Who is the automaker with the greatest brand loyalty?

In recent years, the emergence of new brands, the disappearance of others and the surge of Asian manufacturers have changed the automotive panorama forever. The trend is visible in Europe and also in the United States, the Western world’s most important market.

The J.D. Power U.S. Automotive Brand Loyalty Study, now into its fifth year, focuses its research on finding out whether or not the same owner changes brands when renewing his or her vehicle. In the study, brand loyalty is measured by the percentage who buy another car from the same manufacturer after trading in an existing vehicle on a new vehicle. Only sales at new-vehicle franchised dealers qualify, the study notes. The analysis includes brand loyalty across five segments: premium car; premium SUV; mass market car; mass market SUV; and truck.

“As vehicle availability increased and more choices hit the market for consumers, loyalty among brands as a whole saw a decline this year,” said Tyson Jominy, vice president of data & analytics at J.D. Power, in an introduction to the study.

The 2023 study, based on transaction data from September 2022 through August 2023, found that Porsche ranks highest among premium brand car owners for a second consecutive year, with a 56.8% loyalty rate. Second place went to Mercedes-Benz with a rate of 50.5%.

Among premium brand SUV owners, however, Volvo ranks highest with a 61.1% loyalty rate. Toyota (60.5%) ranks second. Toyota ranks highest among mass market brand car owners for a second consecutive year, with a 60.0% loyalty rate. Another Japanese automaker, Honda (55.0%) ranks second, the study noted. In this particular case, the result is extendable to Europe, since in 2002, Toyota was the second best-selling brand in the European market.

Back in the U.S. market, Subaru ranks highest among mass market brand SUV owners with a 61.1% loyalty rate. Toyota (60.5%) ranks second. As for trucks, Ford ranks highest for a second consecutive year, with a 64.6% loyalty rate, the highest loyalty rate in the study. Toyota (60.4%) ranks second.

Ford clients particularly favored the classic F150, a fact that marks the preferences of customers when it comes to this legendary Ford model (64.6%). Placing second in this very significant U.S. segment is the Japanese automaker Toyota (60.4%), which once again demonstrates the trust it inspires among its numerous customers.

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