Lexus secured top spot in the Winter 2026 National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) Dealer Attitude Survey, as Mercedes-Benz and Kia follow close behind.
Lexus emerged as the top franchise in the UK for retailers once more. The Japanese brand secured 1st place, with 9.3 points, edging out Mercedes-Benz by 0.1.
Sue Robinson, Chief Executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), said: “The Winter 2026 Dealer Attitude Survey shows a general positive turnaround in dealer sentiment, with the majority of metrics showing a marked improvement over the scores compiled in the Summer 2025 edition. The national average manufacturer rating increased by +0.3 points to 6.9 out of 10, showing a stabilizing trend across the network.
“It is encouraging to note that vehicle supply metrics improved by +8.3%, leading to significant increases in dealer satisfaction regarding new car volume targets. However, dealers continue to express concerns regarding profitability. Dealership return on capital, financial support from manufacturers, and current profit returns remain among the lowest scoring questions in the survey.
“Furthermore, our new metric evaluating dealer confidence in meeting electric vehicle targets highlights significant network anxiety under current market conditions. While some pure-play or advanced electric line-ups scored highly, the pace of current volume targets remains a friction point across many established networks. NFDA will continue to work closely with manufacturers to address these operational and profitability challenges.”
New survey entrants and rising brands also landed in the top ten, including Omoda (8.8), Leapmotor (8.7). The top ten also included Land Rover (8.7), and Suzuki (8.5).
The lowest overall manufacturer rating was Seat, scoring 3.4 out of 10, with a further fall decline since the last Dealer Attitude Survey.
The Winter 2026 edition of the survey was carried out over six weeks, garnering responses from 2,511 sites across 34 franchised networks.
