3. KIA

Taking third place on the podium is Kia, falling one place from last year. Despite the drop the manufacturer still has a lot to be proud of – it’s quite obvious from the plentiful responses we received that its dealer network is happy.

Understandably, the firm’s seven-year warranty gets the maker a ‘faultless’ score in that category along with another in accessibility. Dealers told us they can always get hold of the top brass and they actually listen to what they’ve got to say.

Excellent scores were notched up in the remaining categories with stock levels and bonus structure both improving on last year.

Respondents to our survey told us they think Kia are ‘great people’ to work with, that they offer ‘fair trading terms’ and the overriding sentiment was that dealers hope the forward momentum continues long into the future.

There were concerns among some respondents that waiting lists were increasing though, and better supply of late used cars would be appreciated by the network.

OVERALL SCORE – 86% – DOWN 1

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2. NISSAN

It was an incredibly close call between Nissan and our winner this year – but unfortunately for the Japanese marque it was edged out of first place.

That’s not to say the network is unhappy. With a host of innovative and exciting new products that are carving new niches for the maker, its dealers are incredibly excited about the future.

Market share for the brand is improving all the time and dealer margins are following.

Respondents loved the used car scheme, which has recently been revamped, the firm’s forward planning, bonus scheme and requirements needed by the manufacturer – all of which received ‘faultless’ scores. ‘Excellent’ marks were notched up in the remaining nine categories in the survey.

Respondents sung the praises of the electric Leaf and branded it a ‘game changer’ for the network, while they loved the maker’s finance deals. However, with recent problems with supply there’s a need for the maker to tackle waiting lists so as not to upset the customers – and its network.

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OVERALL SCORE – 89% – DOWN 1

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1. SEAT

Let’s look at the cold hard facts: Not only did Seat win this year’s Car Dealer Power survey to be awarded the best manufacturer to represent title, but it did so in style as the most-improved maker too!

That really is something to be proud of. A lowly 19th last year, the Spanish firm has clearly listened to concerns from its dealer network and tackled problem areas. Stock levels, bonuses and return on investment were all cited as problem areas in 2010 – but now all three receive either ‘faultless’ or ‘excellent’ ratings. Overall Seat scores eight ‘excellent’ ratings where last year no area achieved higher than a ‘good’.

Feedback from the network in our survey was plentiful. Of particular note was the maker’s VAT free offer at the start of the year at a time the VAT rate was rising. This pulled in punters to showrooms and put a smile on dealers’ faces. Marketing in print and on the radio was cited as impressive, but dealers did want more TV advertising. The Ecomotive range was another factor in the marque’s success, said dealers, as was the ability to talk to senior personnel at head office easily.

Seat’s success in Car Dealer Power really is to be applauded – not just for being top of the pile, but because they listened to dealers’ concerns in 2010 and fixed the problems. Our congratulations go to the team.