The REV #026

REV #027

Mercedes' Surprising Communication Stuggles

May 8th, 2025

Welcome to the REV. A weekly briefing on what the Auto industry can learn about customer experience from millions of Google reviews. Every Thursday, we Rank, Explore & Visualize automotive reputation & sentiment data.

We just launched our 2024/2025 reports. The 2025 Brand Reputation Scorecard and the 2024 Voice of the Customer Report are now live.

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RANK

Being a Luxury Dealer Does Not Mean Fewer Communication Complaints

In 41% of negative Google reviews, dealership customers cite poor communication, making it the second most common complaint, right after issues with the service department (43%).

Surprisingly, Mercedes leads in communication-related complaints, with 45% of its negative reviews mentioning the issue—a 9.5% increase from 2023 to 2024. Mitsubishi and Nissan showed similar growth in communication complaints during 2024.

Only two brands, Porsche and Subaru, managed to improve, with communication-related negativity declining over the past year.

The mix of mass market and luxury brands is interesting to me here. When it comes to communication, luxury brands display no clear superiority.

EXPLORE

Hybrids Win on Deals

Even with federal tax incentives favoring EVs, hybrid owners are most vocal about great deals. In positive Google reviews, hybrid owners mention deals 24% more often than ICE owners.

EV drivers follow, referencing deals 15% more often than ICE drivers in positive reviews.

More EV/Hybrid review data here.

VISUALIZE

Mercedes Communication Complaints vs. Industry

With the tariff uncertainty surrounding us, Widewail is doing two things for dealers:

1. Get your first 90 days free for any Widewail product, available to new customers or existing customers adding additional products. This is the best offer we've made in Widewail history, and it will go away by the end of Q2. A 15-month contract is required. Schedule a demo.

2. In our first quarterly edition of the Voice of the Customer Report, we will analyze customer sentiment related to tariffs in March and April. We will also hit other key topics. That comes out May 28th.

See you next week - Jake, Marketing @Widewail

Explore more Data & Insights. Book at Widewail Demo.