Kia UK toppled premium Japanese brand Lexus’ seven-survey stint at the top of the National Franchised Dealers Association’s (NFDA) Dealer Attitude Survey Winter 2022/2023.

The Korean brand, which delivered a record 100,000 registrations and launched a new corporate identity for its showrooms in 2022, scored 9.3-out-of-10 in the bi-annual survey’s crucial ‘how would you rate your manufacturer overall?’ question.

Lexus scored 9.2 as Mini, which is expected to roll-out direct-to-consumer agency model retail in 2024, jumped four places in the rankings to finish third with a score up 0.6pts at 8.8.

Mercedes-Benz slipped out of the top three, with a score down 0.3pts, in a period in which it finalised preparations for the launch of its own agency model strategy from January 1.

Stellantis brands continued to populate the NFDA survey’s bottom rankings as it too makes preparations to introduce agency model retail after a six-month delay to implementation.