The nation’s first state-run consumer survey on vehicles is gaining lackluster participation by car owners, and automotive companies are raising questions about its reliability.

In July, the Fair Trade Commission launched a pilot program questioning local drivers on the product quality of their own sports utility vehicles via its website for consumer information.

The survey, which collects reviews on 133 SUV models of Korean and foreign carmakers until Aug. 31, has attracted only some 50 participants over the last month as of Monday.

Although the antitrust watchdog had planned to announce the result as early as September, the date is highly likely to be delayed due to the lukewarm reaction from consumers.

“It’s true that the participation rate is not very high. After the survey is completed, we plan to decide whether to disclose the final result or extend the deadline,“ said an FTC official.

“We also need to see if the survey result is meaningful as relevant data.”

The FTC started Compare & Share, formerly known as K-Consumer Reports, in March to offer reviews of consumer products and services, benchmarking the iconic American monthly publication Consumer Reports.

Due to a lack of budget worth only 900 million won ($800,000) per year, the survey has thus far focused on cheaper and smaller items that the agency can afford to purchase such as hiking shoes, baby strollers and electric kettles.

And then what they came up with was the Consumer Talktalk, a pilot program via which the FTC aims to offer an online space for consumers to share product information, which could be led to an antitrust probe if necessary.

Despite keen interests in cars here, however, the first-ever consumer survey on SUVs has failed to gain reliability from both consumers and carmakers.

The FTC is currently luring participants with a 10,000 won cash reward. However, compared to the modest incentive, consumers are required to take privacy risks by submitting identification and car registration numbers to participate in the survey.

Carmakers also seem more relaxed now, unlike their earlier uneasiness when the unprecedented survey within the industry was announced one month ago.

“We are still attentive to the results of the survey led by the antitrust watchdog. But the lower-than-expected number of reported cases raises a validity issue,” an employee at an auto company said on condition of anonymity.

“Compared to the U.S. Consumer Reports, the Korean version still has a long way to go to really affect carmakers here.”

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)