Toyota, Lexus extend reign of dealer attitude survey

Cadillac crept into the top 10 of brands ranked in the latest National Automobile Dealers Association Dealer Attitude Survey, replacing Audi.

NADA surveys its dealer members twice a year on how they're feeling about the brands they represent to produce a scorecard of sorts on the relationship between manufacturers and their dealers. It typically asks respondents to rate their satisfaction with overall automaker performance, as well as with a brand's willingness to consider and incorporate their feedback into business decisions.

In the 2023 winter survey, traditionally conducted in January and February, Lexus and Toyota came in at No. 1 and No. 2, continuing the sibling Japanese brands' typical one-two domination of the results. Lexus, Toyota and Honda all ranked in the top five of a June inventory efficiency index that Cloud Theory released.

BMW and Porsche were No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, and Honda took the fifth spot. Subaru came in sixth place followed by Kia, Mazda and Acura. Cadillac rounded out the top 10.

The top five brands remained the same as the summer 2022 survey. Cadillac was the only newcomer to the top 10.

Inder Dosanjh, the Cadillac National Dealer Council's chairman, told Automotive News in January General Motors was doing a great job advising dealerships on how to prepare for its brands' electric vehicle transitions.

Cadillac's electric midsize crossover Lyriq came on the market in 2022 and its hand-built electric sedan Celestiq is expected to start selling by 2024.

"Cadillac views our dealer network as a business advantage and a critical part of the retail and relationship chain with customers," said Eric Cunningham, vice president of Cadillac North America sales, service and marketing. "Therefore having constant and transparent communication with our dealer council and network remains a top priority for the brand. We are pleased with the NADA survey results as it validates the importance of this partnership."

The findings of the survey were shared with manufacturers over the last few months. The new summer survey is now in the field.