SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -

Polk’s analysis of 2010 loyalty rates found Ford ended the year with a 63.1 percent owner loyalty rate, the highest among vehicle manufacturers. Ford improved its loyalty rate by 3.9 percentage points over the 2009 level and overtook General Motors for the leading position. 

Analysts discovered GM and Toyota rounded out the top three manufacturers for 2010, with 59.9 percent and 58.8 percent loyalty respectively. Polk emphasized results reflect choices among 5.2 million new-vehicle buying households during the 2010 calendar year, a 13-percent increase above the 2009 total.

The company explained 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. The firm indicated that it tracks owner loyalty monthly and works with automakers and their retailers to effectively manage owner loyalty through the in-depth analysis of automotive shopping behaviors, related market influencers and development of retention strategies.

Turning over to owner loyalty rates, Polk revealed that Ford led all brands in that analysis, too.

Analysts found the Ford brand increased its owner loyalty rate by 4.5 percentage points to secure an industry-best level at 60.3 percent.

Coming in behind Ford were:

—Mercedes-Benz: 56.7 percent, up 2.1 percentage points from 2009.

—Honda: 56.6 percent, up 1.1 percentage points from 2009.

—Toyota: 56.4 percent, down 0.4 percentage points from 2009.

—Chevrolet: 53 percent, up 1.4 percentage points from 2009.

The latest Polk analysis also showed industry-wide brand loyalty in 2010 was up 2.1 percentage points from 2009. This is the highest brand loyalty rate since Polk first began calculating industry brand loyalty in 1996.

Loyalty Analysis by Vehicle Segment & Model

Among all vehicle segments, Polk determined luxury brands achieved the highest increases in owner loyalty year-over-year. 

Analysts determined Land Rover had an 8.2 percentage point increase to lead the segment in 2010, while Acura increased loyalty rates by 7.5 percentage points and Cadillac was up 7.1 percentage points over 2009 loyalty rates.

Polk thinks these gains can be primarily attributed to double digit gains in lease loyalty for all three brands.

The firm also said model loyalty rates improved in 2010 as well, up 2.3 percentage points compared to 2009.

Overall, Polk found the Mercedes-Benz E-Class led model loyalty for 2010, with Ford F-Series and Lincoln MKZ following close behind. The specific figures were

—Mercedes-Benz E-Class: 44.2 percent, up 7.3 percentage points from 2009.

—Ford F-Series: 42.4 percent, up 5.6 percentage points from 2009.

—Lincoln MKZ: 41.6 percent, up 16.2 percentage points from 2009.

“Loyalty measurements are an important aspect of any customer retention strategy, but the real value is derived from the various consumer marketing and field training strategies created from the measurements,” explained Brad Smith, director of Polk’s loyalty management practice.

“Manufacturers have been placing greater emphasis on owner loyalty over the last several years and these efforts can be seen with the increases during 2010,” Smith concluded.

Polk & Luma Technologies Partner to Benefit Dealers

In other company news, Polk announced a partnership with Luma Technologies. With this agreement, Polk said it will offer its global customers the ability to use the Luma platform to improve marketing and sales programs at local dealerships.

Officials contend the joint Polk-Luma offering can enable customers to leverage Polk’s data and Luma’s personalization capabilities to create or improve loyalty and post-sales programs such as new-owner programs that continue the buyer-dealership relationship beyond driving off the lot.

Management asserts Luma’s user-friendly, end-to-end SaaS marketing platform can enable medium- and large-sized companies and their field staff and partners, such as dealerships, to create personalized marketing materials on-demand, which improves customer engagement and drives sales.

Polk’s collaboration with Luma is meant to help dealers more effectively cultivate customer loyalty on a personal level, as well as showcase the dealerships’ after-sales services.

As a recent Polk analysis shows consumers are holding onto their vehicles longer than in the past which presents opportunities for dealership service and repair business. For example, U.S. consumer trends as of the third quarter of last year showed that on average owners are holding onto newly purchased vehicles for 65.3 months, up 4.7 months from the same time the prior year.

“Polk’s superior data and automotive intelligence makes it an ideal global partner for Luma,” said Luma International chief executive officer Kristof Vereenooghe.

“We are proud to have them as a partner and to collaborate with them on behalf of their multiple automotive companies in the U.S. and Europe,” Vereenooghe continued.

Michael Osaer, vice president of product management at Polk, added, “Luma’s platform lets Polk provide its customers with a way for their dealerships to create more personalized, higher-quality one-to-one marketing than has ever been possible.

“We look forward to delivering the Polk-Luma offering to more customers,” Osaer went on to say. “Polk works with virtually every global automaker and provides authoritative marketing and market intelligence services to manufacturers and their dealers.”