Automotive brand loyalty is making a comeback.

After taking a significant drop during the pandemic and associated supply issues, the percentage of car buyers purchasing a new vehicle from the same brand they currently own rose for the second consecutive year in 2024, according to the LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ Automotive Brand Loyalty Study.

Brand loyalty came in at 52.6% last year, the study found, up 1.8 percentage points from the previous year and closing in on the pre-pandemic 2019 benchmark of 54.2%. That number dropped as low as 49.7% in 2022.

Dave Nemtuda, head of OEM product for LexisNexis’ U.S. Connected Car business, said the uptick brand loyalty is connected to the rise of new-car inventory over the past two years.

“The increased inventory on dealer lots is providing consumers with a wider range of options,” he said, “which is a significant shift from the challenges they faced when limited supply often led to brand switching.”

In 2024, 11 of the 47 brands analyzed by LexisNexis were above the industry average in brand loyalty, an increase from the nine that surpassed it in 2023.

The report did not include the brand-specific results. J.D. Power’s brand loyalty study, released in September, found Toyota ranked highest among car owners for the third consecutive year at 62.5%, Honda led among SUV owners at 64.2% and Ford was No. 1 in the truck sector, also for the third consecutive year, at 65.1%.

LexisNexis also looked at customer loyalty among fuel types. Gas-powered vehicles led the way with a rate of 85.2%, but that number is down from 88.3% in 2023 and has been sinking steadily since it hit 97.6% in 2019.

The largest beneficiary of that fall has been hybrid vehicles, while took a sharp rise of 5 percentage points last year to finish 2024 with 52% loyalty, the study showed. That’s up 10.8 percentage points since 2019. Electric vehicle loyalty fell 3 points to 74.7% in 2024, 3.6% above its 2019 level.

“While affordability remains a headwind for many consumers seeking new or used vehicles, the industry’s upward trend in brand loyalty is a positive signal of brand strength,” Nemtuda said. “This is especially critical as automakers navigate rising inventories and evolving consumer preferences, particularly toward EV and hybrid powertrains in the post-pandemic market.”