Toyota, Honda, top US consumer loyalty tables

(AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA)

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.

The winners of the Polk 14th Annual Automotive Loyalty Awards were announced in Detroit January 12, with Japanese brands Toyota and Honda taking the top awards. Toyota ranked number one in Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, 58.6 percent of customers loyal to (returning to) the brand.

"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.

Polk Automotive Loyalty Award Winners - 2009 Model Year

Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer Toyota 58.60%
Overall Loyalty to Make Honda 54.86%
Most Improved Loyalty Make Audi (+ 4.9%)
Hispanic Market Loyalty to Make Honda 54.97%
Asian Market Loyalty to Make Toyota 52.03%
African American Market Loyalty to Make Honda 56.58%

Compact Car MINI Cooper 28.88%
Mid/Full-Size Car Toyota Prius 35.85%
Luxury Car BMW 3 Series 32.28%
Sports Car Ford Mustang 16.30%
Luxury Sports Car Porsche 911 24.97%
Minivan Chrysler Town & Country 31.70%
Mid/Full-Size Pickup Ford F-Series 35.81%
Compact SUV Subaru Forester 35.44%
Mid/Full-Size SUV Lexus RX 37.29%
Luxury SUV Land Rover Range Rover 30.42%

Data from The Polk Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator ^TM Report