NFDA Dealer Attitude Survey shows slow improvement
The latest NFDA Dealer Attitude Survey has revealed which brands are working best and worst with dealerships.
The Winter 2026 edition surveyed more than 2,500 sites from 34 franchised networks over a six-week period.
It found that Lexus topped the vehicle manufacturer ratings with a score of 9.3 out of 10, ahead of Mercedes-Benz (9.2) and Kia (9.1).
The lowest scoring manufacturer was Seat with just 3.4 out of 10 while the industry average was 6.9, which is marginally up from the 6.6 score recorded in the previous NFDA Dealer Attitude Survey.
Meanwhile, Citroen and Land Rover saw the biggest improvement in ratings, up 1.7 points, while Nissan dropped by 1.95 points.
Positive turnaround
Sue Robinson, chief executive of the NFDA, said: “The Winter 2026 Dealer Attitude Survey shows a general positive turnaround in dealer sentiment, with the majority of metrics showing a marked improvement over the scores compiled in the Summer 2025 edition. The national average manufacturer rating increased by 0.3 points to 6.9 out of 10, showing a stabilising trend across the network.
“It is encouraging to note that vehicle supply metrics improved by 8.3%, leading to significant increases in dealer satisfaction regarding new car volume targets.
“However, dealers continue to express concerns regarding profitability. Dealership return on capital, financial support from manufacturers, and current profit returns remain among the lowest scoring questions in the survey.
“Furthermore, our new metric evaluating dealer confidence in meeting electric vehicle targets highlights significant network anxiety under current market conditions. While some pure-play or advanced electric line-ups scored highly, the pace of current volume targets remains a friction point across many established networks.”
