Ford Motor Company passes General Motors and Toyota to take top spot in corporate loyalty

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., March 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Experian Automotive today announced that in Q4 2012, Ford Motor Company took the top spot in corporate loyalty for the first time since Q4 2011. During the Q4 2012, time period, 47.9 percent of the customers who own a Ford Motor Company vehicle returned to market to buy another Ford or Lincoln vehicle. General Motors had the second highest corporate loyalty ranking at 47.7 percent, followed by Toyota Motor Corporation at 46.9 percent.

"Customer loyalty will always be a very important barometer of automotive sales success," said Jeffrey Anderson, director of consulting and analytics for Experian Automotive. "Ford has developed extremely loyal customers across a wide range of vehicles. That consistency across its product line has helped vault Ford's loyalty rankings past its rivals in our latest study."

Ford also dominated loyalty at the brand level, coming in with 47.1 percent of Ford owners returning to the market to purchase another Ford vehicle. Mercedes Benz was second with 43.7 percent, which is a significant increase over the previous quarter when they came in ninth place with 34.6 percent.

At the model level, Ford had a record eight of the top 10 vehicles listed. The Ford Fusion topped the list with 60 percent of Fusion owners returning to market to purchase another Ford vehicle. Other Ford vehicles in the top 10 included Flex, Edge, Five Hundred, Fiesta, Escape, Focus and Taurus. The only non-Ford vehicles in the top 10 were the Kia Forte and the Chevrolet Sonic.

Corporate loyalty:

Brand loyalty:

Brand loyalty by model:

In other report findings:

• The average length of vehicle ownership fell from 68.1 months in 2011 to 66.2 months in 2012.
• During Q4 2012, the hybrid vehicle segment accounted for 1.03 percent of all vehicles in operation (VIO). It was the first time in history that hybrids topped 1 percent of VIO.
• Import share of vehicles in operation reached a record high 41 percent during Q4 2012.
• Cadillac had the highest jump in brand loyalty, jumping nearly 5 percentage points from 25 percent to 30 percent during Q4 2012.
• Luxury brands accounted for five of the top 10 gainers in brand loyalty.

Complete findings from the Q4 2012 Experian Automotive industry Loyalty and Market Trend report will be presented in a Webinar on March 27, 2013, at 11 a.m. Pacific /1 p.m. Central/2 p.m. Eastern. If you would like to attend the event, please visit www.Experian.com/Automotive to register.

About Experian Automotive
Experian Automotive provides information services and market intelligence that enables results-driven professionals to gain the fullest possible understanding of the market, the vehicles and the people who buy them. Its North American Vehicle Database^SM houses data on nearly 700 million vehicles and, when combined with Experian's credit, consumer and business information, provides an integrated perspective into the automotive marketplace. Experian Automotive's AutoCheck^® vehicle history reports provide dealers and consumers with in-depth information, allowing them to confidently understand, compare and select the right vehicles. For more information on Experian Automotive and its suite of services, visit our Website at www.Experian.com/Automotive.

About Experian
Experian^® is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients around the world. The Group 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 31 March 2012 was US$4.5 billion. Experian employs approximately 17,000 people in 44 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and São Paulo, Brazil.

For more information, visit www.experianplc.com.

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Contact:
Roslyn Whitehurst
Experian Public Relations
1 714 830 5578
[email protected]
Twitter: @RozWhitehurst

SOURCE Experian Automotive