J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Desire for a Fun Driving Experience Increases in Importance as a Reason for Brand Loyalty, While Expected Resale Value Becomes Less Important

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Dec. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- New-vehicle owners are increasingly citing fun-to-drive vehicles as a top reason to remain loyal to their brand, while shifting away from expected resale value as a loyalty reason, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Customer Retention Study(SM) released today.

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Now in its eighth year, the study measures the rate at which automotive brands retain their existing customers and the reasons why owners remain loyal. Customer retention is critical to a brand's market success, particularly during the current period of slow recovery, in which each new-vehicle sale is vital.

The study finds that the importance of fun-to-drive vehicles as a reason for owner loyalty has increased by eight percentage points in 2010, compared with 2009. Meanwhile, the importance of resale value as a reason to stay loyal has decreased by 10 percentage points from 2009.

In addition to customer retention, the study also examines rates at which automotive brands capture customers from their competitors, known as conquesting. The importance of a fun-to-drive vehicle has also increased as a reason why brands conquest new customers from their competitors, as has vehicle styling.

"Now that economic and market conditions have improved somewhat, vehicle owners are increasingly citing emotional, rather than practical, reasons for staying with their vehicle brand or switching to a different one," said Raffi Festekjian, director of automotive product research at J.D. Power and Associates. "In light of this, developing new models with attractive styling and that are perceived as fun to drive is increasingly critical for automakers in order to retain and conquest customers as the market continues to recover."

Ford and Honda rank highest in a tie among automotive brands in retaining vehicle owners. Each brand retains 62 percent of owners. Ford's retention rate is primarily driven by the Edge, F-Series and Fusion models, while for Honda, retention is driven by the Accord, CR-V and Pilot. Comparing the two brands, Ford owners are more likely than are Honda owners to indicate they have remained with their brand due to the perception that their new vehicle is fun to drive or has good styling. Honda owners are more likely than Ford owners to cite resale value and safety as reasons for repurchasing the brand.

Following Ford and Honda in the rankings are Hyundai, Lexus and Toyota, in a three-way tie, each with a customer retention rate of 60 percent. Kia posts the greatest improvement in customer retention rate from 2009, improving by 21 percentage points to 58 percent in 2010.

Overall customer retention has remained stable from 2009 at 48 percent. In 2010, 16 of the 34 ranked brands have improved their customer retention rates from 2009, while 14 have declined and four have remained flat.

The study finds that customer retention among domestic brands, as a whole, has improved slightly from 2009. In 2010, 69 percent of owners who traded in a vehicle from a domestic brand purchased another domestic vehicle, compared with 68 percent in 2009. However, retention rates among domestic brands continue to lag behind those of import brands. In 2010, 90 percent of owners who traded in a vehicle from an import brand purchased another import vehicle—a level that has remained consistently high during recent years.

Compared with their retention rates, domestic brands have made more substantial progress during the past two years in conquesting customers from import brands. In 2010, 14 percent of buyers of domestic brand vehicles previously owned an import, up from 10 percent in 2008.

"While import brands still have notably higher customer conquest rates than domestic brands, the gap is beginning to narrow," said Festekjian. "In recent years, domestic brands have achieved parity or even surpassed the performance of import brands in initial quality and new-vehicle appeal, and customer perceptions of these nameplates seem to be evolving accordingly. It will be interesting to see how the performance gains by domestic brands affect retention and conquest rates in the coming years."

The 2010 Customer Retention Study is based on responses from 123,601 new-vehicle buyers and lessees, of which 81,350 replaced a vehicle that was previously acquired new. The study was fielded between February and May and August and October 2010.

About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, Web intelligence and customer satisfaction.  The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually.  For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a global information and education company providing knowledge, insights and analysis in the financial, education and business information sectors through leading brands including Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts, and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2009 were $5.95 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.  

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SOURCE J.D. Power and Associates