Ford Motor Company and Hyundai Shine in Latest Performance Ratings From Experian Automotive

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Ford Motor Company vehicles accounted for four of the top five vehicles for customer brand loyalty, according to recent industry analysis from Experian Automotive. The analysis, compiling industry-wide automotive trends for the third quarter of 2009, also saw Hyundai performing strongly with gains in overall market share and increased new vehicle registration.

From the second to third quarter of 2009, Ford customers continued to show strong loyalty for the Ford brand. Ford's Fusion, Edge, Flex and Five-Hundred models were all within the top five vehicles for customer brand loyalty at 61.8 percent, 57.8 percent, 57.6 percent and 56.3 percent, respectively. Ford Freestyle had the 10th highest brand loyalty at 47.6 percent.  

Hyundai performed strongly in the third quarter by gaining 2.2 percentage points in overall market share and experiencing a 30.1 percent increase in new vehicle registrations. Ford also saw improvements in market share, growing by 1.1 percentage points, and in new vehicle registrations, growing by 5.1 percent for the quarter.

"Given the extraordinary challenges in the current economy, Ford and Hyundai showed positive growth," said Jeff Anderson, director of Consulting and Analytics for Experian Automotive. "Both were able to pick up market share gains and improve on their customer loyalty. This gain in momentum should see these companies well-positioned for success when the market turns around."  

While Ford had a strong presence in brand loyalty, Toyota's new Venza model was No. 1 in brand loyalty at 63.2 percent. Toyota's Prius (51.8 percent) and Camry (48 percent) came in at numbers seven and nine, respectively. When it came to corporate loyalty, Toyota moved ahead of GM to take the top spot. Ford followed closely in third place.  

Other insights from Experian Automotive's analysis included:

• Hyundai's corporate loyalty rose to fifth overall to nearly tie with Honda at almost 40 percent loyalty.
• The Cash for Clunkers program (July 1, 2009, to Aug. 24, 2009) accounted for a quarter of Q3 2009 new vehicle registrations. Toyota led brand loyalty among participants, with 41 percent of those who disposed of a Toyota purchasing another Toyota vehicle.
• Cross-Over Vehicles and Small Car–Economy were the two fastest-growing vehicle segments, gaining 50,747 and 49,698 more registrations, respectively, year over year. Full-Size pickup trucks saw the largest decline with 114,613 fewer registrations than in the same quarter for 2008.

"For several quarters now, the industry has worked diligently to better understand the ever-evolving landscape of consumer tastes in vehicles," said Scott Waldron, president of Experian Automotive. "The recent shifts in consumer loyalty, corporate market share and vehicle class preferences show that building future success will come from increased knowledge of the changes in consumer buying habits today."  

The analysis of industry trends were the result of Experian Automotive's latest quarterly industry study looking at results from the third quarter of 2009. A market insight snapshot of the findings can be downloaded at http://www.experian.com/automotive/auto-resources.html.

About Experian Automotive

Experian Automotive, a part of Experian, delivers information services to manufacturers, dealers, finance and insurance companies, and consumers. Experian® helps automotive clients increase customer loyalty, target and win new business, and make better lending and vehicle purchase decisions. Its National Vehicle Database, housing more than 625 million vehicles, along with Experian's credit, consumer and business information assets, meets the industry's growing demand for an integrated information source. Experian's advanced decision support services help clients turn this information into improved business results. Experian technology supports top automotive businesses, including eBay Motors, CarsDirect.com, CarMax and NADAguides.com. For more information on Experian Automotive and its suite of services, visit our Website at http://www.experianautomotive.com.

About Experian

Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 65 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended March 31, 2009, was $3.9 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; Costa Mesa, California; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.

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Jeffery Anderson

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SOURCE Experian Automotive