Porsche, Toyota and BMW scored the highest in consumer loyalty to their brands, despite the low vehicle inventory environment, says J.D. Power’s latest U.S. Automotive Brand Loyalty Study. This year the study has been expanded to include loyalty insights in five different segments: premium car; premium SUV; mass market car; mass market SUV; and truck. The study, now in its fourth year, uses data from the Power Information Network to calculate whether an owner purchased the same brand after trading in an existing vehicle on a new vehicle.
The majority of new-vehicle owners this past year navigated the low vehicle inventory crunch by purchasing the same brand of vehicle which in turn, kept loyalty high in both premium and mass market segments, according to the study.
“The issue of tight supply chain and lower-than-normal production could have been quite disruptive to loyalty, but the highest-ranking brands excelled by staying focused on keeping owners in the brand,” said Tyson Jominy, vice president of data & analytics at J.D. Power. “There are multiple paths to keeping owners loyal, but every winning brand showed a commitment to launching fresh products, excellent processes focused on the vehicle owner, high residual values and offering vehicles with great appeal. And, for the most part, they’re all winning with market share.
“However, once the industry gets past the supply chain disruptions, another challenge—the EV race—is about to emerge and is likely shake up the brand loyalty status quo. There is an element of risk to brand loyalty that could erode for those sitting on the sidelines or not moving quickly enough.”
The study, now in its fourth year, uses data from the Power Information Network to calculate whether an owner purchased the same brand after trading in an existing vehicle on a new vehicle. Customer loyalty is based on the percentage of vehicle owners who choose the same brand when trading in or purchasing their next vehicle. Only sales at new-vehicle franchised dealers qualify. The study was redesigned in 2022 to include brand loyalty across five segments: premium car; premium SUV; mass market car; mass market SUV; and truck.
