Sep 11, 2017   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Ford, Mercedes Top Consumer Automotive Loyalty Ranks in Germany, IHS Markit Says

New analysis from IHS Markit on consumer loyalty to vehicle brands in Germany suggests some unique findings on a variety of levels, including an overall industry loyalty rate of 66.7 percent. Loyalty rates are determined when a consumer returns to market for a new vehicle and acquires a new one (either via lease or purchase) of the same brand. The research findings from business information provider IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO) track vehicle transactions that occurred between August 2016 and July 2017. The analysis demonstrates a wide variety of viewpoints from consumers across leading global markets.

Among volume brands, Ford (brand) achieved top loyalty in Germany, with 73.5 percent of consumers returning to market for another Ford brand vehicle. Second was smart, with 72.6 percent loyalty, followed by Volkswagen at 72.1 percent loyalty.

Among premium brands, Mercedes customers are most loyal, with 84.1 percent of new Mercedes owners returning to market and acquiring a new Mercedes vehicle during the 12-month timeframe. BMW and Audi rounded out the top three luxury/premium brands, with 70.7 percent loyalty for BMW and 62.9 percent for Audi.

“We are excited to bring this unique new analysis to customers in the German automotive market,” said Steve Had, vice president - sales and marketing solutions, IHS Markit. “This effort highlights the ongoing successes of automakers and brands that continue to win back customers in this hyper-competitive environment and paves the way for manufacturers to engage in more targeted and efficient marketing efforts based on this insight.”

The IHS Markit analysis also considered brands with the most improved loyalty over a previous timeframe. For volume brands, loyalty improvements were more significant – with SEAT achieving a 15.5 percentage point year-over-year improvement, followed by Lada, with an improvement of 7 percentage points and Suzuki with a 6.4 percentage point improvement.

For the premium brands, Jaguar improved its loyalty 2.6 percentage points over the previous 12-month timeframe, according to IHS Markit, followed by Volvo with an improvement of 2.2 percentage points. Mercedes improved 1 percentage point over the timeframe.

About the loyalty methodology

The findings are based on an assessment of nearly 340,000 household transactions in which consumers purchased or leased a new vehicle and disposed of an old one from the same brand in the past 12 months (from August 2016 to July 2017).

This unique new solution for the market was co-developed by IHS Markit, a leader in automotive loyalty measurement and reporting in the U.S., in close collaboration with Dataforce, the leading market research firm in the German fleet market. It is the first available research of its kind for the German market and seeks to provide automotive manufacturers the ability to utilize return to market activity, loyalty and conquest rates to create targets, track key performance indicators, and to develop targeted marketing campaigns to help move their business forward.

IHS Markit is widely respected for its abilities to analyze loyalty in the U.S. new vehicle market and has built a strong reputation and client base for its research in this area, including a U.S. Automotive Loyalty Awards program now in its 22nd year. This new solution for the German market is available to customers now and provides a thorough view of a variety of criteria, including conquest and defection insights.

About IHS Markit (www.ihsmarkit.com)

IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO) is the automotive industry’s leading source for market-wide insight, expertise and advanced planning solutions. With a reputation of enabling better decisions and better results for nearly a century, the world’s leading OEMs, suppliers and their transportation partners rely on IHS Markit to power growth, improve efficiency and drive a sustainable competitive advantage.

Automotive offerings and expertise at IHS Markit span every major market and the entire automotive value chain -- from product planning to marketing, sales and the aftermarket. Headquartered in London, the automotive team is part of the IHS Markit information and analytics powerhouse that includes 12,300-plus colleagues in 150 countries, covering energy, chemical, aerospace and defense, maritime, financial, technology, media and telecommunications. For additional information, please visit www.ihsmarkit.com or email automotive@ihsmarkit.com.

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