JD Power: Honda leads industry in customer retention
Click the image above to see J.D. Power and Associates Customer Retention Study
Honda has taken the top spot away from Toyota in the latest "Customer Retention Study" from J.D. Power and Associates. The global marketing information firm surveyed 147,238 buyers/lessees to determine how likely they were to replace their previously new vehicle with another from the same brand. Honda, for the first time, led the pack with a retention ranking of 64.7%, followed by Toyota (63.2%) and Lexus (60.4%). Mercedes-Benz (58.6%) barely edged BMW (58.5%) for the fourth position. The Germans are being chased by Ford (52.5%) and Chevrolet (52.0%). At the bottom of the list was Jaguar, struggling to retain just 26.2% of its customers (if you are a Jaguar salesman, there is apparently no need to send holiday cards this year).
While JDPA sites Honda's reputation for building safe vehicles with high resale values as instrumental in landing the headline position, they also note that fuel economy, ownership/maintenance costs, and deals/incentives play an increasingly larger role in the process. The firm projects 2009 new vehicle sales will plummet to below 12 million units in 2009, making customer retention more important now than ever before. Check out all of the rankings in the chart after the jump.
[Source: J.D. Power and Associates]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
larry a 1:00PM (12/11/2008)
Of course, Honda makes the best cars hands down
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zamafir 1:08PM (12/11/2008)
Yup, there's a reason honda's doing so well. At least Ford's working in that direction.
Ligor 1:18PM (12/11/2008)
it depends on your definition of 'best'
if you mean safe, reliable appliance like transportation then they're at the top
if you want something more, then they're not it
Sea Urchin 1:28PM (12/11/2008)
@ Ligor
"if you mean safe, reliable appliance like transportation then they're at the top"-----------you've never driven a Honda, have you?
Honda are fun to drive, interiors are great, super reliable, great quality, great re sale value.....and the bonus is its CEO is not a monkey.
Torrent 1:44PM (12/11/2008)
lol.
hondas are fun to drive.....LOL
Mike P. 1:50PM (12/11/2008)
Great cars, but I think they may be taking this "family look" a bit far. Particularly when the above photo of a Civic can be passed for a JDM Odyssey:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Odyssey3kouki.jpg
thomas 1:56PM (12/11/2008)
hondas ARE fun to drive......
you cant compare them to thoroughbred sports cars, but within their respective classes hondas are consistantly more fun to drive...
fit vs yars vs aveo?
civic vs corolla vs cobalt vs focus?
accord vs fusion vs camry vs sebring?
i think honda stacks up pretty well....
MachinaDC5 2:10PM (12/11/2008)
Build quality is a huge part of keeping customers. Even the lowly Fit is built extremely well, no question about that.
Torrent 2:18PM (12/11/2008)
Trust me. I've driven a few Hondas. And while their engines are rev-happy, they are not as fun to drive as some other cars out there.
sk 2:27PM (12/11/2008)
Hmm thats funny, my 02 Honda Odyssey had its first transmission replaced at 32k miles. The sliding doors acted up every 20-30k and the engine finally leaked cooling fluid at 115k. It was the worst car I have ever owned in the last 25 years. I wouldn't call that the best car.
At last some poor slob paid me $1000 over the Kelly Bluebook value. Was I ever happy about that.
happy_penguin 2:48PM (12/11/2008)
Honda are damn good cars. But four American brands outrank Honda in overall long term reliability. As far as compact economy cars go, I think it's hard to beat a Civic but come on Honda fanboys, it isn't some holy gift from God, it's a Civic.
naggs 3:10PM (12/11/2008)
manual trans hondas are all fun to drive
Frylock350 3:41PM (12/11/2008)
@Thomas,
fit vs yars vs aveo?
None of these are fun to drive :) Try putting a Mini in here.
civic vs corolla vs cobalt vs focus?
Cobalt SS hands down. Corolla is like driving a blender...
accord vs fusion vs camry vs sebring?
Mazda6, Legacy, Altima, and Malibu are all sportier than Accord.
Flashpoint 4:11PM (12/11/2008)
I took my girl to buy a new Honda Accord last month.
That whole bit about "Honda making the best cars...is ridiculous".
Honda #1 likes to make I4 engines which have fewer parts than America's traditional V6 and V8 options which therefore means you'll likely get higher reliability out of their engines. America's I4's in many cases never offer enough power to drive cars the size we have unless they are economy cars.
Honda #2's interiors are dirt cheap. The new Accord's interior is so frickin cheap it blows my mind. But...on the bright side, we spend exactly $30,800 for a fully loaded model with V6, Navigation and Moonroof. The Navigation system is the worst I've ever used. My Chrysler 300's works 10X better.
Honda #3 has always sold fuel efficient cars (back to that I4 engine) which have traditionaly been small. Now they've enlarged the Civic and Accord to fit fat asssed Americans which has consequently helped increase their volume.
I like the new Accord and new Civic, but at 6'7 I can't fit in em. I own a300 and a S550 benz. Honda DOES NOT make the best cars...or the most reliable. For their price bracket however, they are pretty efficient and pretty well made.
IK 6:03PM (12/11/2008)
perhaps not the best all around, but imo they make the best fwd performance cars
this is how the purity flowchart works (in my mind):
Honda -> BMW -> Porsche -> Lotus
DC5R -> e92 M3 -> 911GT3 -> Exige
Rev 5:50PM (12/16/2008)
No doubt they make a reliable appliance for John and Jane Doe.
Love 'em or hate 'em, there's a place for 'em. Nothing wrong with getting from point A to point B in the most basic fashion.
Stumpy 1:00PM (12/11/2008)
I loved my Acura/Honda (An Acura RSX type S) so much that I bought one right after my lease was over.
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Smegley 1:06PM (12/11/2008)
It's because Honda and Toyota owners have very very low expectations, and Honda/Toyota are quite adept at meeting very low expectations, so their customers keep coming back for more BS. Purchases of domestic brands have much higher expectations and aren't afraid to jump to the next brand to make a point if some tiny thing goes wrong.
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Kirill 4:18PM (12/11/2008)
I wouldn't categorize the cunsumer expectations for quality, reliability, fuel economy, and plain old everyday practicality as "low". If you pay attention to the list, the Lexus, Mercedes and BMW are just closely behind the winners; I don't think their customer base has low expectations from thse prands (and everything else, for that matter). I currently have both Jeep and Honda in my garage. Guess which be the replacement for a Jeep? Another Honda.
Taylor 1:36PM (12/11/2008)
Let me guess. You live in Detroit and drink kool-aid.