GM Tops IHS Customer Loyalty Study for Seventh Straight Year

It’s always way less expensive to keep a customer than to woo another with advertising and incentives, and two Detroit-area automakers seem to keep their buyers better than the competition. 

Shortages aside, General Motors kept more buyers than the competition, largely due to the popularity of their full-size pickups and SUVs.

So it’s a definite plus for General Motors to come out on top in the IHS Markit Annual Automotive Loyalty Awards as the top manufacturer for automotive loyalty in the U.S. in 2021. The company took the top honor for the seventh straight year. It’s also won the award 18 times in the last 26 years, IHS noted. 

The company managed to remain on top despite inventory constraints throughout the year. GM retained 64% of its customers last year, much of that due its utility and pickup line-up. 

Dedicated to Dearborn

Ford captured the top spot in the “Overall Loyalty to Make” category — for the 12th consecutive year. Much like GM, Ford’s pickups contributed to its industry leading loyalty level of 60%, with F-Series accounting for 38% of the brand’s make loyal volume. 

Newer offerings like the Bronco, Bronco Sport, Maverick, and Mustang Mach-E contributed a combined 10% in their first full year in the market, IHS noted. 

Ford captured the top make award based in large measure its full-size F-Series pickups.

“Given the unique nature of 2021, with the challenges of both the pandemic and inventory shortages, retaining customers is more important than ever,” said Joe LaFeir, president, Automotive Insights, IHS Markit. “This year’s winners have certainly demonstrated effective marketing strategies that have resonated with customers and led to more return to market activity.”

Cornucopia of categories

The research company offered awards in a variety of areas, particularly the loyalty of ethnic buyers, which automakers can struggle to secure and then keep. Recognizing the importance of ethnic loyalty, IHS Markit reported three brands for their efforts in retaining their diverse customer base.  

These customers are important as ethnic buyers represented 34% of all new vehicle registrations in 2021, reinforcing their importance to manufacturers. IHS broke it down into three categories, and here are the winners and their loyalty percentage:

• African American Loyalty to Make: Toyota — 61% 
• Hispanic Loyalty to Make: Toyota — 61%. 
• Asian Loyalty to Make: Tesla 53%   

The Asian loyalty honor wasn’t Tesla’s only win as it captured the “Highest Conquest Percentage” award for the third year in a row. The EV maker conquested 22% of the eligible volume in the segments in which it competes. 

However, in a bit of surprise, the nation’s top seller of electric vehicles didn’t the only honor dedicated to “alternative powertrains,” that went to Volkswagen with the Most Improved Alternative Powertrain Loyalty to Make award.

The new honor recognizes an OEM’s improvement in its ability to retain an owner of a hybrid or electric vehicle to the brand, and also have them purchase another alternative powertrain vehicle upon returning to market. VW saw a 17 percentage-point improvement in alternative powertrain loyalty, compared to the previous year, due to the launch of the ID4, IHS noted.

Other winners included Genesis for the “Most Improved Make Loyalty” award. It increased its brand loyalty by 17 percentage points on a year-over-year basis. Also Honda took home the “Overall Loyalty to Dealer” honor as 40% of Honda owners returning to market acquired their next vehicle from the same dealer. 

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