The National Automobile Dealers' Association Satisfaction Index Celebrates 30 Years with Record Dealer Participation
NADA Dealer Satisfaction Index Celebrates 30 Years with Record Dealer Participation
The National Automobile Dealers' Association (NADA) announces the results of its 2026 Dealer Satisfaction Index (DSI) Survey, as the industry celebrates 30 years of one of South Africa's most respected automotive benchmarks.
Established in 1996, the DSI is South Africa’s longest-running dealer satisfaction survey. Independently researched by Lightstone, NADA’s research partner throughout its 30-year history, it provides manufacturers and dealers with an objective measure of their business relationships while supporting continuous improvement across the automotive retail sector.
The 2026 NADA DSI Awards, powered by WesBank, recognise manufacturers for excellence in supporting their dealer networks and building strong, sustainable relationships. WesBank's longstanding support of the awards reflects a shared commitment to strengthening South Africa's automotive retail industry through collaboration and continuous improvement.
“Thirty years ago, the Dealer Satisfaction Index was established to give dealers a meaningful voice and provide manufacturers with honest, constructive feedback. Today, it has grown into South Africa’s longest-running dealer satisfaction survey and one of the automotive industry’s most trusted benchmarks,”
says Brandon Cohen, Chairperson of NADA.
“This year’s record participation, record satisfaction scores and growth from just seven participating manufacturers to 36 demonstrate not only how the DSI has evolved, but also the value the industry continues to place on collaboration, transparency and continuous improvement.”
Three decades of trusted insight
Since its inception, the DSI has become far more than an annual survey. It provides meaningful insight into dealer-manufacturer relationships, identifies opportunities to improve business performance and ultimately supports a better customer experience.
The 2026 survey attracted 1,610 dealer responses, the highest participation recorded to date. These comprised 1,429 Passenger and Light Commercial Vehicle responses and 181 Commercial vehicle responses. The research reached 92% of South Africa’s franchised Passenger and Light Commercial Vehicle dealerships and 80% of Commercial vehicle dealerships, evaluating 36 automotive brands.
Conducted between 7 April and 15 May 2026, the independent research used comprehensive online questionnaires completed by Dealer Principals. Over the past decade, the survey has achieved an average response rate of around 80% of South Africa’s franchised dealer network.
Manufacturers were assessed across three key indices: Dealer Friendly (20%), Investor Friendly (40%) and Customer Friendly (40%).
“Thirty years of continuous research is exceptionally rare in any industry,”
says Jaco van Staden, Head of Sales at Lightstone Auto.
“When NADA first brought together seven manufacturers to establish the Dealer Satisfaction Index, few could have imagined that it would become South Africa’s longest-running dealer satisfaction survey."
"Having partnered with NADA throughout this journey has given us a unique perspective on how dealer-manufacturer relationships have evolved. This year's record response rate reflects the industry's confidence in the DSI as an independent benchmark for building stronger partnerships."
Over three decades, the DSI has tracked more than 40,000 dealer responses, generated over one million individual data points and captured the views of more than 1,000 dealerships annually. The survey was paused only in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Its methodology has remained deliberately consistent to enable meaningful year-on-year comparisons, while being reviewed annually to reflect changes in the automotive market. The awards programme has evolved too, with the Platinum Award introduced in 2018 to recognise manufacturers achieving an overall score of 85% or higher.
Record satisfaction across the industry
The Passenger/LCV industry achieved an overall DSI score of 79.8%, while the Commercial vehicle sector recorded 79.1%, the highest scores achieved in their respective surveys.
Across both studies, dealers identified communication, transparency, collaboration, dealer support, parts availability, profitability and broader product offerings as priorities for continued improvement.
NADA DSI Awards, powered by WesBank
The awards recognise manufacturers that have demonstrated excellence in building strong dealer partnerships and reflect the industry’s rising standards of performance.
Passenger and Light Commercial Vehicle Awards
Platinum Awards
| BMW | MINI |
| Suzuki | Toyota |
Gold Awards
| Chery | Ford |
| GWM | Hyundai |
| Jetour | Kia |
| Lexus | Mercedes-Benz Cars |
| Mercedes-Benz Vans | Mitsubishi |
| Omoda | Jaecoo | Renault |
| Volkswagen | Volvo |
Silver Awards
| Isuzu | Mahindra |
| Mazda |
Bronze Awards
| Audi | Honda |
| Nissan | Stellantis |
| Subaru |
Commercial Vehicle Awards
Platinum Award
| Hino |
Gold Awards
| FUSO | MAN |
| Mercedes-Benz Trucks | UD Trucks |
Silver Awards
| FAW | Isuzu Trucks |
| Iveco | Tata Commercial |
Recognising continuous improvement
The Most Improved Award in the Passenger/LCV category was presented to Omoda I Jaecoo, while Tata Commercial received the honour in the Commercial vehicle category.
Approved used vehicles and electrified mobility
As affordability continues to influence purchasing decisions, dealers highlighted the importance of manufacturer-backed approved used vehicle programmes in building customer confidence, strengthening brand loyalty and supporting dealer profitability.
Dealer sentiment towards New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) also continued to strengthen, with the industry average improving by 11 percentage points compared with 2025. This aligns with growing consumer interest in electrified vehicles, as more South African motorists consider NEVs as part of their future mobility choices.
Dealers believe expanding NEV offerings will enhance manufacturers' product portfolios, strengthen competitiveness and support the industry's transition towards new mobility technologies.
Looking ahead
Thirty years after its introduction, the DSI remains far more than an annual scorecard. It provides manufacturers and dealers with an objective framework for dialogue, helping identify areas of excellence and opportunities for improvement.
“As we navigate a rapidly changing global automotive landscape, the NADA DSI Awards remain a vital benchmark for our industry,”
concludes Cohen.
“The DSI has never been about simply scoring performance. It is about strengthening relationships between dealers, franchises and manufacturers through trust, open communication and a shared commitment to continuous improvement. These partnerships enable challenges to be resolved quickly while keeping the customer at the centre of everything we do.”
NADA is a proud association of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI).
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