’ mileages aren’t as good as Japanese ones, either,” said Kim Pil-soo, an automotive engineering professor at Daelim University College.

“We need to see more carmakers working on improving fuel efficiency in the popular mid- and large-sized vehicle segment.”

MIKE OCHONMA