- J.D. Power’s Brand Loyalty Study shows Ford, Honda, Lexus, Porsche, and Toyota have the highest shares of loyal customers in the U.S.
- That’s across five categories of premium and mass-market cars or SUVs, plus trucks
- Toyota and Honda customers are going for hybrids, while Lexus’ residual value works in its favour
Ford, Honda, Lexus, Porsche, and Toyota have grown their shares of loyal customers in the U.S. in their respective segments, while other brands are pretty much staying where they are, according to J.D. Power. That’s the takeaway from the company’s 2024 U.S. Automotive Brand Loyalty Study, now in its sixth year. The study looks at whether owners purchased the same brand after they’d traded in their existing vehicles, of all model years, to get new ones at franchised dealerships.
The study looks at the highest percentage of same-brand purchases across five segments of premium car, premium SUV, mass-market car, mass-market SUV, and truck.
“Amid ongoing inventory shortages, the most loyal customers actually stayed out of the market if they were unable to get their desired vehicle,” said Tyson Jominy, J.D. Power’s vice-president of data and analytics. “Now that inventory levels are recovering, customers are coming back.”
For premium cars, Porsche was highest for the third consecutive year, with a 57.5% loyalty rate, while Mercedes-Benz was second at 49.0%. For premium SUVs, Lexus had a 60.2% loyalty rate, with BMW second at 55.8%.
Toyota was highest for mass-market cars at 62.5% for its third consecutive year, with Honda second at 58.8%. For mass-market SUVs, Honda ranked highest at 64.2%, while Subaru rated a 62.6% loyalty rate.
Ford took the truck category at 65.1% loyalty rate, the highest in the study, while second place went to Toyota at 60.8%.
Jominy said that Toyota and Honda are benefiting from their increased availability of hybrids, “with Honda owners swapping out their gas-powered vehicles for hybrids at nearly triple the rate of the industry average.” Lexus, meanwhile, had the advantage of “strengthened residual values, which are helping drive loyalty for the brand despite premium brands, as a whole, experiencing a plateau this year.”
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