Ford Wins Overall Polk Loyalty Award at 2011 Detroit Auto Show

Ford received awards in several categories, including: Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer; Overall Loyalty to Make; Ethnic Market Make – African-American; and Mid/Full-Size Pickup for its F-Series truck lineup, a repeat winner in the category. This year marks the first time Ford has won the Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer category since 1999.

Kia is the brand that’s on the rise when it comes to customer loyalty. In the past, Kia would be a starter brand that people would move beyond. Now, it is retaining customers as shown with an increase in customer loyalty of 5.9 percentage points, according to Polk, to finish the year at 49.8 percent.

Polk’s Automotive Loyalty Awards are presented to manufacturers that demonstrate a manufacturer’s ability to retain owners over repeat buying cycles. “The 2010 awards are based on an analysis of 4.9 million return to market events during the 2010 model year,” said Brad Smith, director of Polk’s loyalty management practice, in a news release. Loyalty is determined when a household that owns a new vehicle returns to market and purchases or leases another new vehicle of the same model or make.

Overall Awards Winner Loyalty Percentage

• Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company 61.8
• Overall Loyalty to Make: Ford 60.1
• Ethnic Market Make - African American: Ford 60.1
• Ethnic Market Make – Asian: Toyota (repeat winner) 53.6
• Ethnic Market Make – Hispanic: Toyota 58.1
• Most Improved Loyalty to Make: Kia +5.9 percentage points

Vehicle Category Awards Winner Loyalty Percentage

• Compact Car: MINI Cooper (repeat winner) 28.2
• Mid/Full-size Car: Toyota Prius (repeat winner) 38.9
• Luxury Car: Mercedes-Benz E-Class 45.6
• Sports Car: Dodge Challenger 20.5
• Luxury Sports Car: Jaguar XK 22.2
• Minivan: Chrysler Town & Country (repeat winner) 32.6
• Mid/Full-size Pickup: Ford F-Series (repeat winner) 42.3
• Compact SUV: Subaru Forester (repeat winner) 31.9
• Mid/Full-size SUV: Lexus RX (repeat winner) 41.1
• Luxury SUV: Land Rover Range Rover (repeat winner) 35.4