GM, Ford Top Polk Loyalty List

DETROIT--General Motors has recaptured the annual Polk award for Overall Manufacturer Loyalty, with Ford winning the Overall Make Loyalty nod for the fifth consecutive year. Automotive companies capturing a Polk Automotive Loyalty Award for the 2000 model year were: Ford, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Jeep, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Subaru.

The results were released here at the North American International Auto Show.

Loyalty is determined by whether a new vehicle owning household purchases a second car or a replacement that is either the same model as their current vehicle or one manufactured by the same automaker. Polk research shows a steady decline in overall manufacturer loyalty during the past five years from 56.9 percent during the 1996 model year to 54.1 percent during the 2000 model year. As more automotive makes introduce new models to vie for greater share-of-garage, Polk expects this trend to continue.

Traditionally, Ford and General Motors have led the industry in owner loyalty. This year, in an aggressive effort to regain market share, GM offered owner loyalty rebates encouraging customers to remain loyal.

And despite a slight decline in its loyalty percentage from 65.7 percent during the 1999 model year to 64.8 percent during the 2000 model year, GM moved to the No. 1 spot. Ford experienced a 3 percent drop since the previous model year.

“As inventory has increased in the U.S. market during the past several years, many manufacturers have been forced to use rebates to sell vehicles while maintaining market share,” said Karen Piurkowski, Polk’s managing director of loyalty. “This year, purchase rebates were higher than ever before. It’s difficult for a manufacturer to maintain loyalty within their customer base while competitive makes are luring their customers away with lower prices and comparable styling.”

While domestic manufacturers have traditionally dominated the Loyalty Award categories in previous years, this year six manufacturers captured awards, including three domestic, two European and one Asian manufacturer. Of the 12 vehicle segment awards, only three went to repeat winners from the 1999 model year. The nature of the awards diversified, too. This year Polk expanded the Pickup Truck and SUV award categories to include: Compact Pickup Truck, Full-Size Pickup Truck, Compact SUV, Mid-Size SUV and Full-Size SUV.

For more information contact www.polk.com.