Premium Brands Hit In Latest NFDA Survey

Franchised retailers holding German premium brand franchises have given their manufacturers a hiding in the latest NFDA Dealer Attitude Survey.

BMW, Audi and Mercedes formed three of the five-fastest fallers in the summer 2019 NFDA survey in the key question ‘How do you rate your manufacturer overall?’ However, Hyundai fell fastest in the latest survey dropping 2.1 points from 6.0 to 3.9 out of 10.

Alongside the expected big fall, BMW is now third from last in the listing after being second from top just four years ago. Alfa Romeo and Abarth were joint last.

Lexus and Kia came joint first in the question ‘How do you rate your manufacturer overall?’  Suzuki and Toyota came second.

The most improved brands were Honda rising 1.1 point to 6.8 and Volvo rising 1.0 point to 6.6 points.

NFDA director, Sue Robinson said: “It is extremely encouraging to see a record response rate for the NFDA Dealer Attitude Survey Summer 2019. There was a minor decline in dealers’ satisfaction levels with the relationship with their manufacturers.”

The combined average of all scores saw a drop of just 0.1 points to 5.8 out of 10 over the January 2019 survey.

“Despite a small decline, dealers remained fairly satisfied with their margins on used car sales demonstrating this was a key area of focus during the first half of the year. Positively, average satisfaction levels with manufacturers’ alternative fuel vehicle offering continued to increase,” added Mrs Robinson.

“The survey outlined a number of dealers’ concerns. In particular, surrounding current profit return and return on capital for their dealerships. We urge manufacturers to continue to work closely with their dealer networks to address these issues and provide the basis for the automotive industry to thrive despite the external challenges.”