When it comes to automotive brand loyalty, consumers trust Hyundai, this according to a new study.

The study was done by Experian Automotive, a data service that tracks vehicle registration data and consumer attitudes, and it found that consumers really trust Hyundai. But making big progress is Ford – the automaker took six of the top spots in the top 10 product categories.

Nabbing the top position, Hyundai scored well with a loyalty rate of 49.6 percent. This is the first time the Korean automaker topped the list, beating out GM, Ford and Toyota. In this study, loyalty is determined by the repurchase rate of its owners. And Hyundai had a good year, sales wise -  its brand market share jumped to 9.2 percent during the second quarter of this year (up from 7.9 percent last year).

In second place was General Motors, with a loyalty rate of 48.1 percent, with Ford taking the third spot at 47.6 percent. Ford did great when it came to loyalty for specific products – the Ford Fiesta and Fusion are just two of Ford’s vehicles that took six of the Top 10 positions.

Driving away with first place for the product with the highest individual loyalty was the Kia Forte with 68 percent loyalty rate. The Soul came in fifth at 59 percent, with the Forte Koup coming in eighth with 57 percent.

[Source: The Detroit Bureau]

Kelley Blue Book announced today that Hyundai has taken the number 1 spot in brand loyalty, beating out Honda and Toyota, on kbb.com for Q2 2011. Automakers have struggled recently to retain loyal customers due to the economic downturn and consumers becoming more aware of issues such as fuel prices and safety recalls.

Hyundai has remained successful through aggressive marketing campaigns combined with innovative product redesigns like the successful Sonata and Elantra. In the second quarter of 2011, Hyundai’s brand loyalty was at 52.3 percent while Honda followed with 49.7 percent and Toyota came in third at 47.7 percent. Kia and Mini are the only two brands that have gained loyalty year-over-year, thanks to attractive redesigns and additional models within their respective lineups coupled to aggressive marketing campaigns.

“Hyundai’s product renaissance is benefitting the company not just by attracting an all-new customer base, but by helping them to retain current loyal Hyundai owners, as well,” said Arthur Henry, market intelligence manager for Kelley Blue Book.  ”This latest brand loyalty analysis from kbb.com is a testament to the power of attractive vehicle designs and intriguing marketing in the minds of in-market car shoppers as they consider their next vehicle.”

Ever wonder where Pontiac owner’s are going shopping for new cars since the brand folded? Honestly, we hadn’t, until this new study came to our attention.

According to a study by Polk Automotive, most of them are staying loyal to General Motors. An astonishing 53.3% have come back to buy another GM product, with Chevrolet getting the biggest piece of the come-back pie. To be more precise, 33.5% defected to Chevrolet, 11.7% defected to GMC, 6.7% defected to Buick and 1.5% defected to Cadillac.

That is pretty impressive indeed and shows people who actually bought their cars were happy with what they got.

Some customers have wandered off to other brands though, particularly towards Japanese brands such as Toyota and Honda. Given the recall problems some of these foreign brands recently dealt with, there is a big chance some of those customers might return to buy another car from the General.

[Source: Polk]

According to a new survey by Consumer Reports, Honda has surpassed Toyota to become the number one brand for customer loyalty in the U.S. According to the new report performed in April, 68 percent of current Honda owners said they would “most likely” buy another Honda – up one percentage point. Toyota slipped to third place dropping 13 percentage points from 70 percent to just 57 percent. This allowed Ford to sneak into the second place spot, gaining three points for a total of 61 percent.

As for the other giants of the U.S. auto market, General Motors dropped to 49 percent (down from 57 percent), while Dodge posted continued losses in customer loyalty from 32 percent down to just 24 percent.

Toyota’s loss suggests the automaker may have to extend the significant incentives it has been offering in order to sustain sales.

Consumer Reports says the results of the survey are based off of 1,704 U.S. vehicle owners and compared to the last such survey in December of last year.

[Source: Automotive News]