Chery has bagged its third consecutive Gold Award in the annual NADA Dealer Satisfaction Index (DSI), giving it a perfect run since first opening its doors in South Africa.
The company was one of only seven brands to achieve Gold status and arguably the only brand that has been able to maintain this top-tier status throughout its existence.
The National Automotive Dealers Association’s (NADA) Dealer Satisfaction Index (DSI) Report (known as the NADA DSI) is a very important barometer of brand health. It evaluates more than a thousand dealers’ honest (and anonymous) opinions of the brand(s) that they work with.
“It is not a well-known fact that Chery does not have its own dealerships.
“Rather, we work in partnership with large and small businesses that own a Chery franchise to offer the best range of products and the highest quality of service to our customers.
“So, for us to offer a Gold Standard level of service and sales support, we have to have a strong and healthy relationship with our dealers,” says Jay Jay Botes, General Manager of Chery South Africa.
This year, the NADA DSI included 35 vehicle brands and collated responses from 1 481 dealers. The research is conducted by independent research group Lightstone, which also compiles the vehicle sales numbers for the auto industry business council, NAAMSA.
The different brands were awarded points in the following key areas: Dealer Satisfaction; Communication & Relationships; Used Cars; CSI Programme; Vehicle Range; Media Support; Vehicle Distribution; Parts; Goodwill, Policy Claims & Warranty; Franchise Compliance Audits; Dealer Support; Labour Rates, and Dealer Target Setting.
“While there is always room for improvement, it is worth noting that Chery outperformed its Chinese peers in virtually every criterion and especially in key metrics such as the media and marketing support to dealers, the range and pricing of our vehicles, our support of communities and charitable causes and our general communication with dealer partners,” says Botes.
For its customers, the Chery accolade comes as no surprise. Its Tiggo Pro range of SUVs have become top sellers in their various categories, and the Tiggo 4 Pro range is hands down one of the top-selling passenger vehicles in South Africa.
Chery has continued to sharpen its offering in the highly contested compact SUV market in which the Tiggo 4 Pro competes.
As proof, the Tiggo 4 Pro range now includes the LiT, starting at R279 900. The Tiggo 4 Pro LiT is a perfect entry to the brand for buyers looking for a new vehicle that offers the good value for their hard-earned rands.
The nameplate also recently added a slick-shifting dual-clutch transmission (DCT) in response to customer feedback. This model not only offers great fuel efficiency, but also the much-loved vrrpah-shifting of a sporty direct-shift gearbox.
“We would like to thank all our dealers for supporting Chery from day one. We will remain responsive to their needs and those of our shared customers.
“That is why we did not follow the standard practice of waiting for a couple of years until our service levels to dealers were perfect before participating in the NADA DSI survey. We opened our books to NADA from day one and are using the anonymous feedback from dealers to improve every area of our business,” says Botes.