Apex auto dealer body FADA (Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations) has revealed the findings of the 2022 Dealer Satisfaction Study. As per the study, Kia Motor India remained the top original manufacturer overall in the country meeting dealer expectations as well as topping the chart for mass market passenger vehicle manufacturers.
In the two-wheeler space, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) retained its top spot with Hero MotoCorp continuing to hold second place. In the luxury passenger vehicle market Volvo displaced Mercedes-Benz from the top of the ranking while Eicher Motors retained its top position in the commercial vehicle space.
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Commenting on the release of the study, FADA President, Manish Raj Singhania said, “FADA’s Dealer Satisfaction Study 2022 continues to examine the health of the relationship between Auto Dealers and their OEM’s post the covid era. The overall improvements seen across all value chains demonstrate the significance of conducting this annual study in identifying & addressing relevant issues that are critical to strengthen the partnership between the two stakeholders. While we welcome the efforts shown by OEMs in improving key issues related to sales, delivery & after-sales, Dealers continue to expect higher transparency in matters related to Dealership viability and a fair & balanced business policy.”
The study focused on 6 factors of the OEM-dealer relationship – namely Viability and Policy, Product, Marketing, Sales, After Sales and Training. The final survey results showed gains across all value chains in the market though FADA noted that Business Viability and Policy remained lower than the other categories.
“While product reliability and durability coupled with efficient training programmes for sales and service teams remained the strengths cutting across all segments, involvement of Dealer’s in OEM’s policy making and openness to direct inputs along with overall dealership viability remained the biggest areas to be worked upon,” said FADA Vice President & Chairman DSS-22, C S Vigneshwar.
The dealer body also pointed out shortcomings identified by its study across the segments. The body highlighted the sharing of training costs by OEM and dealer involvement in policy making in the mass market 4-wheeler segment as a area of concern. In the luxury 4-wheeler space dealers raised concerns over parts deliveries and turnaround times as well as the OEM’s ability to meet orders.
In the two wheeler space, the area of concern was identified as the buyback/deadstock policy and margins on sales.
FADA also noted the notable improvements made by Hyundai and Royal Enfield in their segments with the former rising in the ranks from fourth in 2021 to second in 2022. Royal Enfield meanwhile jumped several places to third with a points tally improving by 151 points.
The study was based on data collected from a survey of over 2,000 dealerships from across the country.
