Polk's Annual Automotive Loyalty Rankings Race Heats Up
20 July 1999
Polk's Annual Automotive Loyalty Rankings Race Heats Up Ford Takes Lead in Overall Manufacturer Loyalty Category;
Jeep, Toyota, Mercury Improve
DETROIT, July 20 -- The Polk Company released its mid-year
consumer automotive loyalty rankings today, revealing that Ford Motor Co., for
the first time, has moved into first place in the overall manufacturer loyalty
award category. Ford leads in seven of the nine categories at the year's
halfway point, with Toyota and Jeep ranking first in the two remaining
categories. The rankings are a semi-annual update of Polk's automotive
loyalty information, with the fourth-annual Polk Automotive Loyalty Award
winners slated to be announced during the 2000 North American International
Auto Show in January.
Polk's data from the first half of 1999 revealed marked improvement in
manufacturer loyalty for Ford, allowing it to overtake General Motors Corp.
Ford's loyalty performance increased by more than two percentage points from
the final 1998 model year rankings, moving from 65.3 percent to 67.6 percent
thus far in the 1999 model year.
"Ford continues to focus on improving consumer loyalty and its efforts are
paying off," said Karen Piurkowski, Polk's Director of Loyalty. "As a result,
it has passed GM in the manufacturer loyalty category, however the numbers are
still close and it will be interesting to see who wins."
The decline in GM's manufacturer loyalty performance began in the fourth
quarter of the 1998 model year during the UAW strike, but Polk's data indicate
GM has made significant progress since that time.
"With the broad range of models it offers in every vehicle segment,
General Motors has built a strong reputation for manufacturer loyalty
performance," said Piurkowski. "The company has made a remarkable recovery
since the strike, but at the same time, Ford has continued to aggressively
increase its loyalty performance."
Leaders through six months of the 1999 model year include:
Category Leader Loyalty % Avg. INDUSTRY
Loyalty %
Overall Categories:
Manufacturer Loyalty Ford Motor Co. 67.6% 57.0%
Make Loyalty Ford Division* 63.1% 45.5%
Model Categories:
Small Car Ford Escort* 27.2% 17.5%
Midsize Car Toyota Camry 32.7% 21.6%
Large Car Mercury Grand Marquis* 42.8% 28.1%
Luxury Car Lincoln Town Car* 42.1% 19.8%
Minivan Mercury Villager 36.4% 21.2%
Pickup Truck Ford F-Series* 39.8% 29.2%
SUV Jeep Grand Cherokee 31.5% 22.5%
* 1998 Polk Automotive Loyalty Award Winner.
In addition to the increase in Ford's loyalty performance, several other
manufacturers showed improvement during the first six months of the 1999 model
year:
* Toyota Camry currently leads in the midsize car segment, recapturing
the top spot from the 1998 category winner, Buick Century. Toyota's
introduction of the Camry Solara, in addition to strong Camry sales, helped
improve its loyalty performance. The Camry won the 1997 model year Polk
Automotive Loyalty Award for the midsize car segment.
* Jeep Grand Cherokee recaptured the lead from the Ford Explorer in the
SUV segment during the six-month period. The model loyalty performance for
the Grand Cherokee increased by more than 10 percentage points over the 1998
model year. Its current percentage is higher than it was at the end of the
1997 model year -- the year it won the Polk Award for the SUV segment.
* In the minivan segment, Mercury Villager also returned to the number-
one position, recapturing the lead from the Ford Windstar. The loyalty
performance for Mercury Villager was more than 13 percentage points higher
than its final 1998 model year ranking. The redesign of Villager, combined
with second-quarter owner loyalty rebates, contributed to the improved
ranking.
"Automotive manufacturers are doing more than ever before to retain their
customers," said Piurkowski. "Owner loyalty rebates and relationship-building
programs are becoming the necessary element in today's competitive
marketplace. Plus, with the increased value and personal attention they bring
from the manufacturers, consumers are hoping these programs are offered with
greater frequency."
The source of this information is Polk's Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator
(MLEX)(TM) study, which provides the latest insight into this type of consumer
behavior. This study was introduced to the automotive industry in 1995 and
was created to provide household loyalty information to manufacturers at many
different levels. It is used to determine the Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards;
to provide loyalty percentages for the entire automotive industry; to allow
for cross-industry comparisons of loyalty behavior; and to examine loyalty at
various levels -- e.g. from the industry level down to the vehicle line level.
The study measures loyalty throughout the entire model year so that
manufacturers may keep abreast of loyalty trends as they occur in the
industry.
Polk has served the automotive industry for 77 years and is the longest-
standing curator of automobile records in the United States. Founded in 1870,
Polk launched its motor statistical operations in 1922 when the first car
registration reports were published. It provides multi-dimensional
intelligence information solutions to companies as a statistician for the
motor vehicle industry; as a direct-marketing resource; as a supplier of
demographic and lifestyle data and database-marketing services; as a publisher
of city directories; and as a data enabler for geographic information systems.
Based in Southfield, Mich., Polk is a privately held firm that is expanding
globally, currently operating in: the United States, Canada, England, France,
Germany, Australia, Spain, Holland and Costa Rica.
