2017 DSI Survey

Introduction 

The fact that Canada has continued 

to beat sales records is a testament to 

the working relationship between the 

dealer and the automaker. 

— John White, 

CADA President & CEO 

For the first time in Canadian history, the 

2 million sales mark for light vehicles was 

surpassed in 2017. A total of 2,038,798 

new light vehicles were sold in the past year, 

driven in no small part by the combined efforts 

of 25 automotive brands and more than 3,200 

dealerships. 2017 was a year largely marked with 

sales successes, with 9 out of the 12 months seeing 

year-over-year sales increases on an already 

record setting 2016. The only punctuation marks 

on what has been another runaway year were 

sales decreases reported in April, November and 

December where sales declined 1.6 percent, 

1.2 percent and 1.1 percent respectively. This is 

in stark contrast to the U.S. new vehicle market 

which has seen a reversal of fortune, presenting 

only 2 months of year over year sales growth (in 

September and November) and 10 months of sales 

declines. The U.S. market in recent years had been 

recovering strongly following the 2008/09 recession 

and in 2015 surpassed their previous all-time 

record which was established in 2000. “Getting a 

vehicle into the customer’s hands is still a two part 

relationship” says Canadian Automobile Dealers 

Association (CADA) President & CEO John White. 

“The fact that Canada has continued to beat sales 

records is a testament to the working relationship 

between the dealer and the automaker”. 

Looking at trends in the Canadian market, the 

past year has witnessed a continuation of recent 

trends for dealers and automakers alike. Light truck 

sales continue to take the lion’s share of new vehicle 

purchases, tracking just below an unprecedented 

70.0 percent market share. Subcompact SUVs were 

the fastest growing segment thanks in part to new 

product introductions and were up 32.6 percent 

over the past year. The compact SUV segment took 

first place in sales for the 2 nd time in the new vehicle 

market, furthering the lead against the previous 

perennial winner in the compact car segment. As 

a whole, the combined SUV segments were over 

40.0 percent of the market. Despite the passenger 

car market not enjoying the same level of success, 

the luxury car segment has seen growth in both sales 

and market share over the past year. From a regional 

perspective, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova 

Scotia, Ontario and Quebec have seen record levels 

of success in 2017 with Alberta and Saskatchewan 

recovering back to their previous highs. 

Given the downturn in the U.S., the question of 

whether or not the Canadian market is reaching its 

peak comes back into focus. Concerns involving 

interest rate hikes, housing market corrections, and 

general cyclical downturns following an 8 year sales 

increase streak in Canada add to a laundry list of 

reasons that could contribute to a potential for a 

change in market direction. It is more important than 

ever to focus on the relationship between dealers 

and manufacturers. “We’re certainly at a point in 

our industry where technology and market conditions 

2 2017 Dealer Satisfaction Index Survey

equire both dealers and manufacturers to be on 

high alert so they can adapt and respond quickly 

to changes” says White on the status of the market. 

Given the lightning pace of the industry from both 

a technological and sales standpoint, data such as 

the results published in the CADA Dealer Satisfaction 

Index (DSI) Survey become an invaluable tool in 

evaluating and managing the important dealer/ 

automaker relationship. Efficiency in communication 

between partners is a necessity to hedge against 

the rapid shifts in the industry that may catch an 

unprepared dealer or automaker off guard. 

DSI Purpose 

The DSI Survey has been an industry staple for over 

25 years and continues to build on that authority 

with this year’s edition. A key indicator of the DSI’s 

pervasiveness and continued success within the 

industry comes from the highest ever response rate 

in 26 iterations of the study. The 2017 DSI Survey 

achieved not only the highest response rate, but 

also the highest number of responses in a notably 

shortened survey period. All of these factors contribute 

to a more complete and more noise free picture of 

the relationship from the dealer perspective. “The DSI 

Survey is one of the most important things CADA does 

every year. It is the single most important barometer 

OVERALL OPINIONS INDEX 

50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 

1 Subaru (1) 

2 Mercedes-Benz (2) 

3 Audi (8) 

4 Porsche (14) 

5 Cadillac (6) 

6 Lexus (12) 

7 Chevrolet (10) 

8 Honda (7) 

9 Buick-GMC (11) 

10 Ford (4) 

11 Jaguar-Land Rover (3) 

12 Mazda (13) 

13 Acura (15) 

14 Lincoln (9) 

Industry 

15 Toyota (16) 

16 Volvo (5) 

17 Mitsubishi (17) 

18 Volkswagen (25) 

19 Kia (22) 

20 Nissan (19) 

21 Hyundai (20) 

22 MINI (21) 

23 Infiniti (23) 

24 BMW (18) 

25 Chrysler (24) 

93.81 

90.31 

88.66 

88.00 

86.94 

86.56 

86.55 

86.45 

86.27 

85.92 

85.29 

81.88 

81.63 

81.42 

80.79 

80.49 

79.68 

77.85 

75.05 

74.76 

73.94 

73.32 

67.96 

65.26 

63.12 

60.60 

2017 2016 2015 

1. Subaru 

2. Mercedes- Benz 

3. Audi 

4. Porsche 

5. Cadillac 

6. Lexus 

7. Chevrolet 

8. Honda 

9. Buick-GMC 

10. Ford 

11. Jaguar Land Rover 

12. Mazda 

13. Acura 

14. Lincoln 

15. Toyota 

16. Volvo 

17. Mitsubishi 

18. Volkswagen 

19. Kia 

20. Nissan 

21. Hyundai 

22. MINI 

23. Infiniti 

24. BMW 

25. Chrysler 

1. Subaru 

2. Mercedes-Benz 


4. Ford 

5. Volvo 

6. Cadillac 

7. Honda 

8. Audi 

9. Lincoln 

10. Chevrolet 

11. Buick GMC 

12. Lexus 

13. Mazda 

14. Porsche 

15. Acura 

16. Toyota 


18. BMW 

19. Nissan 

20. Hyundai 

21. MINI 

22. Kia 

23. Infiniti 

24. Chrysler 


1. Subaru 

2. Mercedes-Benz 

3. Honda 

4. Lexus 

5. Ford 


7. Mazda 

8. Audi 

9. Porsche 

10. Acura 

11. Chevrolet 

12. Buick GMC 


14. Nissan 

15. Toyota 

16. BMW 

17. Volvo 

18. Chrysler 

19. MINI 

20. Kia 


22. Hyundai 

23. Infiniti 

For dealer review only. Not for press release. Strict copyright enforcement. © 2018 CADA 3

for the vital manufacturer-dealer relationship that exists in 

the Canadian marketplace. Its growing rate of participation 

is also an indication that dealers and manufacturers of all 

brands recognize the importance of the DSI Survey, whether 

they are at the top or bottom of the rankings, or anywhere 

in between.” says Tim Ryan, CADA’s Vice-President & 

Director, Industry Relations and General Counsel. To continue 

providing meaningful data to both automakers and dealers, 

new questions were introduced this year to expand on the 

relationship between the dealers and their manufacturer’s 

captive finance companies. 

In practice, the DSI Overall Opinions score measures 

dealer sentiment regarding their manufacturer in 19 separate 

categories including metrics such as but not limited to: 

effective communication, consideration of dealer views, value 

of the brand and its products, distribution, and fairness of 

policies and procedures. The score uses the dealer’s ratings 

of its manufacturer’s performance (Strongly Disagree = -20, 

Disagree = -10, Undecided = 0, Agree = +10 and Strongly 

Agree = +20) and converts them to a maximum potential 

index score of 100. First, the calculation is made for each 

responding dealer. Then, the scores for all dealers in a 

franchise line are averaged to calculate the final score. 

DSI Results 

Subaru continues to win the hearts of dealers and customers 

alike, ringing in a sixth consecutive record setting year 

for new vehicle sales and a fifth consecutive top spot 

in both the Overall Opinions Index and Most Effective 

Manufacturer/Dealer Communication charts. Areas such as 

the management’s consideration of dealer views, ease of 

doing business and general policies and procedures remain 

strong points for the brand. After years of success, this is 

clearly no accident as the DSI Survey firmly establishes the 

shared understanding between management at Subaru and its 

dealers. Mercedes-Benz took second place for the third year in 

a row in the Overall Opinions Index and moved from third to 

second in Most Effective Manufacturer/Dealer Communication. 

Audi realized a five position upswing in the Overall Opinions 

Index, moving from eighth in the 2016 DSI Survey to third 

this year but did not secure the third place in communications. 

That honour went to Porsche, who made great strides in the 

Most Effective Manufacturer/Dealer Communication chart. The 

brand went from 15 th in the previous survey to third this year 

with a staggering 11.54 point gain. 

From an overall perspective, the relationship between the 

dealer and the manufacturer has been moving in a positive 

direction in recent years. In the 2014 edition of the DSI 

Survey, the industry average of the Overall Opinions Index 

clocked in at 78.89 points. This improved to 79.04 in the 

2015 edition and to 80.21 in 2016. The 2017 DSI Survey 

continues that momentum, recording an industry average of 

80.79. Competition at the top was fierce as the brands taking 

positions five to eleven in the Overall Opinions Index were 

within two points of each other. As a result, brands that saw 

small decreases saw bigger shifts in rank than they would 

have in another year. Conversely, the larger spread at the 

bottom end saw four automakers fall below 70 points in this 

edition. Tim Ryan reaffirmed the importance of the survey. “The 

results show that manufacturers continue to use the DSI data to 

improve their relationship with the dealer. Eleven brands are 

above an 85 point valuation on the Overall Opinions Index, 

an astonishing result that we couldn’t be more pleased with” 

said Ryan. 

Of the 25 brands studied, 14 managed to chart above the 

industry average with first place (Subaru at 93.81 points) 

establishing a 33 point lead over last place (Chrysler at 60.60 

points). Luxury automakers Audi, Porsche, and Lexus ran hot 

on the Overall Opinions Index chart this year, seeing significant 

increases in rank compared to their previous performance. 

Most Effective Manufacturer/Dealer Communication saw 

a very slight industry average decrease from 77.67 in 

2016 to 77.43 in 2017 with 13 brands beating the industry 

average. Subaru at 93.21 was 4.38 points above second 

place Mercedes-Benz and 41.19 points above Chrysler in 

last place at 52.02 points. 

One of the emerging themes to come out of this year was 

the positive attitude dealers had with regards to the value 


of their franchise. The top two areas of growth with regards 

to industry averages were dealers who thought the value of 

their franchise would grow in the future (10.79 vs. 8.85) and 

those who thought the value of their franchise had already 

increased (10.05 vs. 8.49). Vehicle distribution was also 

an area where dealers noted improvements with an industry 

average of 8.09 points over the previous year’s average 

of 6.63 points. 

Awards 

The DSI Survey awards are presented by CADA to automakers 

that have shown excellence in three categories: Highest 

Overall Satisfaction, Most Effective Dealer Communications, 

and Most Improved Franchise Overall Satisfaction, which 

are further broken out to recognize those with 100 dealers 

or fewer and those with 101 dealers or more. For the fifth 

year in a row Subaru receives the honours for Highest Overall 

Satisfaction and Most Effective Dealer Communications for 

brands with 100 dealers or fewer. Cadillac took the Highest 

Overall Satisfaction award for 101 dealers or more. The 

Most Effective Dealer Communications award for brands 

with 101 dealers or more was awarded to Ford for the third 

time in a row. 

This year, Volkswagen was presented the Most Improved 

Franchise Overall Satisfaction award for brands with a dealer 

body of 101 or more. No franchises in the 100 dealers or 

fewer category had statistically significant positive increases 

on the index and thus this award will not be presented 

this year. 

MOST EFFECTIVE MANUFACTURER/DEALER 

COMMUNICATION 

1 Subaru (1) 



4 Ford (4) 

5 Audi (5) 

6 Lexus (12) 


8 Honda (8) 





13 Mazda (16) 

Industry 


15 Acura (17) 

16 Volvo (7) 



19 Kia (24) 



22 MINI (20) 


24 BMW (13) 


SATISFACTION WITH THE MANUFACTURER'S 

CONSIDERATION OF DEALER VIEWS 

1 Subaru (1) 


3 Ford (5) 




7 Lexus (20) 


9 Honda (7) 


11 Audi (6) 

12 Acura (15) 

13 Mazda (13) 

Industry 



16 Volvo (3) 



19 MINI (12) 


21 Kia (23) 



24 BMW (16) 


50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 

-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 

-8.94 

52.02 

-5.81 

-2.22 

64.12 

62.78 

62.12 

14.29 

12.83 

11.88 

10.37 

10.22 

10.00 

9.71 

9.33 

8.85 

8.54 

8.42 

8.09 

6.55 

6.49 

6.19 

4.64 

3.93 

2.89 

2.00 

1.91 

1.87 

1.04 

88.83 

86.81 

86.05 

85.85 

84.29 

83.49 

83.02 

82.96 

82.79 

81.31 

78.67 

77.48 

77.43 

76.86 

75.45 

73.57 

72.05 

71.48 

70.60 

70.39 

69.49 

93.21 

16.91 


SATISFACTION WITH THE FRANCHISOR'S 

EASE OF DOING BUSINESS 

1 Subaru (1) 

2 Ford (2) 


4 Lexus (12) 

5 Honda (6) 





10 Audi (14) 

11 Mazda (13) 

12 Acura (11) 



Industry 



17 Volvo (5) 



20 Kia (22) 


22 MINI (17) 



25 BMW (19) 

THE VALUE OF THIS 

FRANCHISE HAS INCREASED 

1 Audi (10) 


3 Porsche (3) 

4 Subaru (1) 


6 Honda (6) 




10 Lexus (12) 

11 Ford (7) 

12 Volvo (5) 

Industry 

13 Mazda (24) 



16 Kia (22) 



19 Acura (20) 


21 BMW (16) 


23 MINI (19) 



-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 

-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 

-4.07 

-4.33 

-0.40 

-3.33 

-4.68 

-6.74 

0.23 

0.15 

1.98 

6.26 

4.62 

4.26 

3.95 

7.14 

7.05 

5.71 

4.58 

4.35 

3.67 

2.39 

2.00 

11.78 

11.07 

10.05 

10.00 

9.40 

9.01 

14.52 

14.12 

13.74 

13.29 

13.13 

13.11 

12.71 

12.20 

11.91 

11.05 

10.71 

10.38 

9.17 

14.56 

19.02 

18.33 

18.13 

17.79 

17.14 

16.21 

16.04 

14.73 

14.44 

14.41 

17.94 

Subaru 

Subaru witnessed its sixth consecutive year of record sales 

in 2017 with a total of 54,570 units delivered, rising 8.7% 

over last year. Along with being awarded Top Overall Brand 

in 2017’s Canadian Black Book Retained Value Award, 

Subaru has strengthened its model lineup with a redesign 

for the 2017 Impreza and a refresh for the 2018 WRX/STI. 

The new Impreza has been the main driving force for Subaru’s 

record sales this year with nearly three thousand more units 

sold than in 2016. Subaru held a steady first place in the 

Overall Opinion Index with 93.81 points for 2017, increasing 

slightly from 2016. 

Mercedes-Benz 

The GLC picked up major steam this year, setting itself apart 

as the pack leader in the compact luxury SUV segment with an 

83.1 percent sales increase. Approximately 4,000 new GLCs 

that went to Canadian customers in 2017 were vital in helping 

Mercedes-Benz achieve an all-time sales record with a total 

of 52,298 new vehicles between both Mercedes-Benz and 

smart brands. Mercedes-Benz maintained second place for 

the Overall Opinion Index and climbed to second in the Most 

Effective Manufacturer/Dealer Communication chart. Dealers 

also praised the value of the brand having increased and tied 

Jaguar-Land Rover for first when talking about the future value 

of the brand increasing. Dealers also noted that they were 

very satisfied with the way vehicles were manufactured, an 

increase of 3 points that brought the brand up to third place 

from eleventh in that category. 

Audi 

Improvements were plentiful from a dealer perspective when 

talking about Audi as the brand returns to the top 3 in the 

Overall Opinions Index after dropping from 2 nd to 8 th between 

the 2014 and 2015 DSI. Two areas where Audi saw significant 

support from dealers were the value of their franchise and 

the policies and procedures that surrounded the operation 

of the dealer. Franchise value was emphatically backed by 

dealers as Audi topped the chart, up from 10 th place, when 

dealers were asked if the value of the franchise had increased. 

Canadians responded well to Audi’s new additions as 

a redesigned A5 and Q5 were key factors in the brand 

hitting an all-time sales record, up 17.9% from the previous 

year with a total of 36,007 new vehicles sold to customers. 


Porsche 

The sporty German staple exemplified what happens 

when a management team takes the relationship with 

the dealer seriously. The brand won major points in 

communication, field staff support, and the ease of doing 

business. Praise was not limited to these categories as 

Porsche scored well in multiple categories, leading the 

brand to a 4 th place position in the Overall Opinions Index. 

From a product standpoint, the Macan continues to be the 

shot in the arm that pushed Porsche to new heights as it 

achieved another all-time sales record of 8,249 units in 

2017. Both the Panamera and Boxster were top picks in 

their segment in the Canadian Black Book Best Retained 

Value Awards, where the brand scored the overall brand 

award for the Luxury category. 

Cadillac 

This is Cadillac’s second year in the DSI Survey and their 

strong showing in both the market and the DSI appears to 

be no coincidence. The brand climbed into the top five in 

the Overall Opinions Index, up more than a point from last 

year. Dealer satisfaction with the brand was consistently 

above average and dealers reported that the automaker 

made big strides in their consideration of dealer views and 

the design of their vehicles. Confidence in the future value 

of the franchise increased from 11.65 points (eighth place 

in 2016) to 15.33 points (sixth place in 2017). Cadillac 

outperformed the market with a 9.6 percent sales increase 

over 2017 with a total of 13,330 new vehicles sold. 

Despite a slight decline in passenger car sales, Cadillac 

witnessed success in the light truck market with strong 

growth in the sales of the XT5 following the discontinuation 

of the Cadillac SRX. 

Lexus 

Despite the flashy LC grabbing hearts and minds, the one-two 

punch of the NX and RX continue to be mainstays at the 

Japanese luxury brand. These luxury light trucks make up 

over 60 percent of the volume of new vehicle sales and are 

both well over double digit percentage gains in 2017. As 

a result, the brand’s sales were up 10.0 percent and set an 

all-time record with a total of 24,765 new vehicle sales in 

Canada. Effort from the management team at Lexus did not 

go unnoticed as dealers were generous with their praise in 



3 Subaru (1) 

4 Audi (10) 

5 Porsche (5) 


7 Honda (6) 


9 Lexus (12) 


11 Volvo (3) 

12 Mazda (22) 

13 Ford (7) 

Industry 





18 Kia (21) 



21 Acura (18) 

22 BMW (13) 

23 MINI (20) 



VEHICLES DESIGNED TO 

MEET DEMANDS OF THE MARKETPLACE 

1 Porsche (1) 

2 Audi (4) 

3 Subaru (2) 



6 Honda (7) 



9 Mazda (9) 

10 Ford (6) 

11 Kia (11) 




Industry 

15 Lexus (18) 

16 Volvo (10) 



19 BMW (14) 


21 MINI (20) 

22 Acura (24) 



THE VALUE OF THIS 

FRANCHISE WILL INCREASE 


-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 

0 

-2.77 

2.59 

5 10 15 20 25 

3.93 

7.91 

7.40 

7.20 

6.05 

5.39 

18.10 

18.10 

17.50 

17.32 

16.88 

15.33 

15.18 

14.77 

14.41 

13.57 

12.86 

11.38 

11.11 

10.79 

9.88 

9.84 

9.44 

7.50 

7.41 

7.31 

7.02 

3.95 

2.79 

2.00 

0.00 

15.81 

15.74 

15.24 

15.23 

15.21 

14.06 

13.74 

13.33 

13.08 

12.96 

12.68 

11.76 

11.43 

10.12 

9.90 

18.13 

17.80 

17.79 

17.38 


multiple categories. The brand’s consideration of their views 

was especially noteworthy as an 8 point increase brought 

the brand from 20 th to 7 th place in that category. All together, 

the brand managed to take 6 th place in the Overall Opinions 

Index, up from 12 th place last year. 

Chevrolet 

The relationship between Chevrolet and its dealers has 

progressed and continued to bear fruit as the manufacturer 

breaks deeper into the top ten for the 2017 DSI Survey. 

Dealers put Chevrolet at 86.55 points in the Overall 

Opinions Index, moving to 7 th from 10 th the year before 

and 11 th and 21 st in the years before that. Even though 

general improvement was the tune across most categories, 

vehicle distribution, communication, and the automaker’s 

consideration of their views were areas that dealers praised 

highly. In the showrooms, the Bolt received multiple awards 

while the Silverado and Equinox provided the heavy lifting. 

The two light trucks in the automaker’s portfolio provided 

more than 19,000 additional sales to their record breaking 

171,005 unit total. 

Honda 

Product at Honda is at a high point this year as the automaker 

picked up seven top spots in the Kelley Blue Book 2018 Best 

Buy Awards, including Overall Best Buy for the redesigned 

Accord. The market responded, pushing Honda up 6.3 

percent in 2017 with a total of 176,951 new vehicles sold – 

an all-time sales record for the brand. Dealers responded by 

giving Honda 86.45 points in the Overall Opinions Index. 

The automaker’s policies and procedures for parts sales were 

improved, pushing Honda to 2 nd place in that category from 

5 th . Current and future franchise value improvement were 

categories where Honda also received praise with a 1.5 and 

1 point increase respectively. 

Buick-GMC 

A strong focus on the light truck portfolio in GMC and Buick 

proved to be the right call as the two brands had robust 

performances. The combined sales total between Buick and 

GMC reached 118,491 units in 2017, a 14.2 percent 

increase over the previous year, and unseated the all-time 

record first established in 2002. The automaker was busy with 

more than just its market performance as dealers responded 

well in the survey, pushing the brand to 9 th place in the Overall 

Opinion Index. This was less than a point away from 5 th place. 

Policies and procedures from the manufacturer were well 

received by dealers which was reflected in the brand gaining 

ranks in these categories. Vehicle distribution and the value of 

the franchise having increased were also strong areas for the 

brand last year. 

Ford 

Ford continues to hold the top honours for highest volume 

automaker in Canada with a total of 300,367 units sold 

and most popular vehicle with the perennial favourite in 

the F-Series. Although Ford experienced weakness in the 

passenger car market with sales down 20.7 percent, the 


sales juggernaut that is the F-Series easily covered the 

difference in providing an almost 10,000 unit gain in the 

past year. Dealers rated Ford a single point lower in the 

Overall Opinions Index, resulting in a six position fall from 

fourth to 10 th . The brand maintained a consistent ranking 

in the Most Effective Manufacturer/Dealer Communication 

category despite a slightly lower score, and dealers were 

slightly less optimistic about the value of the brand, both 

currently and moving forward. Warranty and customer 

satisfaction policies were areas where dealers saw 

improvement in the company and responded accordingly. 

Jaguar-Land Rover 

A Jaguar branded light truck was a welcome addition for 

consumers and dealers as the intermediate luxury SUV 

picked up both the 2017 World Car of the Year and 2017 

World Car Design of the Year awards. Since its introduction, 

the F-PACE has been a heavy lifter for the Jaguar brand, 

nearly matching the sales of their passenger car portfolio 

and enjoying a further 102.6 percent growth in 2017. While 

the Land Rover brand saw slightly positive growth relative 

to the previous year, sales of the Jaguar XE and F-PACE 

moved the brand into all-time record territory. Jaguar-Land 

Rover (JLR) as a whole sold 13,765 new vehicles in 2017, 

representing 13.1 percent growth. Despite what appears to 

be a large drop in the Overall Opinions Index from third to 

11 th position, the brand only witnessed a 1.9 point decline. 

Competition near the top was stiff and JLR’s ranking does not 

reflect a drastic decline in dealer to manufacturer sentiment. 

Mazda 

Mazda maintained its position in the eyes of the dealer as it 

took 12 th place in the Overall Opinions Index, up 0.8 points 

over the previous year. While a majority of the categories saw 

Mazda performing at par, dealers were passionate about 

select facets of the brand. Value of the franchise increasing 

now and in the future were categories where the brand scored 

big, according to dealers. Dealers previously rated the value 

of the franchise near the bottom but in 2017 their optimism 

put the brand at industry average levels or even above when 

talking about future value. Parts distribution was a major pain 

point according to dealers and dropped the brand from 4 th 

to last in that category. On the sales end, a reliable stable of 

products saw Mazda outpace last year by 7.0 percent, selling 

a total of 74,056 new vehicles in 2017. 

SATISFACTION WITH THE 

WAY VEHICLES ARE MANUFACTURED 

1 Mazda (3) 

2 Subaru (2) 


4 Porsche (1) 


6 Lexus (7) 


8 Kia (4) 



11 Audi (13) 

Industry 

12 Honda (15) 


14 Ford (12) 





19 Volvo (14) 

20 Acura (21) 



23 BMW (20) 

24 MINI (25) 


SATISFACTION WITH VEHICLE 

DISTRIBUTION – OVERALL PRODUCT 

1 Subaru (4) 



4 Ford (2) 


6 Lexus (10) 


8 Lincoln (7) 

9 Acura (16) 

10 Mazda (3) 


12 Audi (9) 


14 Honda (11) 


Industry 

16 Volvo (5) 



19 MINI (21) 

20 Kia (23) 




24 BMW (17) 


0 5 10 15 20 25 

-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 

-1.48 

-2.79 

-3.62 

4.29 

5.60 

4.80 

4.75 

4.08 

3.02 

14.12 

13.81 

13.56 

13.11 

12.14 

12.06 

11.88 

11.15 

11.05 

10.96 

10.61 

10.49 

10.00 

9.59 

9.18 

8.09 

7.86 

6.72 

6.25 

18.30 

18.24 

17.86 

17.50 

16.85 

16.76 

16.39 

16.33 

16.11 

15.60 

14.88 

14.34 

14.26 

13.93 

13.50 

13.02 

12.14 

11.54 

11.48 

10.71 

10.00 

9.57 

8.52 

7.67 


Acura 

A steady performance from the Japanese luxury arm of 

Honda saw the brand narrowly beat out their previous year’s 

performance with a total of 20,300 new vehicles sold. 

Canadians seemed to take to the recently redesigned MDX but 

were less hot on the ILX. Dealers were more positive compared 

to the brand’s even-keeled sales results, putting Acura at 13 th 

with a 3 point increase. The brand also gained a point in the 

Most Effective Manufacturer/Dealer Communication chart 

which brought it to 15 th place. The biggest gain was noted in 

the manufacturer’s consideration of dealer views as the brand 

moved past the industry average into 12 th place with a gain of 

3.8 points. Overall vehicle distribution and field staff support 

in vehicle sales were other categories that received notable 

praise from dealers. 

Lincoln 

While a revised Continental saw success in the showrooms, 

the Ford owned luxury brand as a whole was not able to 

improve on a year-over-year basis. A soft performance from 

their light truck portfolio was a factor in their 2.6 percent sales 

decline, selling a total of 8,107 new vehicles in 2017. Lincoln’s 

performance with regards to the DSI was also soft. Owing 

to the number of brands that received a mid-to-high 80 point 

score in the Overall Opinions Index, a 2 point decline dropped 

Lincoln from 9 th to 14 th . Dealers indicated having difficulties 

with some of their policies and procedures and with field staff 

support in the areas of service operations and parts sales. 

Toyota 

Toyota managed to achieve a year over year increase of 

2.3 percent in Canada. This total of 199,782 new light 

vehicles sold in 2017 got an assist from the ever popular 

Corolla which provided an extra 4,706 units over the previous 

year. The RAV4, Highlander, Sienna, and all new CH-R also 

helped provide the necessary firepower to realize this sales 

success. Dealers’ input seemed to parallel these results as the 

brand moved up to 15 th place in the Overall Opinions Index. 

Categories that saw notable improvement included vehicle 

distribution, consideration of their views, and ease of doing 

business. On the other hand, dealers noted that field sales 

support in all three categories fell behind a bit compared to 

the previous year. 

Volvo 

A change in ownership at Volvo earlier this decade hasn’t 

taken the brand away from its core values as Volvo received 

a vehicle safety award from the NHTSA in 2017 and finished 

the year with a convincing 16.4 percent sales increase 


FAIR DISTRIBUTION OF 

NEWLY LAUNCHED MODELS 

-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 

over 2016, representing a total of 7,102 new vehicles sold 

to Canadian consumers. Contrary to the overall market, 

Volvo’s growth was led by its passenger car lineup with the 

introduction of the Volvo V90 and an impressive increase 

in the sales of the S90. In the Overall Opinion Index, Volvo 

dropped 6.58 points and fell below the industry average to 

16 th . Most Effective Manufacturer/Dealer Communication 

between the dealers and Volvo saw a similar pattern, 

dropping more than 10 points from 7 th to 16 th . 

Mitsubishi 

An all new Outlander PHEV is expected to provide some extra 

punching power to the already successful Outlander line for 

Mitsubishi. The automaker was up 1.9 percent in 2017 with 

a total of 22,706 light vehicles sold. Success from the light 

truck range at Mitsubishi was a saving grace as they clocked 

a 15.0 percent growth which offset the decline observed in 

passenger car sales. Despite a lack of movement in Overall 

Opinions Index rank, dealers were optimistic about the brand 

which saw it move 0.8 points upwards. There was a theme 

of give and take from the perspective of the dealer as most 

categories saw slight shifts in both directions. That being 

said, field staff support in vehicle sales was a category that 

improved and resulted in a 14 rank increase for the brand. 

Dealers also felt more optimistic that the value of the franchise 

would increase in the future. 

1 Subaru (1) 

2 Mazda (6) 


4 Audi (7) 


6 Ford (4) 



9 Acura (17) 

10 Honda (8) 


12 Lexus (9) 



15 Volvo (2) 

Industry 




19 MINI (13) 



22 Kia (21) 


24 BMW (16) 


1 Subaru (1) 

SATISFACTION WITH 

PARTS DISTRIBUTION 

2 Lexus (6) 

3 Honda (3) 


5 Audi (12) 

6 Toyota (7) 




10 Ford (9) 


Industry 

12 Acura (13) 






18 Volvo (15) 


20 Kia (24) 


22 MINI (18) 


24 BMW (21) 

25 Mazda (4) 

-4.40 

0 5 10 15 20 

4.65 

3.72 

15.88 

15.59 

15.49 

15.11 

14.39 

12.87 

12.72 

12.43 

12.33 

12.56 

11.54 

11.29 

11.05 

10.83 

10.48 

10.00 

9.08 

8.85 

7.86 

7.32 

6.83 

6.30 

6.00 

5.80 

4.60 

3.33 

2.56 

15.59 

14.36 

14.29 

12.90 

12.75 

12.33 

12.00 

11.92 

11.84 

11.69 

11.67 

11.18 

9.60 

9.34 

9.29 

8.90 

8.62 

8.17 

8.04 

8.00 

6.98 

6.97 


FAIRNESS OF MANUFACTURER’S POLICIES 

AND PROCEDURES – VEHICLE SALES 

1 Subaru (1) 


3 Audi (7) 



6 Ford (3) 

7 Lexus (9) 


9 Honda (6) 



12 Acura (11) 

13 Mazda (14) 

14 Volvo (5) 


Industry 




19 MINI (20) 

20 Kia (22) 




24 BMW (17) 


FAIRNESS OF MANUFACTURER'S POLICIES 

AND PROCEDURES – PARTS SALES 

1 Subaru (1) 

2 Honda (5) 





7 Audi (16) 

8 Ford (4) 

9 Acura (14) 


11 Lexus (10) 

12 Toyota (9) 

Industry 



15 Mazda (12) 


17 Volvo (13) 



20 Kia (23) 




24 MINI (22) 

25 BMW (25) 

-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 

-5.04 

-1.11 

-1.40 

0 5 10 15 20 25 

3.02 

4.40 

10.21 

10.16 

10.00 

9.58 

8.55 

7.99 

7.68 

7.09 

6.67 

5.60 

5.47 

5.27 

3.87 

15.08 

14.76 

14.60 

14.56 

14.40 

14.15 

14.11 

12.68 

12.33 

12.65 

12.32 

11.92 

11.92 

11.88 

15.24 

15.12 

14.44 

14.29 

14.28 

12.53 

12.29 

12.28 

12.15 

11.88 

11.84 

11.38 

10.36 

10.00 

9.84 

9.67 

8.87 

8.65 

15 

17.94 

18.24 

Volkswagen 

It comes as no surprise that the controversy surrounding 

Volkswagen in the previous year negatively affected the 

brand’s business and strained their relationship with the 

dealers. It speaks to the brand’s tenacity that after just two 

years the automaker has experienced a return to form in sales. 

A total of 69,634 new vehicles were sold by the manufacturer 

in 2017, a 16.0 percent increase over last year’s trough of 

60,017 units. Customers were not the only ones to regain 

their confidence as the dealers ranked Volkswagen at 

75.1 points in the Overall Opinions Index, moving the 

brand from 25 th in the last edition to 18 th in this year’s survey. 

Dealers gave higher praise in multiple categories but most 

notably commended the value of the franchise increasing 

currently and in the future. Having vehicles that are designed 

to meet the needs of the marketplace was another area where 

Volkswagen received significantly higher praise. 

Kia 

A downward trending passenger car market didn’t slow Kia 

down as the brand realized year over year sales growth and 

the best year in sales since 2012. Kia grew 6.7 percent and 

accumulated a total of 76,504 new vehicle sales in 2017. 

A redesigned Forte bucked the trend with a 33.3 percent 

increase and contributed over 4,000 units to the brand’s 

record run. Dealers were not left out of the festivities as their 

opinion of the brand saw it rise 3.7 points, a three rank 

upgrade over the previous year in the Overall Opinions Index. 

Communications between the dealer and the automaker were 

notably improved, resulting in a 6.2 point increase and an 

accompanying upward movement of five positions. A trend 

that emerged for Kia was the dealers’ positive attitude towards 

their policies and procedures as the brand saw increases in 

all related categories. 

Nissan 

A double digit growth of 10.0 percent helped the brand 

surpass its previous all-time record with a total of 134,244 

new vehicles sold in the past year. Nissan made inroads into 

the burgeoning subcompact SUV segment with the introduction 

of the Qashqai. The new for 2017 model contributed just under 

9,000 units to their year-end total. Despite a successful year 

in sales, Nissan continues a slight downward trend in the DSI, 

moving down a position in the Overall Opinions Index with a 


slight drop of just under one point. Dealers felt communication 

between them and the brand improved but continued to be not 

as satisfied with various aspects of their policies and procedures. 

FAIRNESS OF MANUFACTURER’S POLICIES AND 

PROCEDURES – SERVICE OPERATIONS 

0 5 10 15 20 

Hyundai 

Hyundai has a robust passenger car portfolio, a factor 

that contributed to their overall sales decline in 2017 as 

trends in the market led that side of their business to a 

13.6 percent decline. A total of 130,221 new vehicles were 

sold this past year, down 5.7 percent from the 2016 record 

of 138,162 units sold. The brand is going through somewhat 

of a transition phase, both introducing the Genesis luxury sub 

brand and a number of redesigns to its lineup. Hyundai fell 

half a point in the Overall Opinion Index, dropping from 

20 th to 21 st in the 2017 edition. Dealers noted improvement 

with parts distribution, customer satisfaction policies, and 

field staff support in both service operations and parts sales. 

MINI 

1 Subaru (1) 



4 Audi (6) 


6 Honda (5) 


8 Lexus (15) 


10 Acura (13) 

11 Mazda (7) 

12 Ford (10) 




Industry 

16 Volvo (9) 



19 Kia (23) 





24 MINI (21) 

25 BMW (20) 

17.35 

15.24 

12.79 

12.66 

12.59 

12.56 

12.56 

12.53 

12.13 

12.89 

12.87 

12.72 

11.90 

11.49 

11.15 

10.96 

10.36 

8.85 

8.65 

7.27 

7.18 

6.34 

4.44 

3.76 

3.20 

0.70 

A strong showing from the MINI Countryman was enough 

to propel the brand to a year over year sales growth of 

6.7 percent while the 7,051 new vehicle sales total managed 

to just beat the all-time record of 7,050 units set in 2015. 

The brand dropped a single position in the Overall Opinions 

Index, with a decrease of more than 4.5 points in this year’s 

survey. Of note, the brand dropped two ranks in the Most 

Effective Manufacturer/Dealer Communication chart. Other 

areas that require improvement according to the dealers 

involved the manufacturer’s consideration of their views 

and ease of doing business. 

Infiniti 

The addition of the stylish Q60 to the lineup seemed to resonate 

with customers as the Q50 and Q60 enjoyed a 4.1 percent 

increase in 2017. The 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 that can be found 

in both these cars made the Ward’s 10 Best Engines list for 

the second year in a row. Along with success from their luxury 

crossover offering in the QX60, the brand managed to set a new 

all-time sales record with 12,433 new vehicles sold. While the 

brand did not change rank in the Overall Opinions Index, it was 

down 5 points relative to the previous year. Vehicle distribution 

and new model distribution proved to be pain points for dealers 

this year as Infiniti saw notable declines in these categories. 

WARRANTY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES 

ALLOW EFFICIENT DEALERSHIP OPERATION 

1 Subaru (1) 

2 Acura (4) 


4 Honda (5) 


6 Mazda (6) 





10 Volvo (9) 

12 Audi (13) 

13 Lexus (16) 


15 Ford (12) 

Industry 







22 Kia (23) 


24 BMW (20) -1.86 

25 MINI (25) -2.00 

-5 0 5 10 15 20 

15.29 

12.68 

12.32 

12.92 

12.86 

12.77 

12.55 

12.33 

12.31 

11.43 

11.43 

10.98 

10.88 

10.00 

9.78 

9.41 

8.21 

7.70 

5.94 

5.93 

5.56 

4.96 

4.46 

2.06 


CUSTOMER SATISFACTION POLICIES AND 

PROCEDURES ALLOW EFFICIENT DEALERSHIP OPERATION 

1 Porsche (4) 

1 Subaru (1) 



5 Lincoln (5) 


7 Audi (9) 


9 Acura (14) 

10 Lexus (18) 

11 Ford (13) 

12 Honda (11) 

13 Mazda (6) 

Industry 



16 Volvo (12) 


18 Kia (20) 





23 BMW (17) 

24 MINI (21) 


1 Subaru (2) 


3 Porsche (8) 

FIELD STAFF SUPPORT IN 

VEHICLE SALES 

4 Audi (1) 


6 Acura (10) 

7 Ford (6) 



10 Volvo (7) 



13 Honda (12) 

14 Lexus (3) 



Industry 



19 Mazda (21) 


21 Kia (24) 

22 MINI (17) 


24 BMW (14) 


-5 0 5 10 15 20 

-1.35 

-5 0 5 10 15 20 25 

-1.21 

15.00 

15.00 

12.89 

12.86 

12.69 

12.58 

12.44 

12.22 

11.84 

11.18 

11.06 

10.92 

10.53 

9.10 

8.39 

7.87 

7.86 

7.62 

6.47 

5.80 

5.21 

4.44 

2.33 

1.86 

0.40 

17.06 

16.43 

16.25 

15.85 

15.71 

14.21 

14.11 

12.11 

12.00 

12.86 

12.71 

12.65 

12.62 

12.06 

11.54 

11.25 

11.12 

10.35 

10.00 

9.26 

9.23 

8.92 

8.00 

6.30 

5.58 

BMW 

An all new 5-series was the darling of the brand as it raked in 

numerous awards and accolades. Alongside the refreshed X1, 

these two models have been the major drivers for sales growth 

for the brand which has seen one of its best years ever with 

38,562 vehicles sold. While this represented a healthy 1.4% 

increase over the previous year, the dealer body indicated 

having more challenges with the brand this year which placed 

BMW well under the overall industry average. A 12 point drop 

saw BMW fall to the second last rank in the Overall Opinions 

Index while an almost 16 point drop saw it fall to second last in 

Dealer/Manufacturer Communications. Field support stood out 

as a more significant issue in this year’s DSI Survey. 

FCA 

While the 4C marked the return of Alfa Romeo into the 

Canadian market last year, this year saw FCA push the brand 

out in full force with the Giulia and Stelvio models. FCA as 

a whole did not manage to outperform their previous record 

and were down 3.7 percent for the year. New vehicle sales 

for the brand totalled 267,052 units with Ram acting as the 

sales highlight for the company as it realized a 10.6 percent 

growth. Despite being the third largest automaker in the sales 

market there is clearly room for improvement as dealers rated 

FCA the last out of 25 brands in the Overall Opinions Index. 

Effective Manufacturer/Dealer Communication was a notable 

point of contention for dealers as they ranked it 25 points 

below the industry average and 10 points below the next 

lowest rated brand in the survey. 



SERVICE OPERATIONS 

The results show that 

manufacturers continue 

to use the DSI data to 

improve their relationship 

with the dealer. Eleven 

brands are above an 

85 point valuation on the 

Overall Opinions Index, 

an astonishing result 

that we couldn’t be more 

pleased with. 

1 Subaru (1) 



4 Audi (7) 


6 Lexus (2) 


8 Ford (6) 

9 Acura (11) 


11 Toyota (8) 

12 Honda (14) 



15 Volvo (12) 

Industry 




19 Kia (16) 

20 Mazda (20) 



23 BMW (17) 

24 MINI (24) 


0 5 10 15 20 25 

1.60 

1.42 

6.55 

5.56 

4.42 

12.69 

12.56 

13.42 

12.32 

12.80 

12.31 

12.13 

11.89 

11.43 

11.34 

11.15 

10.31 

10.00 

9.86 

9.26 

17.50 

17.14 

16.43 

16.34 

16.25 

16.18 

— Tim Ryan, 

CADA Vice-President & Director, 

Industry Relations & General Counsel 

1 Subaru (2) 




PARTS SALES 

4 Audi (9) 

5 Lexus (1) 

6 Acura (11) 


8 Ford (6) 




12 Toyota (8) 

13 Honda (14) 


15 Volvo (13) 


Industry 


18 Kia (17) 




22 Mazda (16) 

23 BMW (18) 


25 MINI (25) 

0 5 10 15 20 

2.91 

2.00 

4.19 

6.20 

5.56 

5.53 

8.32 

9.69 

9.64 

12.95 

12.66 

12.56 

12.43 

12.13 

12.89 

12.44 

12.36 

11.80 

11.43 

11.15 

11.12 

17.21 

16.67 

16.43 

16.34 

15.88 


Canadian Automobile Dealers Association 

123 Commerce Valley Drive East, Suite 303, 

Thornhill, ON L3T 7W8 

(905) 940-4959 • 1 (800) 463-5289 

www.cada.ca

2017 DSI Survey

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?