EUROPEAN AUTOMOTIVE DEALERS’ SATISFACTION TO NEW MANUFACTURER CONTRACTS VARIES LARGELY. INCENTIVES EXPECTED TO RISE.

European automotive dealers are in general happy with new contracts with OEMs. Only two percent of the dealers show dissatisfaction. Premium dealers are the most satisfied of all. The attitude towards service contracts mirrors that one of the overall agreements. However, the new SGS survey on Automotive Dealers Satisfaction with the new Contracts, Standards and Bonus Schemes revealed that there are substantial differences how dealers rate the contracts between the lowest and highest performing OEMs. The study, conducted during March-April among more than 1’300 automotive dealers covering seventeen brands in France, Germany, Italy and the UK, also sheds a very consistent light on insights and expectations on the level of bonuses and incentives: These are still assumed to be too low in relation to market needs and are expected to rise further across almost all brands. “With the help of the data, manufacturers can gain insights in their competitive positioning regarding the dealer satisfaction with the new contracts, standards and bonus schemes”, says Roland Gagel, SGS Global Sector Manager, Automotive and initiator of the study. “While SGS will not reveal the brand-specific results to the public, each OEM will get a mind-opening picture on where they stand by looking at their own specific data.” Concerning the requirements for future improvements, most of the dealers interviewed in the research indicated that the bonus and incentive administration needs to be further simplified. “The level of satisfaction in this area is only at half compared with that of warranty administration”, concludes Gagel referring to the 2012 international SGS research on Dealer Satisfaction with Warranty and Policy Administration. European Block Exemption On June 1 2013, the new European Union Block Exemption Regulation (BER) for the Automotive Segment got into effect. Almost all manufacturers have used this opportunity to review the contacts with their franchised dealers and authorized repairers (AR). Although the changes in many contracts are not as significant as expected many years ago when the BER was announced, there are plenty of discussions in the public and among dealerships about the impact of the new regulation on the contractual relation between the manufacturers /National sales companies on one side and the dealers/ AR on the other. About the SGS Survey SGS conducted a survey among more than 1300 dealers for the 17 main brands of Europe, in Germany, France, and Italy and in the UK, the four largest markets in Europe. The objective was to understand the dealer satisfaction with the new contracts, standards and bonus schemes within the contractual relation to the vehicle manufacturers. Partnering with a renowned market research company conducting the survey in March and April 2013, SGS can support the manufacturer to gain insights in their competitive positioning regarding the dealer satisfaction with the new contracts. The study results, except the brand-specific data, are published in a complimentary white paper ‘European Dealer Satisfaction Survey: Contracts, Standards and Sales Incentives’, available at www.sgs.com/whitepapers. # # # About SGS SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognised as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 75’000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1’500 offices and laboratories around the world. Partnering with SGS opens the door to better performing processes, increasingly skilful talent, consistent and compliant supply chains and more sustainable customer relationships delivering profitable competitive advantage. Work with the global leader and take your commitment to the next level. We have a history of undertaking and successfully executing large-scale, complex international projects across diverse industries, including the automotive sector. With a presence in every single region around the globe, our people speak the language and understand the culture of the local market, and we operate globally in a consistent, reliable and effective manner. For more details, please contact: Roland Gagel – Global Sector Manager Automotive roland.gagel@sgs.com +49-6128-74873812 Oliver Haupt – Senior Business Analyst oliver.haupt@sgs.com +49-6128-74873810 Jason Edmonds – Development Consultant for the Automotive Sector Jason.Edmonds@sgs.com +44 (0) 1276 697 631

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