For those of you who find the results perplexing... it's actually quite expected, if you think about it.
This is because it's a subjective survey, measuring owners' satisfaction. It's not an objective test of the cars' design or build quality.
Put simply, satisfaction is the difference between expectations and reality.
For this reason it is difficult for the more prestigious marques to do well in owners' satisfaction surveys, while it is much easier for the more mundane marques to excel.
In that context, it is hardly a surprise that Skoda did well: they are good cars, but the marque has little cred and owners are pleasantly surprised when the car actually turns out to be 'better than expected'.
Merc owners on other hand expect - as they have been promised - 'The best or nothing' - and when they buy a car full of sophisticated technology they have very little patience for things that go wrong.
The other issue is after sales care: we all know that MB perform very poorly in this area. A minor issue can be resolved quickly and efficiently and end up with a happy customer, or it can drag on endlessly infuriating the customer in the process.
The one brand that truly shines in all these surveys is Lexus. It makes sophisticated cars, promised excellence, and evidently delivers, as customers are not disappointed. Hats off to Toyota for this achievement.