WALTHAM, Mass. -

New ways of calculating dealer’s scores will intensify competition for the Dealer of the Year Award from DealerRater, the company has announced, beginning with the 2015 awards.

In this annual program, DealerRater recognizes a select group of car dealerships in the U.S. and Canada for outstanding customer satisfaction as expressed through consumer reviews posted on DealerRater’s website for the previous calendar year.

The new criteria for the 2015 DealerRater Dealer of the Year Award Program will include the following:

—Average minimum star rating of 4.0 on DealerRater, calculated quarterly, with 5.0 as the highest possible rating

—Minimum of 25 reviews on DealerRater for the 2014 calendar year

—At least one review on DealerRater per quarter during the 2014 calendar year

The Dealer of the Year Awards are given to car dealerships that have the highest PowerScore in their brand category, both at national and state/provincial levels.

For the 2015 awards, each dealership’s PowerScore will be calculated using a Bayesian algorithm, the company reported, that considers the dealership’s average DealerRater star rating now calculated quarterly as opposed to a monthly calculation in prior years, as well as the total number of reviews written about the dealership during the calendar year.

“With the planned changes to the 2015 program, we expect more dealers to become eligible for the Dealer of the Year Awards,” said Chip Grueter, president at DealerRater.

“Having zero reviews in one particular month will no longer put a dealership out of the running, as they will be able to make up for that zero score during the quarter. We look forward to an intensified competition next year.”

In addition to the changes in award criteria, DealerRater also plans to introduce quarterly reporting tools during 2014 on the company’s Dealer Panel account management hub, to enable DealerRater Certified Dealers to track their Dealer of the Year Award eligibility and performance throughout the year.

For more information, visit DealerRater at the 2014 NADA & ATD Convention and Expo, Jan. 24-27 in New Orleans, where the company will announce the winners of the 2014 Dealer of the Year Awards.