Holden hammered in dealer survey

A confidential survey has revealed the fraught relationship between Holden and its dealer network.

Holden was rated second last by its dealers when it came to their overall level of satisfaction with its performance, with only Fiat Chrysler Automobiles brands Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge behind it.

At the other end of the scale, Mazda and Toyota were clearly the top two brands in terms of dealer satisfaction.

Details of the annually-compiled survey were first published by The New Daily website, but carsales.com.au has also seen excerpts from it.

Ominously for Holden, the level of satisfaction has dipped in the 12 months since the last survey, a period in which it has shut down local manufacturing, killed off the local Commodore and suffered a sales plummet.

Holden has also been axing dealers in recent times, upsetting the network.

No less than 182 Holden dealers responded to the survey, the largest total of any brand represented. All up, 1603 dealer principals responded.

Many of them operate multiple franchises, giving them a very accurate taste of how one brand compares against another.

The silver lining for Holden is the dealers filled in the survey in August, just weeks after former Toyota Australia boss David Buttner took over as managing director, declaring an improvement in dealer relations as a priority.

“Holden is aware of the issue and we are working closely with our dealers, to deliver customers competitive vehicles and the best possible purchase and ownership experience, so we can grow our business and theirs,” Holden said.

As well as the overall satisfaction rating for manufacturer performance, the excerpt seen by carsales.com.au also covered ratings of manufacturer product strategy, overall sales activities, marketing activities, support for parts and accessories and service support.

While the survey asked dealers to rank many other aspects of manufacturer performance, the leaked categories are regarded as the critical indicators.

“It’s a toe in the water as to what the network is thinking and what their attitude is,” said Matthew Wiesner, former boss of both the Jaguar Land Rover and Skoda brands in Australia and now a director at strategic consultant Raven Group.

“You’ll find the outcomes will reflect current market conditions or profitability. So, you generally see the more consistently profitable brands migrating to the top.

“Another big part of this survey is based around how you are performing around product … at the end of the day profitability is based on consumer demand for what you have in the line-up and where and how it is positioned.”

Holden finished last in sales activities and marketing activities, and second last in product strategy, but climbed to 17th for parts accessories support and 15th for service support.

Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge was last in service support, while fellow FCA brands Fiat and Alfa Romeo were last in parts and accessories support. Japanese brand Nissan was last in product strategy.

Mazda led Toyota in every ranking other than service support, where Lexus knocked them both down a position.

FCA’s American brands at least showed an improved rating compared to 2017. But there is still a major battle to be won here as Jeep sales continue to fall, Chrysler survives on the 300 large sedan and Dodge has been pulled from the market.

"The dealer survey is a way for us to receive open feedback from our dealer partners, which provides us an opportunity to identify and improve on our gaps,” a spokesman for Jeep parent company FCA Australia said.

“We use the feedback as a way for continuous improvement and have already had multiple meetings with our dealers and national dealer council to discuss process changes to be implemented in 2019. Some of which are already in process."

Other brands to improve their dealer satisfaction ratings over 2017 included Toyota, Honda, Skoda, Mitsubishi, Infiniti (albeit off only five dealer responses), Jaguar and Peugeot.

Mazda, Kia, Lexus, Ford, Suzuki, Subaru, Volkswagen, Renault, Land Rover, Hyundai, Nissan and Fiat/Alfa Romeo joined Holden in dropping their scores from 2017.