Press

Infiniti stores outperformed all brands in a study on prospect satisfaction, while Tesla lagged all brands.

The 2016 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index is based on the treatment of mystery shoppers who visited 6,157 stores in the U.S. between July 2015 and June 2016.

Lexus and Mercedes-Benz stores tied for second behind Infiniti, followed by Toyota, Audi and BMW.

Porsche, Land Rover and Mitsubishi had the biggest year-over-year improvements. Just two brands, Mini and Tesla, saw their scores decline from last year.

The lowest-ranked brands, starting from the bottom, were Tesla, Volvo, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Jeep and Chevrolet.

Salesperson behaviors that stood out among brands that rose the most in the rankings over the last 10 years include mentioning the availability of different financing and lease options; asking about reasons preventing purchase; and discussing features that are unique from competitors.

Reasons Tesla scored poorly: It was among the bottom three brands in terms of staffers mentioning financing and leasing options and asking about reasons that were preventing a purchase.