Subaru, Lexus Once Again Lead Brand Loyalty Ranking

Published on July 16, 2020 in News by Guillaume Rivard

J.D. Power has just released its second annual Automotive Brand Loyalty Study and it should come as no surprise that the same brands dominate the industry.

The ranking is based on the percentage of vehicle owners who choose the same brand when trading in or purchasing their next vehicle. J.D. Power used transaction data from June 2019 through May 2020 and included all model years traded in.

Subaru is the overall leader for the second year with a loyalty rate of 60.5 percent. Among mass-market brands, it leads Toyota (60.3 percent), Honda (58.7 percent), Ram (57.3 percent) and Ford (54.3 percent) in that order.

Kia, which recently topped J.D. Power’s 2020 Initial Quality Study, just missed the top five with a loyalty rate of 51.3 percent.

At the bottom of the ladder we find Fiat (10.4 percent), Chrysler (14.1 percent) and Dodge (17.8 percent). Three other brands have a score under 30 percent—MINI (26.4 percent), Mitsubishi (27.1 percent) and Buick (27.5 percent).

What about luxury brands? Lexus ranks highest with a 48 percent loyalty rate. It is followed by German automakers Mercedes-Benz (47.8 percent), BMW (45.1 percent), Porsche (44.9 percent) and Audi (43.4 percent).

Conversely, luxury customers are the least loyal to Jaguar (20.7 percent), INFINITI (27.7 percent) and Maserati (28.7 percent).

“Automakers are really focused on customer retention, as evidenced by the payment plans and incentives they’ve offered since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out,” says Tyson Jominy, vice president of data & analytics at J.D. Power. “Many have gone above and beyond to offer customers financial assistance during a period of economic uncertainty, which does a lot to bolster consumer confidence in their chosen brand and repurchase it in the future.”