Impact of Quality Management Systems and After-sales Key Performance Indicators on Automotive Industry: A Literature Review

The automotive industry is experiencing a significant inclination in global market volumes accompanied with recent declination in profit margins and prolonged life span of a new car. Therefore, automakers have switched their attention to after sales business which proves to be a recession- resistance business, especially after the world financial crisis in 2008. Consequently the after sales business has become increasingly important and is one of the main revenue and customer loyalty contributors. This paper review focuses on the automotive after sales key performance indicators and their pertinent developed models in conjunction with considering the quality management systems which are implemented in automotive manufacturers. The purpose of this paper is to address the link between quality management system and after sales services in automotive industry. It is articulated in a manner to review the reported literature in automotive key performance indicators definition and importance. This is followed by a discussion on the contemporary quality management systems in automotive industry and its impact on customer satisfaction. Next, the author brings to focus the reported literature on warranty service and the relevant developed model. Finally, the paper concludes with the updated developments in the after sales business and the latest technologies utilized in this domain. The literature findings form the input to guide the author in his future research to bridge the gap between certain types of automotive quality managements systems and after sales key performance indicators.