Brand Loyalty Fades

Car buyers have increasingly jettisoned brand loyalty toward one automaker in favor of a more specific approach to buying individual products, according to CNW Marketing Research. In the 1980s, nearly four out of five Americans stuck with the same brand they’d previously owned when picking out a new car.

Compare that to the roughly 20% of car shoppers who have purchased the same brand this year; a trend that’s been ongoing for two decades. This is largely because cars have improved.

In any given segment, most products have the same safety and convenience features, so distinction becomes more a matter of individual taste. Rather than heading back to the local GM dealer to buy what they know, consumers can surf sites like Cars.com and comparison shopping down to the smallest detail.

This means automakers have to sell products on an individual basis rather than relying on their brand. Toyota may rake in the dough on its top-selling car, the Camry, but when it comes to selling trucks, buyers still prefer the Ford F-150 to the Tundra.

It’s also a trend that has allowed Hyundai and Kia to quietly increase their market share with well-placed products like the Hyundai Sonata that can offer a better value than the competition.

As car buyers continue to eschew brand loyalty, it will create opportunities for more targeted products, but automakers will need to continuously adapt to consumers’ increasingly fickle tastes.

Tell us what you think in the comment section below. Is brand loyalty is a fading trend?

For Car Buyers, the Brand Romance is Gone (The New York Times)

Comments

Brand loyalty is out the door. It went bust with GM and Chrysler. People look for quality, value and content. Who in their right mind would buy from a defunct, a.k.a a taxpayer-owned car manufacturer? Beneficiaries: Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, KIA, etc.

Ike, I would. Family has owned Chrysler since before I was born, with a Subaru, Chevy, Toyota, and a Ford thrown into the mix. The Toyota was by far the worst car we've ever owned, followed by the Subaru and then the Chevy. Our Ford Escort ran and ran and the only issue with it, reverse kept going out on it.

I think it's true. I, however, am relatively loyal to one brand but am more loyal to one country of manufacture, namely the Germans. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi make some of the finest cars that don't feel like appliances on wheels such as the Japanese car makes.

When will people understand that boycotting so-called taxpayer-owned manfacturers because of some irrational ideological attitude only hurts themselves. These corporations already have "your taxpayer money" and if you ever want to see any return on that money then you better cease with the "I don't support companies that took taxpayer money" attitude.

Hey, that 100 bucks or so out of his pocket (actually it was never actually in his pocket) that went to help GM stay afloat could have broke the bank. Who knows?

I still have brand loyalty. Lots of it. I am on my third Volvo, and my wife is on her second. We currently have a C30 and an XC90. My other Volvos were a 940 Station Wagon, and an S40 that got written off when some guy in a truck rear ended it. I love Volvos because they're reliable, safe, and comfortable. Brand loyalty isn't dead, it's just less common.

German service is the worst of all. I hate to say. I have an Audi which is one years old and the paint was done wrong at the factory. Germany make some of the worst quality cars around.

I do not view myself as being bound by "brand loyalty" per se, but I do like Ford products in general, having driven them since my first car -- a 1990 Mercury Sable. Basically, when I cross-shop cars, I do think I get into the mindset of, "What things does this car do better than the equivalent Ford product?" If the plusses do not outweigh the minuses, I cross it off the list and go with the familiarity with Ford.

I am with the same company this time around. I went from Buick to Pontiac. It was definitely for a specific product. Doubt I will see the performance sedan value of a G8 GT from any manufacturer for a while. In the past I have owned Buick, Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Chrysler, and Dodge.

I still believe people will consider a certain brand first but all the information out there makes the loyalty over all argument just about gone.

I love my Volvos. I've had nothing but good, safe luck with them since 1993. A Lexus might be more reliable and a BMW flashier, but nothing compares to that "thunk" when closing the door and the peace of mind concerning safety. Also, it's just as nice as a BMW or Audi without the "I'm better than you" chache about it.

Look to the Cash for Clunkers program for answers. The beneficiaries were the foreign manufacturers and transplants, not the domestic car makers. Most people traded an American car and bought a new foreign brand. Americans love a winner and GM and Chrysler didn't cut it. Only the fanboys believe in brand loyalty. The majority buys the most quality, value and content of a foreign brand.

I definitely think the flood of information has decreased brand loyalty. A car is a big expense with big consequences if it's a lemon, so with nothing else to go on, yeah you'll go back if the last one was good.

But these days anyone with access to a computer has the nearly instant ability to plumb the experience of literally hundreds or thousands of people who are already owners of a different make and model, so it can make it much less scary to jump ship for somthing that meets their needs, wants, or evolving tastes better. I don't think anyone is immune now.

Not only is there a flood of information coming from manufacturers and promoters at your fingertips, but millions of people can (like we're doing now) share their piece of mind about any and every product. If your family has been buying GM forever and you're about to purchase your own car, a few minutes on the internet can provide you with an overload of personal stories about a GM experience. We don't have to rely solely on traditional advertising to learn about a product. We can interact with owners of the product and find out how it REALLY works.

I don't want to even think that me and my family are brand loyalists, but every time we're up for a new car we keep going to the same brand. My best guess is that we really enjoy their cars and they're so darn reliable at least the ones we've owned. i'm talking about freaking VW. I personally like the Mini but for some reason when on the market for a new car, it does not even cross my mind to set foot in a mini showroom. So much for not being brand loyalists.