Results of NMDA’s Dealer Attitude Survey, Spring 2024 edition

The National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) represents franchised motorcycle retailers in the UK. The sector serves the UK’s 1.4 million riders, accounting for approximately 5,000 per constituency.

NMDA’s Dealer Attitude Survey (DAS) is a twice-yearly survey which gauges the relationship between franchised motorcycle retailers and manufacturers across the UK. It serves as a crucial indicator for understanding the complex dynamics between these retailers and their manufacturers.

The Spring 2024 edition of the survey was conducted throughout June, with dealerships responding to questions about key aspects of their business relationship with their respective motorcycle manufacturers. The survey received a response rate of 26% [1], down from 29% in the previous edition and representing a decrease of –3%. The survey results included data from 9 manufacturing brands. Although Lexmoto participated, their responses did not meet the minimum threshold required for inclusion in the final results.

 

The Spring 2024 DAS saw all questions score lower than the previous edition, with 5.0 being the average overall manufacturer rating across the survey’s questions, a –1.3 fall in rating from the Spring 2023 edition’s score of 6.3. Additionally, this edition saw the introduction of two new questions.

The survey is organised into various sections covering a diverse range of topics and pressing industry issues. NMDA has once again collaborated with Metryx for this edition, ensuring the data is presented clearly and concisely.

“The National Motorcycle Dealers Association is delighted to announce the release of our Spring 2024 Dealer Attitude Survey. On this edition, we are pleased to continue our partnership with data analytics firm, Metryx, who have presented the data in a clear and concise manner whilst also providing storyboards detailing noticeable trends across several editions of the NMDA DAS. This survey offers an in-depth overview of satisfaction levels within the motorcycle retail sector, focusing on key business areas that impact relationships with manufacturers.”

The NMDA DAS revealed dealership satisfaction with the value of holding their franchise averaged 5.0 points out of 10, a -1.3 drop from the 6.3 average in the Spring 2023 edition.

Honda claimed top spot with a score of 7.44, with BMW (7.42) not too far behind and Suzuki (6.5) rounding off the top three.

Piaggio Group (1.8), Harley-Davidson (3.2) and Kawasaki (3.8) received the three lowest ratings.

Honda was the only manufacturer to increase their overall satisfaction rating, an increase of 16%.

Dealers were queried on satisfaction in regard to their profit return by representing their respective franchise. Dealer satisfaction appears to have dropped with an average score of 2.1 in this edition, a –0.8 decline from the Spring 2023 edition.

Honda (3.2) scored top whilst Suzuki (2.6) and Triumph (2.4) came second and third respectively. Piaggio Group (1.3), Harley-Davidson (1.6) and Kawasaki (1.9) made up the bottom three scoring manufacturer brands.

When looking at future profitability, dealer satisfaction also appears to be pessimistic with an average score of 2.4, down from 3.1 in the Spring 2023 edition, a –0.7 decrease. This is the lowest average score for this question when looking through several editions dating back to the Autumn 2019 NMDA DAS, underscoring concerns about dealers' ability to achieve future profits.

Honda and Suzuki were joint top in this question with a score of 3.3 while BMW followed behind with a score of 2.6. Harley-Davidson received the lowest score with 1.6.

Following last edition’s poor scoring on electric vehicle (EV) topics, this position has seemingly appeared to worsen with clear concerns across product range, training and ultimately return on investment.

Two new EV questions were included in this edition and were among the lowest scoring in the survey:

Notably in both questions all manufacturers scored poorly.

Dealers were also queried on the electric products their manufacturer currently offers, and this question saw a drop of –0.2 from 2.3 in the Spring 2023 edition to 2.1 in this edition. Triumph (5.0) received the highest score whilst Harley-Davidson and Piaggio Group received the joint lowest scores, both receiving 1.7.

Symon Cook continued: “2024 has been a challenging trading environment for the motorcycle sector. Poor weather and high interest rates have led to year-to-date registrations, as of June, being down 0.7% when compared to the previous year. There is a strong correlation between slow registrations and lower typical scores in the NMDA DAS.

“Congratulations to Honda, who have surged from seventh position in the Spring 2023 edition of the NMDA DAS to become the overall winner in this edition.

“This edition of the survey saw all questions scoring lower than the previous edition including in key areas such as profitability and electric. There clearly remains uncertainty amongst franchised dealers during what has proven to be a challenging financial climate. It is crucial for manufacturers and retailers to maintain a mutually beneficial partnership and utilise the survey responses to identify areas that may require improvement.

“The NMDA DAS remains an essential resource for the motorcycle industry, offering crucial insights into the challenges and opportunities encountered by dealerships while highlighting the overall health of the sector.”

Find the full NMDA Dealer Attitude Survey Spring 2024 HERE!

Dealer Attitude Survey – Spring 2024 FULL REPORT: https://www.nfda-uk.co.uk/downloads/NMDA-DAS-Spring-2024.pdf

[1] - National response rate has been calculated using Total responses received / Total network sites - this is different from prior years where the average of brand response rates % were used.