Yorkregion.com - Wheels - Toyota gets top marks in customer retention study
Toyota gets top marks in customer retention study
Leisure
Dec 13, 2007 10:56 PM
ROBINSON/BEINTEMA AUTOFILES
Toyota leads the U.S. automotive industry in retaining the highest percentage of new-vehicle purchasers for a second consecutive year, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Customer Retention Study.
Now in its fifth year, the study measures the percentage of new-vehicle buyers and lessees who replace a previously purchased new vehicle with another from the same nameplate.
Improving by nearly one percentage point from 2006, Toyota (64.6 per cent) leads the customer retention rankings, followed by Lexus (63.0 per cent) and Honda (62.8 per cent). Each brand achieves the same rank position in 2007 as in 2006.
Customer retention rates have remained stable in the industry since 2003 at approximately 49 per cent.
However, individual nameplates have incurred substantial gains and losses within the past five years.
Most notable are Suzuki, which improves by 19 percentage points, and Mazda, up nine percentage points since 2003.
Suzuki's five-year gain in customer retention is the largest since the study's inception in 2003.
The study identifies increased cargo capacity and higher resale value as the main reasons for Suzuki's improvement.
Mazda's improvements to the styling and quality of its product line have helped to elevate their retention rates. In particular, the study finds that better safety features, fuel economy and seating arrangements have led to Mazda's five-year gain.