Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. surged ahead of Toyota Motor Corp. in customer loyalty grades, according to a study conducted by Experian Automotive.
After years of losing customers to Japanese automakers such as Toyota and Honda Motor Co., Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler Group have emerged with models such as the Fusion sedan. Experian Automotive research shows that the Detroit automakers’ share of the U.S. small and mid- size car market will grow to 33% next year, compared to 26% in 2009.
"Customer loyalty will always be a very important barometer of automotive sales success," Jeffrey Anderson, director of consulting and analytics for Experian Automotive, said in a statement. "Ford has developed extremely loyal customers across a wide range of vehicles. That consistency across its product line has helped vault Ford's loyalty rankings past its rivals in our latest study."
Ford registered a record eight of the top 10 individual models by loyalty -- led by the Fusion – with 60% of that model’s owners returning to purchase another vehicle. Other Ford vehicles listed in the top 10 included Flex, Edge, Five Hundred, Fiesta, Escape, Focus, and Taurus. The only non-Ford vehicles in the top 10 were the Kia Forte and the Chevrolet Sonic.
Nearly 48% of Ford vehicle owners who returned to buy another car in the fourth quarter purchased a Ford or Lincoln, according to the study. GM’s loyalty rate was 47.7% followed by Toyota at 46.9%.
At the brand level, Ford came out on top in loyalty marks with 47.1% of Ford owners returning to the market to purchase another Ford vehicle. Mercedes Benz checked in second with 43.7% -- a significant jump from ninth place (34.6%) the previous quarter.
According to the report:
The average length of vehicle ownership fell from 68.1 months in 2011 to 66.2 months in 2012.
During the fourth quarter 2012, the hybrid vehicle segment accounted for just over 1% of all vehicles in operation. It was the first time in history that hybrids topped 1%.
Cadillac recorded the highest gain in brand loyalty, rising nearly 5 percentage points from 25% to 30% in Q4 2012.
Luxury brands accounted for five of the top 10 gainers in brand loyalty.