Toyota, alongside affiliate brands Lexus and Hino, bagged three major awards at the 2023 National Automobile Dealers' Association (NADA) Dealer Satisfaction Index (DSI) Awards. For the second consecutive year, Toyota and Hino walked away with platinum awards, with Lexus being awarded Gold. An excellent barometer of dealer sentiment towards their respective OEMs, the survey touches on a wide range of interactions between the parties with the main focus areas being franchise value and automaker policy decisions that directly impact the dealership. Highlights from this year's survey:

• 34 independently researched brands participated. In total 1,362 responses were received, 1,181 of these responses were received from Passenger/Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) dealerships.
• Just two brands, of which Toyota is one, achieved Platinum status (85% and above) in the Passenger/LCV segment.
• Hino is the only commercial vehicle brand to achieve Platinum status in 2023.
• Hino achieved the highest overall satisfaction for the 6th consecutive year.

Leon Theron, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Toyota South Africa Motors, says: “It's truly gratifying to receive recognition like this, especially when you consider the tough trading conditions we're up against. Toyota has just come out of a natural disaster which wiped out three months' worth of local production. Then like everyone else we've had to contend with limited stock due to the microchip shortage, not to mention the current economic crisis where soaring interest rates and strained personal finances are the order of the day. Despite all of this, our dealers have risen to the occasion and not just got through, but they have excelled, achieving record sales in 2023.” Theron added that the success is directly attributable to teamwork: “This is not just a vote of confidence in our brands, it's an acknowledgement of all the hard work undertaken by every single member of the team including the dealers; Toyota, Hino and Lexus management and staff - especially the field staff - as well as those serving on the dealer advisory councils and dealer councils. Thank you!” Ends.