In all, 1 513 completed responses were received, 1 334 of which were received from Passenger and Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) dealerships and 179 from Commercial Vehicle dealerships. The response rate for Passenger and LCV dealerships was 91% and 80% for Commercial Vehicle dealerships, making the NADA DSI 2022 survey one of the most well represented surveys globally.

“The NADA DSI survey, now in its 26th year, is carried out annually to monitor the health of the relationship between dealers and their respective manufacturers. It provides the dealer body with a platform to provide manufacturers and importers with robust feedback.

“Over the years, the outcomes of the survey have been used by dealer councils and manufacturers as an effective management tool to address areas of concern and improve service delivery throughout the entire value chain. While the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to abandon the survey in 2020, we were extremely happy that we were able to complete the research again this year,” says Mark Dommisse, Chairperson of NADA.

The NADA DSI project has been robustly supported by NADA Executive Members, NADA Dealer Council Chairmen and representatives of all 35 participating brands. This year, Lightstone, the company responsible for conducting the research since the introduction of this project in 1996, noticed a significant increase in the way manufacturers and importers utilise the insight provided by the NADA DSI results.

“To encourage the use of the NADA DSI results, Lightstone has included various in-depth analyses, including problem-area analysis, density plots and regression analysis as part of the report. Now in its 26th year, the results are eagerly anticipated by the industry and are brought into sharp focus during a gala award ceremony hosted annually,” said Jaco van Staden, Lightstone Head of Sales & Marketing.

The NADA DSI survey was suspended in 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic but resumed in 2021. The overall DSI score increased by 0.1% in 2022 to 76.1% and is the second highest score recorded since 2003, despite all the challenges currently being faced by the automotive industry.

The survey is divided up into a number of key focus areas of interest to the NADA membership. including Dealer Satisfaction; Communication & Relationships; Dealer Target Setting; Used Cars; CSI Program; Vehicle Range; Media Support; Vehicle Distribution; Parts; Goodwill, Policy Claims & Warranty; Franchise Compliance Audits; Dealer Support Labour Rates and COVID-19 Support.

The most improved overall brand in 2022 is Honda (+8.6%). Other brands that showed a significant positive increase in overall satisfaction are Audi (+5.3%), followed by Lexus (+5.1%) and Toyota (+3.1%).

The Commercial survey was first introduced in 2008. Since then, the highest overall average score of 78% was recorded in 2018. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 survey was suspended and resumed in 2021. The 2022 overall Commercial score has improved from 75.4 in 2021 to 77.2 in 2022, the second highest score achieved since the inception of this study.

In 2017, the Platinum tier was introduced as part of the NADA DSI award criteria for brands that achieve above 85% in overall satisfaction.

The most improved brand in the 2022 NADA DSI is Tata Commercial, moving from an overall percentage of 56.2% in 2021 to 69.9% in 2022, only just missing out on a silver award.