FADA to conduct annual dealer satisfaction survey to gauge partnership with OEMs

Federation of Automobile Dealers AssociationS (FADA) on Wednesday announced it will initiate an annual dealer satisfaction survey from this year to measure the partnership that various OEMs across segments have with their respective dealer partners. With a view of improving dealer-OEM relationship, FADA states that the idea is to provide 'actionable insights into how OEMs and dealers can work together in enhancing their business partnership.'

FADA, the apex national body for automobile retail industry in India, has partnered with consumer-insight-based consulting firm PremonAsia for the annual survey that will cover every segment in the automobile industry and promises to go beyond big cities and towns to study OEM-dealer partnership at the grassroot level. "With a sizable sample, FADA – DSS will provide adequate representation from every quarter and cutting across all categories of vehicles. The study will also have a good demographic mix coupled with urban and rural balance," said Vinkesh Gulati, President at FADA, in a virtual press conference. "I am confident that the survey will act as our report card to manufacturers and will enable to highlight best practices as well as close the gaps wherever possible."

The final report of the first such survey will be taken out by end of June, Gulati added.

PremonAsia is also looking at a deep dive into what the present situation pertaining to OEM-delaer partnership is like. "The idea of this study is not just to examine the drivers of a successful OEM-Dealer business partnership, but to go deeper in exploring how the future of automotive retail business is likely to evolve in the new post-COVID world," said Rajeev Lochan, Founder of and CEO at PremonAsia.

A smaller survey had previously been conducted by FADA and PremonAsia to examine the impact Covid-19 may have had on such partnerships in India. The results were made known in September with the likes of Kia and Audi taking the honours. Both FADA and PremonAsia state that while this survey had a small sample size and was conducted swiftly, the annual survey announced on Wednesday would be far more exhaustive and the report would be more detailed.