S&P Global has announced the winners of the latest annual Automotive Loyalty Awards competition. This year’s biggest rewards went to General Motors, Tesla, and Lincoln.
For the ninth time so far, GM has won the prize as the car company with the biggest fan base overall. The jury admitted that it was a bit of a low-hanging fruit considering how many sub-brands make up the General Motors alliance.
Tesla has scored multiple awards as well, including for the highest single-make loyalty rating and for drawing in new customers. It was also recognized as the EV manufacturer with the most loyal fanbase in the world. In some categories, Tesla has claimed prizes for two years in a row now.
For the first time on record, Lincoln has been recognized as the company that created a loyal following around an all-new vehicle. Out of all people who bought a Nautilus SUV, 42% said they liked it so much that they would buy the same car all over again. That’s the highest result industrywide.
The researchers point out that the owner loyalty ratings had been declining throughout the entire Covid pandemic. However, car companies have taken measures to increase customer retention and seem to have succeeded. As a result, the average brand loyalty last year was 51%. That’s 0.8% higher than in 2022 and the first time this indicator has grown since 2019.
S&P Global has been doing brand loyalty studies for 28 years now. The company’s methodology involves polling product owners with the question of whether they would buy products from the same brand again. The latest study was conducted based on 12.6 million new vehicle registrations in the USA.