Driving the news: Brand loyalty in the automotive industry has slipped back to 49% overall, down from 51% last year, despite strong performances from established brands like Toyota and Honda, according to a recent J.D. Power study.
For context: Ford leads with a 66.6% loyalty rate in trucks (the highest in the study) while Toyota dominates mass market cars at 62% and Honda takes mass market SUVs also at 62%.
Premium brands show mixed results, with Porsche leading cars at 58.2% and Lexus topping SUVs at 57.4%.
Tyson Jominy, senior vice president of data and analytics at J.D. Power notes that “Buyer loyalty tends to weaken when shifting to a different vehicle segment. Not only that, but changing market conditions, such as increased availability of models, varying age of products and more aggressive incentive offers.”
Why it matters: Even historically loyal brands are seeing customers become more transactional as economic pressures and market disruptions change buying behavior. The fact that Ford maintains truck loyalty leadership at 66.6% while struggling with intense quality issues shows that segment dominance can override broader brand concerns.
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