8:00 am, November 9, 2024
The UK dealer groups with the best reputation and the winner may come as something of a surprise.
That is because the winner is not some huge mega-rich, pocketing hundreds of millions in profits but a small family-run outfit which barely snuck into our Car Dealer Top 100 last year.
Coming out on top in the study was Howards Motor Group, which finished 91st in our list of the 100 most profitable car dealers last year.
It is actually the second year in a row when the Somerset-based retailer has scooped the top prize, highlighting just how hard the company works to keep its customers satisfied.
The data was collected by specialist firm ‘Reputation’ which rates brand performance on a scale of 100 to 1,000 based on publicly available review data.
The firm evaluates how companies perform in a number of key areas, including sentiment, engagement and visibility, before coming up with an overall Reputation Score.
Howards secured top spot with a reputation score of 863, placing it well ahead of second-placed SG Petch on 820.
The top five spots on the list, which includes 100 of the most profitable dealers in the country, were completed by Renault Retail Group (813) as well as Vantage Motor Group and Snows Motor Group (both 799).
At the other end of the scale the bottom five consisted of Cambria Automobiles (559), Eastern Western Motor Group (558), City West Country Group (555), John Clarke Motor Group (550) and D0nnelly Motor Group (456).
Reacting to his company’s win, Chris Lee, managing director of Howards Motor Group, said: ‘Our number one ranking in the 2024 Reputation League is a testament to our commitment to creating exceptional outcomes for our customers and our people.
‘As our business continues to grow, we are dedicated to embedding our culture of excellence, integrity, and customer-focused values across all our locations.
‘We are proud that our team’s consistent efforts have been recognised and that our commitment to customer experience is resonating so strongly within the community.’
If you want to find out if your dealer group made the list, then the full data can be found here.
Individual dealers
Reputation’s list also broke its findings down into individual retail sites, with the best performing put into their own top 50 list.
Coming out on top, with an overall score of 946 was Porsche Centre Teesside in Stockton-on-Tees, ahead of Gravells Kia in Hereford, which scored 923.
Also performing well were the likes of Lloyd Kia in Carlisle (919), T W White & Sons in Orpington (915) and Howards Hyundai in Weston-super-Mare (911).
When broken down by region, the Welsh dealership with the best reputation was found to be Gravells Kia in Bridgend, which came fifth with an overall score of 908.
Roadside (Garages) Limited was the best Northern Irish site in 39th place with a score of 889, while no Scottish dealership’s made the list at all. The London dealership with the best reputation was found to be Strastone Aston Martin London Mayfair, which scored 894, placing it 23rd overall.
The dealer group with the most entries in the top 50 list was Snows, which had eight sites make the cut.
Brands
The survey also studied which car brands have the best and worst reputations in the UK, with that list also throwing up a surprising winner.
The figures found that joint winners were Dacia – which won customers over with its no frills approach to motoring – and parent company, Renault, both of which had overall scores of 88.
The rest of the top ten was largely dominated by Asian brands with Hyundai (772), Kia (769), Toyota (715), Lexus (709), MG (695), and Suzuki (684) all performing well, while Mazda (665) just missed out in 11th.
Other European brands to perform well included Volvo (689) and Audi (669). Meanwhile, the best performing all-electric brand was Tesla, which came 20th with a score of 621.
At the other end of the scale, the brand with the worst reputation was found to be Mitsubishi with a low score of 488.
The result placed the Japanese outfit – which no longer sells new cars in the UK – marginally behind four Stellantis brands in Alfa Romeo (511), Fiat (559), Jeep (578) and Citroen (587).
