Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ –Toyota and Honda took top honors in R. L. Polk & Co.’s 14th Annual Automotive Loyalty Awards, which were presented this evening at the 2010 Automotive News World Congress in Detroit.

Toyota has been recognized as the brand with the best customer loyalty in the US, knocking General Motors from the top spot for the first time in nine years. Toyota also won top honors in the Mid/Full-Size Car and Mid/Full-Size SUV categories for the Toyota Prius and Lexus RX respectively, and received the new award for brand loyalty among Asian American consumers.

“After an extremely difficult year for the auto market, winning four Polk Loyalty Awards is a real boost for us,” said Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. “We’re especially grateful to our dealers and customers for their trust in Toyota, Lexus and Scion.
Honda was recognized as the brand with best Overall Loyalty to Make, whilst Audi picked up a gong for improving its brand loyalty in the US the most, increasing by 4.9 percentage points over the past year.

Global analyst firm R. L. Polk & Co. measured customer loyalty in the US throughout the 2009 model years to compile the awards, now in its 14th year. This year, the firm also included data on ethnic households, awarding Honda for retaining Hispanic and African-American customers and Toyota for having the highest loyalty in the Asian customer market.

“At General Motors, we continue to focus on strategies aimed at retaining our customer base. Being acknowledged by R. L. Polk & Co. and receiving the Overall Manufacturer Loyalty Award for the ninth consecutive year is a testament to the success of those strategies and the strength of our products,” said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. “We are proud to be recognized again this year with this honor.”

Audi won top honors in the Most Improved Loyalty to Make category. The award, introduced this year, honors the make that recorded the largest percentage point improvement in loyalty for the 2009 model year. Audi recorded a 4.9 percentage point increase in its customer loyalty.

Ford garnered two awards: The F-Series earned the Mid/Full-Size Pickup nod and Mustang repeated in the Sports Car category.  Other repeat winners included Subaru Forester in the Compact SUV segment, Land Rover Range Rover in the Luxury SUV category, and Chrysler Town & Country which has won the Minivan segment for the past eight years.

Other winners honored in tonight’s ceremony included the MINI Cooper in the Compact Car category; BMW 3 Series in the Luxury Car segment; and the Porsche 911 in the Luxury Sports Car category.

“Maintaining a solid loyal customer base is not easy, but it is essential to survive in today’s competitive environment,” said Stephen Polk, chairman, president and CEO of R. L. Polk & Co. “Tonight’s winners are all excellent examples of what customer retention can do for your brand and your bottom line.”

Polk Manufacturer Loyalty ExceleratorTM Report

Polk’s Manufacturer Loyalty ExceleratorTM Report, which is the basis for the Polk Automotive Loyalty rankings and annual awards, is the latest insight into consumer loyalty. This report was introduced to the automotive industry in 1995 and was created to provide household loyalty information to manufacturers at many different levels. It is now used to provide loyalty percentages for the entire automotive industry and allows for cross-industry comparisons of loyalty behavior. The report measures loyalty throughout the entire model year so that manufacturers may keep abreast of loyalty trends as they occur in the industry. The Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards recognize manufacturers for superior owner loyalty performance. 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.

About R. L. Polk & Co.

R. L. Polk & Co. is the premier provider of automotive information and marketing solutions. Polk collects and interprets global data, and provides extensive automotive business expertise to help customers understand their market position, identify trends, build brand loyalty, conquest new business and gain a competitive advantage.

Polk helps automotive manufacturers and dealers, automotive aftermarket companies, finance and insurance companies, advertising agencies, media companies, consulting organizations, government agencies and market research firms make good business decisions. A privately held global firm, Polk is based in Southfield, Mich. with operations in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Table:

Polk Automotive Loyalty Award Winners – 2009 Model Year