Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Hyundai Tops in Owner Loyalty, Says New Study
By Anita Lienert, Correspondent | Published Jan 17, 2012

Just the Facts:
Hyundai is at the top of 33 automotive brands, according to a new owner loyalty study from J.D. Power and Associates. Bankrupt Saab is at the bottom.
Hyundai's stellar loyalty numbers are driven by the Elantra and Sonata, says the study.
Following Hyundai in the rankings are Ford and Honda, in a tie for 2nd place.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, California — Hyundai is at the top of 33 automotive brands, according to a new owner loyalty study from J.D. Power and Associates. Bankrupt Saab is at the bottom.

Hyundai's stellar loyalty numbers are driven by the Elantra and Sonata, says the study. Hyundai improved its "retention rate" by 4 percentage points from 2010 to 64 percent in 2012. The study was not conducted in 2011. For 2012, the industry brand loyalty average is 49 percent.

Ford and Honda tied for 2nd place with a customer retention rate of 60 percent. Jeep posted the biggest improvement, jumping 17 percentage points to 51 percent in 2012. Rounding out the bottom of the list were Saab at 7 percent, Suzuki at 20 percent and Dodge at 21 percent.

The 2012 Customer Retention Study is based on responses from 117,001 new-vehicle buyers and lessees.

Inside Line says: Hyundai continues to ride high with the J.D. Power and Associates win on top of its 2012 North American Car of the Year prize for the Elantra.


http://www.insideline.com/hyundai/hy...new-study.html

KA8

iTrader: (1)

Good job hyundai!

KillaIS250

iTrader: (1)

Doesn't surprise me, Hyundai has done a great job with there new cars. My sisters my Elantra and my uncles Sonata Limited are excellent cars!!

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Hyundai has around 800 dealerships in the US.
Toyota around 1500.
Hyundai will be opening a lot more dealerships.

Marklouis

I do see many older model elantras and Sonatas on the roads, they are becoming just as abundant as the Camrys and Accords.

patgilm

I looked at an Equus last night. Love the car and its features for the price! They also have an excellent warranty. Good for them.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

I'll give them props, but this won't last long at all. Since Hyundai began is product onslaught in 2009, everything has been rushed. Most of the Hyundai hype is just fluff and gimmicky IMO (they have an excellent marketing department). Many of their advertised mpg's are no where near what they claim. Not to take away from them because their designs and improvements in engineering etc.. are great but they are blown up more than they should be. The quality control has taken a hit, and we'll see the side effects probably within the next two years. It's great that their pushing the envelope but this company is growing to fast less it catch up to them. I'm already worried about their new turbo applications (longevity), and the Sonanta hybrid is awful.

LIMS407

great for them,,,

Silverpaws

Wow! This is inconsistent with comments made by Jay Leno a few months ago. He said a lot of Hyundai owners were having problems with the door handles on their cars. He said the problem with the door handles was that they were attached to Hyundais.

LexFather

Unlike the other brands Hyundai bribes its owners into staying with the brand with guaranteed trade in value and other gimmicks. People are not staying b/c they desire it, they do b/c Hyundai makes it appealing to stay.

Now to their credit its clear the plans are working but lets not acting it is b/c people are happy and go back to buy and there are no incentives. Hyundai offers more incentives than anyone to stay with the brand. Don't forget that.

sc-driver

iTrader: (7)

Seems like a good thing to me!

mmarshall

I don't see it as a bribe, Mike. In general, you can't bribe people into buying junk or uncompetitive vehicles, although I admit that GM and Chrysler had some success several years ago with their "employee-discount" program that was also offered to the public (I'm sure you remember that program). But, unlike today's Hyundais, many of the GM/Chrysler products sold under that program, in comparison, WERE junk. But the public knew they were getting sub-standard vehicles....for a low price.

That's generally not the case with today's Hyundais and Kias, though I'll admit that some of the present lower-priced Kia interiors are not impressive. Yes, I know you had a Scoupe that you considered a POS......I agree that early Excels and Scoupes left a lot to be desired (notwithstanding the fact that a modified Scoupe won the 1992 Pikes' Peak Hill Climb, a grueling race aganist the clock). But the Excel and Scoupe weren't even true Hyundai designs to start with...they shared a vitrually identical body/platform/powertrain with the Mitsubishi Precis. And that was some twenty years ago. After about 2000 or so, Hyundai began making respectable vehicles.

And I don't see the 10/100 and 5/60 warranties as bribes either. You can't offer a warranty like that (and still make money) if you are selling junk and have a lot of warranty-repairs to pay out.

OK.....the "Guaranteed-Trade-in-Value" program? MAYBE that's a bribe. But, again, at least to an extent, Hyundai is rolling the dice on that one. In general, one cannot fully predict a car's actual resale on the market several years in advance (which is why some automakers make or lose money on leases). Hyundais traditionally have had lower-than-average resale values, but that has been based on an old public-image that has been slow to change. Hyundai, by offering the Trade-in Value Program, is betting that the quality of its newer vehicles will (finally) start lowering their depreciation rate and raising KBB used-car values.

cfrost

You can't argue with making good cars

LexFather

My point is simple and shouldn't be missed nor misinterpreted. Of course they make better cars. However this is NOT and apples to oranges comparison. The retention rate of Ford, Toyota, Honda etc are good b/c people believe in the product, are happy with the brand and stay with it without any gimmicks. On the other hand Hyundai has to offer trade in gimmicks b/c they still have a lot of baggage to overcome to keep people to stay with the brand.

http://sweb.hyundaiusa.com/about-hyu...-20110420.aspx

Now I am not saying its even a bad program, clearly it is working. My point is you can't compare the retention rates on a level playing field with a program like the above.

I8ABMR

what ever they are doing is working well imho, and it did earn them the title of top in loyalty. Regardless of how they did it , this is the type of title that gets consumers to look a lot closer and to consider them more seriously. I think between the marketing, sales tactics, and their very attractive designs they will be on a winning track. Toyota, Honda, and Nissan better watch their backs......Actually I think its more like Honda needs to watch its back . LOL