Korean car firm Kia has made it three for three with its third win in a row in the Car Dealer Power survey.

The car manufacturer topped our survey, narrowly beating sister firm Hyundai into second place, with impressive scores across 13 categories.

The gap between first and second place narrowed considerably this year, though, with Kia taking top spot by just under two per cent. 

Last year Kia was 10 percentage points ahead of the second-placed firm.

Paul Philpott, president and CEO of Kia UK, said: ‘The positive working relationship we have with our dealer partners is paramount to our shared success, so earning recognition and winning awards is very rewarding. 

‘In recent times our dealers have all worked in partnership with us to overcome unprecedented challenges, whilst also helping to make Kia a modern, electrification-focused brand. 

‘Our way of working based on mutual respect, two-way communication and effective co-ordination are the key building blocks to what we have achieved together.  

‘Our partnership with our dealers is critical for our future plans.’

In this post you can view all the manufacturers that received the minimum number of responses (10) to be included in the survey.

Manufacturers that did not receive the minimum number of responses are not included.

Scores in each category are taken into account to give manufacturers their overall rating to one decimal point. The manufacturer’s rise or fall in position is included in brackets.

1 Kia (–) 90.8 per cent

Kia’s overall score has dropped nearly six percentage points from last year’s survey, but it still aced our dealer satisfaction survey with top marks in seven of the 13 categories. Dealers were particularly happy with the brand’s finance, warranty, brand awareness, website, forward planning, bonus and return on investment. Its score for supply of new cars took a knock this year, but that’s a problem that’s affected all car makers. An impressive three years in a row at the top for the Korean car maker.

2 Hyundai (+8) 89.0 per cent

It’s a dramatic rise up the Car Dealer Power table for Kia’s sister firm and, in fact, the firm narrowly missed out on top honours. It received best-in-survey scores for its supply of new cars and used car programme, and pushed its sibling in many of the other categories. It was the bonus scheme that let it down and improvements here would have seen it leapfrog its Korean counterpart.

3 Suzuki (+2) 88.0 per cent

Up two places in 2022, the Japanese car maker achieved impressive scores in the accessibility, aftersales and manufacturer requirements categories, scoring higher than our first and second placed car makers. Its new car supply took the biggest kicking out of all 13 categories, and its used car programme came in for some criticism too. Overall, a solid performance from Suzuki.

4 Renault (+14) 84.4 per cent

This year’s biggest riser award almost went to Renault after it dramatically improved its performance. Rising 14 places from 18th place in the 2021 poll, the French firm has clearly improved relations with its dealers. It scored particularly well for brand awareness and accessibility of its management team with all other categories above 80 per cent, bar one, which, unsurprisingly, was new car supply.

5 Volvo (+16) 82.2 per cent

It’s an incredible leap up the charts for the Swedish firm in 2022 – jumping 16 places from bottom four to top five. In 2020, Volvo had a podium position, but crashed last year to languish at the bottom, so fifth place will please top brass. It picked up the most points in the finance, aftersales and brand awareness categories and improved on its lowly score last year for its bonus scheme.

6 BMW (-4) 81.5 per cent

It’s a fall from second place in the survey last year for BMW with a drop of four places taking it outside the top five in 2022. All but three categories scored more than 80 per cent, but it dropped marks for its forward planning, manufacturer requirements, bonus scheme and new car supply. However, dealers were particularly happy with its web presence, brand awareness and finance offers.

7 Peugeot (+9) 81.3 per cent

A big leap for the Stellantis-owned brand with nine places gained for the French firm in 2022. Last year it sat at 16th in the bottom half of the table, so bosses will be pleased relationships are improving with dealers. It picked up the most points in the warranty and aftersales categories with marketing and brand awareness also scoring well.

8 Toyota (-4) 79.5 per cent

A four-place fall for Toyota in 2022 won’t go down well with the Japanese firm’s bosses. It’s now back to eighth position, the same slot it occupied in 2020. It dropped the most marks in the manufacturer requirements and new car supply categories, the latter something all car makers are struggling with. Points were picked up in the warranty and brand awareness categories, though.

9 Mercedes (-6) 78.4 per cent

Last year, Mercedes took third place on our podium so a fall of six places will be a bitter disappointment. Dealers scored the firm above 70 per cent in all 13 categories, but there were no stand-out performances. Its best scores were clocked up for return on investment, website, brand awareness, marketing and finance offers.

10 Land Rover (+7) – 75.5 per cent

It’s amazing what a new model can do, isn’t it? Especially one as important as the new Range Rover. The refreshed range topper helped the car maker continue its march up the survey this year, rising seven places after jumping three in 2021. New car supply was a concern among its dealers, something that JLR has particularly struggled with, but good scores for brand awareness and bonus scheme helped it continue to leap up the table.

11 MG (+12) – 73.8 per cent

In 2020, MG was plum last and, after promising to take action, moved up just three places in 2021. So, a leap of 12 this year thanks to a 22 percentage point rise in its overall score will be a welcome relief to executives. While there might be some discontent among its dealers (as reported by Car Dealer), it still scored well in the warranty and finance categories. It dropped the most marks in, you guessed it, new car supply.

12 Skoda (-1) – 73.2 per cent

A mid-table position and a one-place fall for Skoda in 2022 can hardly be described as a disaster. Overall, its score dropped just 0.5 percentage points on last year, with its biggest kicking coming in the new car supply category. Dealers were happier with its brand awareness and finance offers. All other scores were solid, with the majority clocking up more than 70 per cent. 

13 Nissan (-) – 72.9 per cent

For the third year running, Nissan is a non-mover in our survey, despite its overall score rising slightly by 4.3 percentage points. It picked up the most points for its warranty and return on investment, but dropped the most in forward planning, used cars and manufacturer requirements.

14 Volkswagen (-7) – 72.6 per cent

Down seven, VW has slipped from its seventh-placed slot in last year’s survey. The firm’s overall score was down 9.9 percentage points, with the supply of new cars, forward planning, manufacturer requirements and bonus scheme all taking a hit. Its website, marketing and finance scores fared better.

15 Audi (-) – 72.5 per cent

After falling eight places last year, Audi fails to move back up the Car Dealer Power survey in 2022, remaining firmly in 15th place. Overall, its score improved by 7.9 percentage points, but just like last year, dealers marked it down for brand requirements, its bonus scheme and return on investment. It got its worst score in new car supply. Dealers are impressed with brand awareness, marketing and aftersales, though.

16 Vauxhall (+6) – 70.8 per cent

The hard work is beginning to pay at Vauxhall. A refreshed brand, new products and new management is starting to see it rise up the Car Dealer Power chart, jumping six places in 2022, after moving up two in 2021. It chalked up its best scores for brand awareness, marketing and its warranty scheme. Dealers marked it down for its bonuses and return on investment.

17 SEAT (+2) – 70.2 per cent

With an overall score up a solid 7.5 percentage points in 2022, Seat climbed two places in this year’s survey – but 17th is still nothing to write to head office about. The maker was particularly panned by its dealers for poor new car supply, with not-much-better scores for brand requirements, bonuses and return on investment. Some redemption was made thanks to accessible management and its marketing, though.

18 Ford (-6) – 69.6 per cent

After falling one place last year, Ford drops again by a worrying six places in 2022. Its score for new car supply was the second worst in the survey, understandably so after supply of Fiesta and Focus models almost dried up. It also lost marks from dealers for its forward planing, probably again linked to that new car supply issue. Solid scores for warranty and finance offers were slight saviours. 

19 Mazda (-13) – 67.5 per cent

A monumental fall from grace for Mazda after it topped the Car Dealer Power survey in 2019. Since that stellar year it has dropped in both the last two years, but this year’s tumble will be particularly worrying for the executives. It got particularly bad scores for marketing and brand awareness. The 16 percentage point fall in its overall score represents lower scores across the other categories too.

20 Citroen (+4) – 61.8 per cent

A rise in four places will be seen as a win for the French firm, which was lambasted last year by its dealers and languished at the bottom of our survey. While it recorded a 10.9 percentage point rise overall, its dealers still knocked the firm for its return on investment, bonus scheme, manufacturer requirements, forward planning and marketing.

21 Honda (-13) – 61.1 per cent

After climbing 11 places last year to bank a top 10 position, Honda slipped its way back down our survey with a disappointing 20.7 per cent fall in its overall score in 2022. Last year it notched up scores of over 80 per cent in nine categories; this year all are below that threshold. Lowest marks came in its finance offers and marketing, with some slight redemption for its website.

22 Subaru (-12) – 59.8 per cent

Subaru was a new entry in our survey last year and went straight into 10th, but its dealers have given it a kicking in 2022. Woeful scores for its used car programme and return on investment punished it, with forward planning and brand awareness also performing poorly. Its finance and warranty scores were the only ones to register over 70 per cent.

23 Fiat (-3) – 58.6 per cent

After a slight fillip last year, Fiat has dropped back once again and finishes in a disappointing second from bottom place. Forward planning get the worst score from its dealers, followed close behind with disappointing marks for bonuses, used car programme, marketing and its finance offers. Its dealers are clearly not the happiest bunch of retailers out there.

24 Jaguar (-10) – 54.3 per cent

Jaguar has been on a difficult journey of late with a new brand strategy due to come into play in the next few years. Plans for its own retailers and agency sales are clearly worrying its dealers and those concerns are represented here with a 10 place drop. It scored particularly badly for brand awareness, which is a surprise but likely to do with a diminishing range of cars, while manufacturer requirements, return on investment and forward planning all scored poorly.

Manufacturers not listed here did not reach the minimum threshold of responses in our survey to be included. In 2021, 24 manufacturers were included in the Car Dealer Power survey.