Chrysler parent Stellantis has the worst working relations with North American automotive suppliers of six major automakers, according to a closely watched annual study of supplier perceptions.

While all six automakers — Toyota, Honda, General Motors, Ford, Nissan and Stellantis — maintained their positions relative to their competitors in Plante Moran’s 22nd annual North American Automotive OEM-Supplier Working Relations Index Study, Stellantis saw the most significant shift, plunging 42 points to 128 on the 0-to-400-point index.

Toyota, the top performer, dropped 2 points to 345. Honda rose 18 points to 334, GM fell 2 points to 287, Ford dropped 7 points to 242 and Nissan increased 8 points to 219, according to a news release.

The study surveyed 673 salespeople from 436 Tier 1 suppliers, representing 41 of the top 50 North American suppliers. The results include data from 2,226 buying situations, such as brake systems for Ford, tires for Toyota and seats for GM, the release said.

The state of automaker and supplier relations is important to average car buyers, according to Dave Andrea, principal in Plante Moran’s Strategy and Automotive and Consulting Practice, not just for bragging rights. Suppliers provide much of the content in every new vehicle.

“When you think about that the supply base provides 70% plus or minus of the value of a vehicle, it’s incredibly important from the standpoint of what technologies are in those vehicles, what the cost of those technologies are, what the quality of those are,” Andrea said. “When you look at the value chain, the supply base is creating the new innovations, the new software and really driving the cost of the vehicles, because ... 60-70% of the value of the vehicle is produced by the supply chain.”

The past year, with supply chain disruptions and the lingering headaches from the coronavirus pandemic, has been hard on the auto industry, and that’s caused tension between some automakers and their suppliers, creating a cost, Andrea said. The shift toward electrification potentially adds even more tension in the years ahead.

“If you’re adding friction to the value chain of where you get 60-70% of the value ... I would contend you’re not going to have long-term profitability,” he said.

Trust, communication and timely resolution of issues are some of the areas that affect the relationship and the study results.

The study also asks how the suppliers would likely be rated by the automaker, and the results show the most alignment with the higher-ranked automakers. For Toyota, for instance, the gap in perception is smallest, Andrea said.

Toyota consistently does well across issues. Honda, which saw the most improvement from last year, registered an increase in trust and more flexibility to deal with quality and cost-reduction issues, areas that show that the purchasing and engineering departments are working together. GM, which dipped slightly, had improved dramatically the prior year, and Andrea said that it's not surprising to see a slight pullback given the sheer number of supply chain issues and the push on electrification.

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Ford dropped a bit more than GM, and Andrea said that reflected a lack of consistency with some islands of improvement. One positive thing for Ford was a reduction in late engineering changes, which can add considerably to cost.

Jeff Morrison, GM’s vice president of Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, said suppliers helped the company weather a challenging year.

“The ongoing support and commitment of our suppliers has been key in helping us manage the unprecedented number of challenges that have impacted the global industry this past year, and I would like to thank and acknowledge the supply base for their collaboration,” Morrison said in a statement. “The consistent survey results validate our commitment to building stronger supplier relationships through high levels of trust and transparency. This will be instrumental as we build a resilient, secure, scalable and sustainable supply chain to support our EV growth moving forward.”

Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said the company, which also owns the Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands, would not comment on the study.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has spoken more directly than many of his counterparts about strained relations with suppliers in light of the semiconductor shortage where automakers were forced to limit vehicle production because of a lack of chip supply.

Andrea said some of the issues that developed between Stellantis and its suppliers relate to the merger that created the automaker last year from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot maker PSA Group.

In trying to create one company from two, efforts at streamlining can lead to turnover and less clarity inside the organization about vehicle programs and where suppliers fit in the automaker’s business plan, Andrea said.

In recent weeks, the automaker has, however, made some moves that relate directly to its suppliers.

Stellantis earlier this month appointed Maxime Picat, currently chief operating officer for the automaker's European operations and a member of its top executive team, as chief purchasing and supply chain officer, effective June 1.

Stellantis also notably reversed course recently on its implementation in North America this year of new global terms and conditions for the automaker’s purchasing organization.

Suppliers had balked at terms that “could have forced North American suppliers to reduce prices whenever they achieve any cost savings and remain locked into unfavorable contracts for as long the automaker wanted,” according to Automotive News.

Tinson, on Saturday, provided a letter to suppliers from Martin Horneck, head of Purchasing and Supply Chain for Stellantis-North America, whichsaid the company would reinstate its 2021 FCA terms and conditions in North America, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2022.

“As we’ve worked through this process, and heard your feedback, we understand that each region has unique attributes related to the business in that region, and that those attributes cannot be ignored,” according to Horneck’s letter. “We appreciate your input and feedback into this process. We will work to continue to align with our supply base and aim for continued success for our respective organizations.”

Andrea said the study results reinforce the wisdom of reinstating the FCA terms and conditions for North America.

“It’s a two-way street,” Andrea said of automaker/supplier relations. “You get out of a relationship what you put into a relationship.”

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence. Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Chrysler parent Stellantis ranks lowest on study of supplier relations