FADA Releases Dealer Satisfaction Study For 2021

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has announced the outcome of the Dealer Satisfaction Study 2021 survey which was conducted in association with PremonAsia, a Singapore consumer-insight led consulting and advisory firm. At the overall industry level, dealers account for 27 per cent on Business Viability, making it a highly critical aspect in OEMs functioning and according to the findings, the current satisfaction level has been terms weak. That said, dealers feel that products, both in terms of quality and range by and large, meets the expectations of end customers' current needs.

Also Read: Passenger Vehicle Sales Grow 43 Per Cent In June 2021: FADA

Dealers feel that products, both in terms of quality and range by and large meets the expectations of end customers' current needs..

While the three-Wheeler segment scored the lowest, 610 on a scale of 1,000 amongst all segments. In four-Wheeler Mass Market Segment, while Dealers raised their concerns about OEMs not being receptive to their inputs for keeping viable and long term policy in mind, they also said that OEMs provide adequate training for frontline sales & service staff thus keeping the end customer satisfied. However, in four-Wheeler Luxury Segment, the study found that training cost sharing arrangement by the OEMs was unsatisfactory and OEMs ability to fulfil vehicle order in correct specifications and quantity coupled with non-flexibility to choose workshop equipment's were cause of major concerns. But study found that extended warranty policy & customer handling process were at satisfactory levels.

FADA India President Vinkesh Gulati.

FADA President, Vinkesh Gulati said, "FADA's Dealer Satisfaction Study 2021 was initiated to examine the health of the relationship between Auto Dealers and their OEMs. The survey was undertaken to reflect the prevailing issues faced by the Auto Retail Sector at large, thus making it the true Voice of the Dealers. OEMs need to be cognizant of the evolving dealer expectations. While issues of concern such as dealership viability, support on sales and after-sales, openness to dealer inputs in decision making and designing long term policies are fundamental needs, there are clear signs that dealers expect their respective OEMs to go beyond. For example, there is a need to have technology solutions and analytics to intelligently mine transaction data for business gains. Also, creating a digital platform to measure the effectiveness of marketing expenditure is reflective of a changing mindset."

Dealers of mass market PV remained most satisfied with an average of 720 on a scale of 1,000.

In 2-Wheeler Segment, the biggest concern which the study highlighted was OEMs were not open to Dealer inputs in terms of improving dealership cost structure from viability and policy point of view. Similarly, there was no support from OEMs on buy back of dead stocks of parts. On the positive side, the study found that OEMs were fair in acceptance and rejection of warranty claims. The study for Commercial Vehicle Segment showed that while OEMs need to handhold dealers in improving sales efficiency & controlling cost of sales, they were quite happy about the overall product range and quality of fully built vehicles.