Hyundai: Keeping them loyal

Hyundai outruns others to retain customers. Photo / Supplied

There was a surprise winner and some unexpected losers in the annual American survey of customer retention for car brands.

The ninth annual study by JD Power and Associates found that Hyundai ranked highest among 33 brands and improved its retention rate in the past two years to 64 per cent.

That placed the Korean brand ahead of Ford and Honda (60 per cent), followed by BMW and Kia (59 per cent).

But the results weren't good news for former champion Toyota - the Japanese giant dropped to sixth with 58 per cent compared to its table-topping 64.6 per cent of four years ago.

Toyota's luxury brand Lexus (54 per cent) dropped six percentage points in just a year to slide from equal third (with Hyundai) last year to ninth place, behind Chevrolet and Mercedes-Benz.

Some surprising names in the bottom half of the ladder included Audi (45 per cent), Porsche (42 per cent), Mazda (which dropped from 37 to 34 per cent), Volvo (30 per cent), Chrysler (26 per cent) and Suzuki, which finished second-last with 20 per cent, beating only doomed Saab.

According to JD Power director Raffi Festekjian, one in three new-vehicle owners who switched brands say their previous brand did not make the type of vehicle they wanted.

Other key reasons for switching brands relate to dissatisfaction with the previous vehicle, including maintenance costs, dependability issues and resale value.

Hyundai New Zealand's chief operating officer, Tom Ruddenklau, was pleased with the survey findings.

"Hyundai Motors America are no doubt proud that Hyundai owners show their brand loyalty by choosing to buy another Hyundai vehicle over 60 per cent of the time," he said.

The survey showed Hyundai's success is based on its Elantra and Sonata models.

The 2012 Customer Retention Study incorporates responses from 117,001 new-vehicle buyers and lessees, of which 73,733 replaced a vehicle that was previously acquired new. In addition to customer retention, the study also measures the rate at which each car brand captures customers from its competitors, known as conquesting.

The study of 117,000 buyers also found women and younger vehicle owners (those in the Generation Y and Generation X demographics, between ages 23 and 47) are less likely to choose the same vehicle brand for their next purchase, compared with men and older owners.