Lexus, Subaru rank highest in brand loyalty study in US

Japanese automakers Lexus and Subaru have ranked the highest in their respective category for the third consecutive year when it comes to customer loyalty in the United States (U.S.) market. This is according to the 2021 J.D. Power U.S. Automotive Brand Loyalty Study.

Lexus has one of the most loyal customers in the US market

J.D. Power, an American data analytics and consumer intelligence company, explained that customer loyalty is based on the percentage of vehicle owners who choose the same car brand when trading in or purchasing their next vehicle. J.D. Power gathered the data collected from the Power Information Network to determine which car brand has the highest customer loyalty.  

Based on the data, Lexus managed to score a hat trick by registering a 51.6 percent loyalty rate among the premium car brands. The second spot is secured by Porsche with 50.2 percent while Mercedes-Benz completes the top three premium car brands with the highest loyalty rate with 47 percent. 

Lexus GX

Two other German cars have squeezed into the top five premium car brands as BMW got 45.6 percent while Audi posted 45.5 percent. As such, Lexus is the only non-German car brand in the top five automakers with loyal customers in the U.S. under the premium category. Of note, Lexus also showed positive results from J.D. Power’s Vehicle Dependability Study where the ES, and the GX stood out in their respective categories.   

Subaru tops customer loyalty study for a third straight year

On the other hand, Japanese automakers dominated the mass market car brands category with Subaru leading the way as it registered a customer loyalty rating of 61.8 percent. Again, this is the third consecutive year that Subaru emerged as the top mass market car brand with the most loyal customers. 

Coming in close in second is Toyota with a rating of 61.1 percent while Honda sealed the third position with 59.3 percent. RAM and Ford completed the top five mass market car brands with 56.8 and 53.9 percent, respectively. 

J.D. Power vice president of data & analytics Tyson Jominy said that the pandemic lockdowns greatly influenced the 2021 customer loyalty study as car buyers tend to choose the same brand out of familiarity. 

“During the height of the lockdown, shoppers who were unable—or unwilling—to visit showrooms in-person weren’t shopping around as much. The bottom line is finding a vehicle required working closely with a dealer and, when presented with obstacles, shoppers turned to the dealer they already knew. As a result, the level of increased loyalty this year is remarkable,” shared Jominy.

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