Car owners in India had fewer problems with their new vehicles, with the JD Power Asia Pacific Satisfaction Index Study revealing that eight of the 11 manufacturers had improved their performance.

The country's top carmaker Maruti Udyog [Get Quote] was ranked highest in customer satisfaction with new-vehicle sales process for a second consecutive year in the study, which also saw Mahindra and General Motors' Opel making significant improvements.

"Maruti Suzuki's performance reflects its consistent approach to building and promoting effective sales processes based on the voice of the customer," said Mohit Arora, India director of JD Power Asia Pacific said in a press statement.

The industry improved its overall performance by six index points, with eight of the 11 manufacturers ranked in 2005 showing improvements over 2004, the study said.

"Mahindra recorded the greatest improvement in the study, with an increase of 45 index points over 2004, and takes sixth place in the overall rankings. Opel, a General Motors nameplate, improves 40 index points in performance to rank second overall," it added.

The study revealed a significant improvement in implementation rates of various dealer activities performed during the entire sales and delivery process, such as offering test drives and explaining the vehicle's features.

On test drives offered a key sales activity implementation rates have improved 14 per cent over 2004 for the industry, one of the highest year-over-year improvements registered in the past five years.