Monday, 24 October 2011

Hyundai & Kia Are Tops In Customer Loyalty

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Hyundai has made major inroads in the U.S. over the past several years, working hard to boost sales and brand awareness. New data from indicates that those efforts are paying off: Hyundai and its sister brand, Kia, now sit at the top of the heap in customer loyalty.

The news comes from Experian Automotive, which has just analyzed data from the U.S. auto industry's second quarter. Among the findings -- and there are many of interest -- is the fact that Hyundai and Kia have cornered the market on both brand and corporate loyalty.

Kia dominates in brand loyalty, which is determined by the specific marque customers buy when investing in a new car. According to Experian, 47.9% of Kia owners who bought another vehicle between April and June 2011 bought another Kia. Ford came in a respectable second place at 46.5%, with Chevrolet, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and BMW rounding out the top ten, respectively. (For the curious, BMW clocked in at 31.7%.)

Kia is also sitting pretty in terms of model loyalty. Of the top ten auto models to which consumers are loyal, three are made by Kia: the Kia Forte (#1), Kia Soul (#5), and Kia Forte Koup (#8). For reference, the Chevrolet Cruze clocked in at #2, and the Ford Fiesta and Ford Fusion finished at #3 and #4, respectively. 

Hyundai took top honors in corporate loyalty, which is determined by the corporate family from which consumers purchase. In other words, if you traded in a Jeep for a Dodge, you would be considered corporate loyal; if you traded that Jeep for a Ford, you wouldn't.

Among shoppers, 49.6% of people who owned vehicles from the Hyundai family (i.e. Hyundai and Kia) bought another vehicle manufactured by the company in Q2. General Motors came in a close second at 48.1%, Ford was third at 47.6%, and Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, BMW, and Nissan finished the top ten, with Nissan capturing 32.3% of previous customers.

If you have a passion for stats, there are plenty more where these came from. Visit Experian to download the entire whitepaper on 2011 Quarterly Automotive marketplace insights.


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