FADA initiates annual study to identify gaps between OEM, dealers

Automobile dealers' body FADA on Wednesday said it is initiating an annual dealer satisfaction study to gauge the market sentiment and to identify gaps that impact OEM-dealer partnership across key business aspects.

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has roped in Singapore-based consumer-insight led consulting and advisory firm PremonAsia for conducting the study.

"With a sizable sample, FADA dealer satisfaction study will provide adequate representation from every quarter and cut across all categories of vehicles," FADA President Vinkesh Gulati said in a statement.

The study will also have a good demographic mix coupled with urban and rural balance, he added.

The final report would be released by June-end this year, Gulati noted.

"This study comes at a crucial time when the industry is facing unprecedented headwinds... We intend to deep dive into every aspect of dealership management and to highlight the best practices followed by manufacturers in keeping a profitable and sustainable dealer network," FADA Secretary C S Vigneshwar said.

PremonAsia Founder and CEO Rajeev Lochan said the industry is emerging from one of the most challenging times witnessed in recent history.

"The idea of this study is not just to examine the drivers of a successful Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) -Dealer business partnership, but to go deeper in exploring how the future of automotive retail business is likely to evolve in the new post-COVID world," he added.

FADA represents over 15,000 automobile dealers having around 26,500 dealerships across the country.