General Motors and Tesla are the big winners of one of the automotive industry’s most important consumer loyalty studies this year.
Analysts from S&P Global Mobility named General Motors the manufacturer with the most loyal owners. Tesla won among brands. Both companies repeated as winners from last year.
Analysts give the awards “based on an analysis of over 13.1 million new retail vehicle registrations in the U.S. during the 2024 calendar year,” reflecting how often shoppers buy a new car from the same manufacturer or brand as their previous car.
Americans are slightly more loyal than not, researchers found. “Brand loyalty was at 51.6% for 2024, an increase of 0.6 percentage points (PPTs) compared to 2023 levels of 51.0%. This loyalty increase came as customer return to market volume grew by 4% versus the previous year, signaling not only that more people are coming back to purchase vehicles, but they are remaining with their previous brand when doing so.”
Subaru owners felt the most loyalty to their local dealership, returning to buy a second car from the same dealer more often than any other group.
The Winners: