All major automakers improve supplier relations in historic industry shift

Toyota, Honda, General Motors, Nissan, Ford and Stellantis all posted better supplier relationship scores in Plante Moran’s 2026 North American Automotive OEM-Supplier Working Relations Index, the first time in the survey’s 26-year history that every major automaker improved at once. The result points to a notable change in tone across a sector still wrestling with tariffs, electric vehicle cost recovery disputes and persistent logistics volatility.

Toyota kept the top spot...

with 409 points, becoming the first company to break the 400-point barrier since 2007. Honda moved up to second on 360 points after a 13-point gain and entered the index’s “good to very good” range. General Motors added eight points to reach a record 318, while Nissan rose six points to 255. Ford recorded the biggest year-on-year jump, up 32 points to 223, and Stellantis remained bottom of the group despite improving by 22 points to 163.

Plante Moran said the findings ran counter to expectations in an industry defined by uncertainty. Angela Johnson, the firm’s principal and supplier relations analytics leader, told Automotive Logistics that the data were so unexpected they were checked repeatedly. She said suppliers reported less frustration and less blame-shifting than in previous years, with many placing greater value on responsiveness, accessibility and clear communication.

That shift is reflected in the sheer volume of feedback behind the study. Plante Moran said it gathered more than 10,000 supplier comments, compared with about 2,800 in the prior edition. Suppliers increasingly rewarded automakers for taking meetings, answering calls, listening to concerns and being transparent when price disputes or programme delays proved difficult to resolve.

Tariffs and EV-related cost pressures continued to shape perceptions of fairness, but the study suggests suppliers are no longer judging automakers solely on whether every dispute is settled in their favour. Instead, the willingness to engage early and often has become a more important marker of a healthy relationship.

Toyota and Honda again scored best on fairness and transparency in tariff negotiations, underscoring the strength of their long-established supplier management models. General Motors was praised for its speed of response and openness to concerns, even as some suppliers said the company’s resilience efforts created extra operational demands. Ford and Stellantis also earned credit for being more accessible and proactive, with Johnson attributing part of Ford’s progress to supply chain chief Liz Door and the company’s two-way supplier scorecard.

The study also examined the views of North America’s 50 largest suppliers and found that Japanese automakers continued to outperform Detroit rivals on trust, communication and profitability opportunities. Toyota, Honda and Nissan all scored above their overall averages in that sample, while GM, Ford and Stellantis came in below theirs.

Johnson said the gap reflects deep-rooted corporate habits rather than short-term performance alone. In her view, Detroit’s supplier ties have historically been more combative, while Japanese manufacturers built systems around trust and mutual respect. Such organisational memory, she said, can take decades to shift.

Plante Moran identified six traits behind stronger OEM-supplier relationships: commercial fairness, consistency, clear expectations, communication, continuity and collaboration. In a market many analysts now describe as a “permacrisis”, the study suggests suppliers are placing a premium on partners that can work through disruption rather than merely transfer costs.

As Johnson put it, working together remains the most practical route through the industry’s latest set of pressures.

Source: Noah Wire Services