More new vehicle buyers remained loyal to their previous purchases in 2024 than the year prior, and General Motors and Tesla top the charts when it comes to owner retention efforts. That said, owner loyalty numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels.
Tesla captured three buyer loyalty awards for 2024 — the third year in a row.
New vehicle buyer loyalty came in at 51.6% last year, according to S&P Global Mobility’s 2024 Automotive Loyalty Awards, which is up from 51% in 2023. The increase came as volume of customers coming back to the market was up 4% year-over-year.
While the way vehicles are built and sold has changed dramatically during the 100-plus year history of the automotive industry, getting and keeping buyers is still the name of the game.
And the best at that game are GM and Tesla. The former captured the Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer award while the latter secured the Overall Loyalty to Make award, S&P officials revealed in a statement.
Big winners
GM captured the Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer award for the 10th straight year.
“While brand loyalty is still below pre-pandemic levels, we are starting to see a consistent trend of customers going back to the brands they are familiar with,” said Joe LaFeir, president, Automotive Insights, S&P Global Mobility.
“This will be important as we navigate a period of uncertainty in our industry assessing tariff and trade impacts on vehicle demand, making retention an even greater indicator of brand health.”
And if you’re GM and Tesla the indication is that you’re getting healthier. GM’s won the “manufacturer” award for 10 straight years, and 21 out of the last 29 years. Tesla’s winning big when it comes to consumer loyalty. Tesla’s awards for Overall Loyalty to Make, Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make and Highest Conquest Percentage mark the third year in a row the brand has won in these categories.
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Other notables
Other category winners included Subaru regaining the Overall Loyalty to Dealer award, which it previously captured in 2022. Lincoln Corsair and Land Rover were first-time winners, earning the Overall Loyalty to Model and Most Improved Make Loyalty, respectively.
Land Rover took home the Most Improved Make Loyalty award.
In all, Chevrolet, Jeep, Ford, Honda, Porsche, Nissan, Lincoln, Land Rover and Lexus all took home Segment Model Loyalty awards this year.
“This year’s winners have really emphasized the different levels of effort that is being put into loyalty across the industry,” said Vince Palomarez, associate director loyalty analysis at S&P Global Mobility.
“From the consistent performance of strong retention by General Motors and Tesla, to recognizing the efforts put into loyalty improvement from a brand like Land Rover, or even from a model perspective for our segment award winners, the industry is more cognizant of the importance of customer retention than ever before.”
What does it mean?
This is a matter of perspective. One can argue that automakers are doing an excellent job of building vehicles that make their customers happy — happy enough to bring them back again. However, flip side is that the market isn’t being flooded with enough compelling new products to conquest buyers from other brands.
However, it’s possible to both, according to S&P Global Mobility’s Tom Libby, who said last August, “Past years have shown that increases in both loyalty and conquests are possible if the pool of return-to-market rises as well.”
It means either automakers need to do a better job with product or the impressive level of incentives that have been offered in recent months are doing a fine job of keeping buyers loyal.
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