WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -

J.D. Power and Associates recently released its 2012 Canadian Dealer Financing Satisfaction Study and highlighted one lender that took two of the lending categories included in the report.

The study looked at Canadian dealer satisfaction in retail leasing services, prime retail credit service, subprime retail credit services and floor planning services, and found that Mercedes-Benz Financial Services had the highest satisfaction score in two of those categories: prime retail credit (958 out of 1,000) and retail leasing (950).

Meanwhile, Ford Credit Canada led the way in floor planning satisfaction with a score of 933. Given the small sample size, J.D. Power does not publish the category leader for subprime.

Overall, J.D. Power discovered that dealer financing satisfaction with banks jumped from 847 a year ago to 872 this time around. Meanwhile, dealer satisfaction with captives jumped from 833 to 840.

Discussing the bank element in more detail, officials noted: “While satisfaction with banks is increasing, so is the volume of business dealers are sending their way. Banks’ share of the dealer financing business has increased to 60.5 percent in 2012, up 4.7 percent from 2011.”

Citing its data from its Power Information Network, they shared that market share for captives is now at 36.3 percent, a 1.5-percent year-over-year decrease.

Offering some more commentary to better illustrate this data Lubo Li — the senior director and financial services practice leader at J.D Power, Toronto — noted: “Auto lending is a very competitive market, and we’re finding that more dealers this year are using multiple providers, particularly bank providers, than in 2011.

“Banks are continuously improving their offerings and improving the dealer lending experience. This is putting competitive pressure on all automotive lenders to focus on providing outstanding service to dealers in order to maintain or grow their share of the business,” Li continued.

Analysts went on to point out that all four categories (prime retail credit, retail leasing, floor planning and subprime retail credit) have shown improvements in dealer satisfaction.

Leading the charge has been the subprime retail credit segment, which climbed 61 index points to 827 this year. The floor planning segment jumped from 851 to 889, while prime retail credit climbed 18 points to 859. Retail leasing jumped 29 points to 834.

Interestingly enough, it was shown that “the helpfulness of credit staff and their responsiveness to questions” was a key driver in all four areas.

“Few lenders will be able to sustain, not to mention grow, their vehicle financing business without taking care of the dealers," said Li. "Simply meeting dealer expectations with product offerings is not enough. Developing a rapport with the dealer, understanding their needs and responding accordingly, is what creates dealer loyalty, which in turn increases revenue potential through increases in future business for the lender.”

Editor’s Note: Stay tuned to Cherokee Automotive Group’s stable of e-newsletters for additional insight into the Canadian vehicle financing market, as well as additional metrics on Canada’s overall used-car business.