As in past years, the outdoor power equipment manufacturers as a group were ranked higher than their major line, shortline and tractor manufacturer counterparts. With a total mean score of 5.79, Grasshopper was the topped ranked outdoor power equipment (OPE) manufacturer in this year’s North American Equipment Dealers Assn. (NAEDA) Dealer-Manufacturer Relations Survey. Gold Level honors were given to Bad Boy, Echo, Exmark, Scag, Shindaiwa, Walker and Wright Manufacturing. Tractor manufacture Branson took home Dealers Choice in that category and Kioti and Yanmar also received Gold Level awards.
NAEDA’s survey allows North American dealers to rate up to 7 manufacturers they carry and collects data on their experience in 11 categories including product quality, availability and technical support; parts availability, quality and return policy; communication, warranty, marketing/advertising support; and overall satisfaction. Respondents rate manufacturers on a scale from 1-7, where 1 is “extremely dissatisfied” and 7 is “extremely satisfied.”
The 2022 report contains a list of 61 manufacturers that received the minimum number of dealer ratings required to be included in the report, including full-line manufacturers, tractor manufacturers, shortline manufacturers and OPE manufacturers. Coverage of the full-line and tractor manufacturers can be found on Farm-Equipment.com.
It is important to note that the survey results were only representative of a snapshot of dealers’ thoughts in early 2022, with the potential for results to “change relatively quickly due to a number of external factors or situations,” according to NAEDA.
Dealer’s Choice Awards
Full-Line Mfr.: Kubota Canada
Tractor Mfr.: Branson Tractor
Shortline Mfr.: Meyer Mfg.
Outdoor Power Equipment Mfr.: Grasshopper Mowers
OPE vs. All Manufacturers
Over the years, dealer ratings overall, as well as for individual manufacturers, can generally be classified as “satisfied,” which would include somewhat satisfied, satisfied or extremely satisfied. In some years, as happened in 2022, there are outliers to this trend in the Product Availability category due to supply chain and wholegoods product shortages.
According to NAEDA, most dealers are understanding of the problems but many comments suggest that manufacturers need to do a better job of communicating order status and availability.
The chart below shows that across the board, dealers were satisfied with their manufactures in all categories. As noted above, the highest level of dissatisfaction came in the Product Availability category, which is no surprise given the ongoing supply chain issues that have impacted OEM production. That said, the percentage of OPE dealers who were satisfied was still higher than those who were dissatisfied. That was not the case for Product Availability for the tractor manufacturers or full line manufacturers.
The OPE manufacturers average score in 2022 was a 5.24; above the average of 5.06 for all manufactures but down from the OPE average of 5.52 in 2021.
While the OPE manufacturers saw their average scores drop across all categories vs. 2021, the group still outperformed the averages for all manufacturers across the board, which is often the case.
Grasshopper Jumps Ahead
Scores in general were down for OPE manufacturers in 2022, with all but two manufacturers — Bad Boy and Dixie Chopper — recording their lowest average mean score in 5 years in 2022.
Last year, Grasshopper finished somewhere in the middle of the OPE pack based on average mean score with a 5.94. The mower manufacturer’s average mean score was actually lower this year at 5.79, and the lowest it’s been over the last 5 years.
In the last 5 years, Grasshopper’s highest average mean score was a 6.04 in 2019. Grasshopper finished just ahead of Scag (5.78), which also saw its lowest score in 5 years.
Grasshopper snagged highest scores in 3 categories: Product Availability (4.98), Product Quality (6.31) and Product Technical Support (6.11). Grasshopper saw 2022 scores improve over 2021 in 3 categories — Product Technical Support (6.11 vs. 6.04 in 2021), Warranty Procedures (5.80 vs. 5.77) and Warranty Payments (5.76 vs. 5.64).
2022 Dealer-Manufacturer Relations Report
With 90 pages of data and charts, the 2022 Dealer-Manufacturer Relations Report is available to all NAEDA dealer members and to participating manufacturers. Manufacturers may also obtain data that includes company breakouts by region and their individual dealers’ comments. For more information, contact Joe Dykes at JDykes@EquipmentDealer.org.
Scag, which earned a Gold Level Award, had top scores in 3 categories as well, including tying with Grasshopper at 6.11 for Product Technical Support. Its other top scores were for Parts Availability (5.91) and Parts Quality (6.32). Scag only saw an improved score in Parts Quality (6.32 vs. 6.31), and all other categories saw drops vs. 2021.
Walker, another Gold Level Award winner, followed Scag in 3rd based on average mean score (5.69), but had the highest number of top scores at 6. Walker was ranked the highest by its dealers in Return Privileges (5.61), Communication with Management (5.78), Warranty Procedures (5.97), Warranty Payments (5.94), Marketing & Advertising Support (5.70) and Manufacturer Response to Dealer Needs/Concerns (5.70).
Declining Scores
While the OPE category saw declining scores as whole as noted above, Honda and Stihl have seen their scores declining over the last 5 years. Honda scores have dropped consecutively from 5.57 in 2017 to 4.65 in 2022, a decline of 16.5%. Stihl’s scores have either dropped or remained unchanged year-over-year since 2017, dropping 11.9% from 6.06 in 2017 to 5.34 in 2022.
Since first appearing on the report in 2020, Billy Goat has only seen declines. Its 2022 score of 4.88 was an 11.8% decline from the 5.53 it scored in 2020. Honda had been seeing score declines since well before the pandemic, dropping consecutively from 5.57 in 2017 to 4.65 in 2022, a decline of 16.5%. Stihl’s scores have either dropped or remained unchanged year-over-year since 2017, dropping 11.9% from 6.06 in 2017 to 5.34 in 2022.
Source: NAEDA Dealer-Manufacturer Relations Report
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