A Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) survey has found that dealers of Kia India are the most satisfied in their dealings with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), among various mass-market four-wheeler makers.
The survey, conducted in association with PremonAsia, sought responses from about 2,000 dealers on OEM-dealer business relationships across factors such as viability and policy, product, marketing, sales, aftersales, and training. The survey highlighted that business viability remained a highly critical aspect where automobile manufacturers needed to exhibit greater sensitivity. In the four-wheeler mass-market segment, Kia India (879 points), was followed by MG Motor and Toyota Kirloskar Motor with 778 points each, Renault (767), Tata Motors (729), Hyundai (711), Maruti Suzuki (699), Mahindra (687), Ford (669) and Honda Cars (562). In the luxury segment, Mercedes-Benz and BMW dealers were most satisfied (707 points each) followed by Audi (649 points).
For two-wheelers, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India topped the dealership satisfaction rankings with 693 points, followed by Hero MotoCorp (627 points) and TVS Motor Co (606 points). Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles emerged top in the commercial vehicles category, with a dealer satisfaction score of 669, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors with 638 and 630 points, respectively.
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Overall, FADA said dealers felt that products, both in terms of quality and range, by and large met the expectations of end customers though its evolution in the future would require a more frequent refresh.
FADA president Vinkesh Gulati said the study was initiated to examine the health of the relationship between auto dealers and their OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), adding that OEMs needed to be cognizant of the evolving dealer expectations.
While issues of concern such as dealership viability, support on sales and aftersales, openness to dealer inputs in decision-making and designing long-term policies were fundamental needs, there were clear signs that dealers expected their respective OEMs to go beyond, he added.
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