For the first time, Nissan’s Infiniti brand dealerships ranked highest in the newly released 2016 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index® (PSI®) U.S. Auto Industry Benchmarking Study. Now in its tenth year, the study measured treatment of car-shoppers who visited 6,157 dealerships throughout the country. Study rankings by brand were determined by the Pied Piper PSI process, which ties “mystery shopping” measurement and scoring to industry sales success. Dealerships for Toyota’s Lexus brand and for Mercedes-Benz were tied for second. Brands showing the most improvement year-to-year were Porsche, Land Rover and Mitsubishi. Only two brands, Mini and Tesla showed year to year declines.
Eight brands have consistently ranked at or above the industry average for each of the past five years: BMW, Cadillac, Honda, Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volkswagen. Three brands have consistently finished below the industry average for each of the past five years: Chevrolet, Land Rover and Mitsubishi.
2016 marks the 10th year that Pied Piper has provided PSI benchmarking studies for the U.S. auto industry. During this time, eight out of ten PSI sales behaviors have improved. Of the 50+ PSI factors that generate a PSI score, the following are examples of sales behaviors that have changed the most during the past ten years:
Examples of 2016 salesperson behaviors that have increased the most vs ten years ago:
- Mentioned the availability of different financing or lease options (occurred 79% of the time in 2016). Highest scoring brands for category: Infiniti, Lexus, Toyota. Lowest scoring brands for category: Subaru, Tesla, Lincoln
- Asked about reasons preventing purchase (occurred 74% of the time in 2016). Highest scoring brands for category: Toyota, Fiat, Kia. Lowest scoring brands for category: Tesla, smart, Cadillac
- Discussed features unique from competition (occurred 63% of the time in 2016). Highest scoring brands for category: Tesla, Subaru, Lexus. Lowest scoring brands for category: Chrysler, Chevrolet, Mitsubishi
Examples of 2016 salesperson behaviors that have decreased the most vs ten years ago:
- Offered printed materials for shopper to take with them (occurred 45% of the time in 2016). Highest scoring brands for category: Jaguar, MINI, Lexus. Lowest scoring brands for category: Tesla, Volvo, Mazda
- Asked how vehicle will be used (occurred 70% of the time in 2016). Highest scoring brands for category: Ram, smart, Porsche. Lowest scoring brands for category: Mitsubishi, Chevrolet, Tesla
- Asked why considered brand (occurred 59% of the time in 2016). Highest scoring brands for category: Porsche, Volkswagen, Infiniti. Lowest scoring brands for category: Mitsubishi, Jaguar, Chevrolet
“There is no question that the typical dealership sells more effectively today than it did ten years ago,” said Fran O’Hagan, President and CEO of Pied Piper Management Company LLC. “However, plenty of variability remains. We have watched some brands completely change the way that they sell, while others sell today no differently than they did ten years ago.” Pied Piper has found that on average, when auto dealerships are ranked by their PSI score, dealerships in the top quarter sell 16% more vehicles than the dealerships in the bottom quarter.