A platinum tier was introduced in 2017 as part of the NADA DSI criteria for awards for brands achieving 85% or above in overall satisfaction.

Hino was the only commercial brand to win a Platinum award in 2021.

The most improved overall passenger/light commercial vehicle brand in 2021 is Mitsubishi (+10.6%) while other brands that achieved a significant positive increase in overall satisfaction were Suzuki (+7.3%), Mini (+4.0%) and Hyundai (+3.2%).

The most improved brand in the commercial vehicle category was MAN, which improved its overall percentage to 79.6% in 2021 from 67.0% in 2019, making it a new Gold-award winner.

A total of 39 independently researched brands formed part of the 2021 survey, with a total of 1 223 completed responses received, of which 1 054 were from passenger/light commercial vehicle (LCV) dealerships and 169 from commercial vehicle dealerships.

Hyundai Automotive South Africa sales and operations director Stanley Anderson says a brand that achieves a top score in such a dealer satisfaction index is one that delivers a superior service to its customers.

“We are proud to be rated so highly in several categories by our dealers for our support and logistic services. It is most satisfying to see that the work and investment that we put into our dealer network have paid off,” he says.

The survey, which is now in its 25th year and was suspended in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is conducted 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 and, 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 to the ultimate benefit of consumers.

NADA chairperson, Mark Dommisse, says that while the COVID-19 pandemic forced NADA to abandon the survey in 2020, it is extremely happy that it was able to complete the research this year.

“The survey this year included questions about the support that dealers received from their respective brands during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is encouraging to see that over the past 25 years the NADA dealer survey has become a reliable and respected tool to identify any potential issues affecting the working relationship between retailers and respective manufacturers,” he says.

Lightstone, which has been responsible for conducting the research since the introduction of this project in 1996, says despite the overall DSI score decreasing by one percentage point to 76.1% in 2021, the results remain the second highest score recorded since 2003.

A total of 11 passenger/light commercial vehicle manufacturers achieved Gold status in the 2021 survey for achieving between 75% and 84.9% in overall satisfaction.

Gold status was achieved by Suzuki, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Lexus, Volvo, Kia, BMW, Renault and Ford.

Four passenger/light commercial vehicle brands achieved Silver status in 2021 and five brands Bronze status.

In the commercial vehicle category, the Gold status winners were MAN, Mercedes-Benz Bus and Mercedes-Benz Trucks.