DETROIT--(BUSINESS WIRE)--General Motors Corporation received the top honor in automotive manufacturer loyalty during tonight’s presentation of the IHS Markit Loyalty Awards, presented during Automotive News World Congress. The awards, now in their 22nd year, are presented annually by business information provider IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO).
IHS Markit honored winners in more than 30 categories, including General Motors for the evening’s top award, Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer – with a loyalty rate of 69.1 percent, and Ford brand for Overall Loyalty to Make – with a loyalty rate of 63.4 percent. Automotive News World Congress is held alongside press and industry days for the North American International Auto Show. The Automotive Loyalty Awards from IHS Markit are the industry’s only fact-based awards of their kind.
Automotive manufacturers and brands were recognized for superior customer retention and conquest efforts during the 2017 model year (October 2016 through September 2017). IHS Markit analysis found that, with approximately 17.5 million new vehicle registrations during the 2017 model year, 53.6 percent of customers returned to market to purchase or lease another new vehicle from the same make they already owned. This represents record loyalty rate and an increase of 0.8 percentage points from last year. New to the analysis this year is the assessment of the impact a garage mate of the same brand has on defection. A garage containing two vehicles of the same brand will return to repurchase from that brand 63 percent of the time. When the garage mate is a competitive brand then the rate of return drops 20 percentage points to 43 percent brand loyal. These data can be used to identify customers who may look loyal to a given brand, but are actually at higher risk for defection.
As a result of this additional analysis, Lincoln was found to be the brand with Highest Loyalty to Dealer, meaning, 48.5 percent of all Lincoln owners returned to a Lincoln dealer for another Lincoln in the 2017 model year.
“Our Automotive Loyalty Awards program continues to demonstrate the focus automakers, brands and their dealer networks place on winning back and conquesting customers during a strong sales year that’s become even more competitive,” said Joe LaFeir, senior vice president, automotive, for IHS Markit. “We are honored to recognize those industry leaders that are working to improve their loyalty efforts year over year.”
IHS Markit has developed new tools and relationships to help automakers and marketers improve the efficiency of owner retention. The recent acquisition of automotiveMastermind by IHS Markit is already providing value for key customers looking for insight into business improvements down to the dealership level, and enables automakers to act on insights from intelligence delivered from the automotiveMastermind and IHS Markit portfolios, thereby improving retention rates significantly.
“As the market plateaus, insight from advanced analytics will enable OEMs and their dealers to engage with consumers more efficiently and effectively, through a better understanding of consumer buying behavior,” said Steve Had, vice president, sales and product marketing solutions, for IHS Markit.
Brand and Model Level Winners Honored for Segment and Ethnic Loyalty
Ford achieved the highest loyalty rate of all makes during the 2017 model year, winning the Overall Loyalty to Make award. The award for Highest Conquest Percentage for the 2017 model year went to Jeep.
Toyota was honored for highest Ethnic Loyalty to Make among all ethnic groups combined, as it led in loyalty among all three ethnic groups – African American, Hispanic and Asian.
Buick was named for Most Improved Loyalty to Make for the model year and Jaguar was recognized for Most Improved Conquest Percentage during the 2017 model year.
IHS Markit also recognized 24 segment-level winners for the 2017 model year for their efforts to bring customers back for another vehicle of the same make and model.
A complete list of winners from the program is as follows:
| Overall Loyalty Awards | Winner | |
| Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer | General Motors* | |
| Overall Loyalty to Make | Ford* | |
| Highest Conquest Percentage | Jeep* | |
| Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make | Toyota | |
| Overall Loyalty to Dealer | Lincoln | |
| Hispanic Market Loyalty to Make | Toyota* | |
| Asian Market Loyalty to Make | Toyota | |
| African American Market Loyalty to Make | Toyota | |
| Most Improved Loyalty to Make | Buick | |
| Most Improved Conquest Percentage | Jaguar | |
| Segment Loyalty Awards | Winner | |
| Luxury Compact CUV | Lincoln MKC | |
| Luxury Full-Size SUV | Land Rover Range Rover | |
| Luxury Mid-Size CUV | Lincoln MKX* | |
| Luxury Mid-Size SUV | Lexus GX | |
| Luxury Sport Car | Porsche 911* | |
| Luxury Traditional Compact Car | Lincoln MKZ* | |
| Luxury Traditional Full-Size Car | Mercedes-Benz S-Class* | |
| Luxury Traditional Mid-Size Car | Lexus ES* | |
| Luxury Traditional Sub-Compact | BMW X1 | |
| Compact CUV | Chevrolet Equinox | |
| Compact SUV | Jeep Wrangler* | |
| Full- Size Three-Quarter To One-Ton Pickup | Ford F-Series* | |
| Full-Size Half-Ton Pickup | Ram 1500* | |
| Full-Size SUV | GMC Yukon Denali XL* | |
| Mid-Size CUV | Subaru Outback* | |
| Mid-Size Pickup | Honda Ridgeline | |
| Mid-Size SUV | Jeep Grand Cherokee* | |
| Mid-Size Van | Honda Odyssey | |
| Sport Car | Volkswagen GTI* | |
| Mid-Size Sport Car | Dodge Challenger* | |
| Traditional Compact Car | Chevrolet Volt* | |
| Traditional Full-Size Car | Nissan Maxima* | |
| Traditional Mid-Size Car | Honda Accord* | |
| Traditional Sub-Compact Car | Mini Countryman |
Source: IHS Markit. Asterisk* indicates repeat winner from 2016 Model Year Awards.
About IHS Markit (www.ihsmarkit.com)
IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO) is a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions for the major industries and markets that drive economies worldwide. The company delivers next-generation information, analytics and solutions to customers in business, finance and government, improving their operational efficiency and providing deep insights that lead to well-informed, confident decisions. IHS Markit has more than 50,000 business and government customers, including 80 percent of the Fortune Global 500 and the world’s leading financial institutions. Headquartered in London, IHS Markit is committed to sustainable, profitable growth.
Automotive offerings and expertise at IHS Markit span every major market and the entire automotive value chain—from product planning to marketing, sales and the aftermarket. For additional information, please visit www.ihsmarkit.com/automotive or email automotive@ihsmarkit.com.
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