While Rivian might be topping some lists when it comes to who is the most satisfied with their vehicle, Tesla is still the top dog when it comes to brand loyalty in the car market. That’s not surprising since the company has been guarding the top spot for quite a while now.
In a blog post, S&P Global Mobility revealed the results of its 28th Annual Automotive Loyalty Awards, a survey conducted using an analysis of 12.6 million new retail vehicle registrations in the United States. The awards recognize automakers in a number of categories including ‘Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Overall Loyalty to Make, and Overall Loyalty to Model.
Vince Palomarez, Product Management Associate Director, Loyalty, at S&P Global Mobility, says that the survey helps to showcase “conquest and loyalty rates” in the market and serves as a guide for automakers to “improve loyalty programs and customer retention.”
“These awards truly exemplify the industry’s competitiveness and desire to improve customer retention. The awards reflect substantial fact-based analysis, which allows us to understand and determine conquest and loyalty rates, while providing guidance to OEM marketers and their agency partners to help improve loyalty programs and customer retention.”
It appears that, in 2023, loyalty rates for auto brands saw a leveling off after a few years of decline. However, Joe LaFeir, President of Automotive Insights at S&P Global Mobility, said that more customers are also more willing to make the jump from one brand to another.
“The last few years have shown us that customers are becoming more comfortable to consider and purchase a new vehicle outside their preferred brand. However, concerted efforts from OEMs to improve retention through unique marketing initiatives, alongside improving inventory levels and great new products, are resulting in a stabilizing of loyalty levels, after several years of decline.”
While General Motors won the award for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Tesla took home the award for Overall Loyalty to Make. Tesla also took home the award for Highest Conquest Percentage, Alternative Powertrain Loyalty to Make, and Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make. The firm says that “the popularity of both the Model 3 and Model Y among current owners, along with the brand’s ability to attract many ICE customers to the BEV space, contributed to Tesla’s multiple awards for the second year in a row.”
While the Model Y might be the most popular electric car (and has been the most popular car in the world), Tesla didn’t actually win the award for Overall Loyalty to Model. That award went to the Lincoln Nautilus, the company’s luxury SUV. Acura achieved the Most Improved Make Loyalty, Nissan the Overall Loyalty to Dealer, and Mitsubishi landed the last award for Most Improved Alternative Powertrain Loyalty to Make.
In addition to brand winners, the firm also looked at loyalty at the model level. You can check out the full list of categories and winners below:
It’s not surprising to see Tesla top the list for so many awards. The company continues to dominate in market share in the EV market in most of the countries and territories in which it operates. The Model Y is not only the most popular electric vehicle in the world but the most popular vehicle in the world, period.
Despite Elon Musk becoming an even more polarizing character after his acquisition of X (formerly known as Twitter) in 2022, it appears that brand loyalty to Tesla itself isn’t budging an inch.
