Car sales may slip over the next few months, but not every company will be affected equally. New research from ChangeWave shows that the bankruptcy and turmoil around GM and Chrysler is keeping buyers away from the brands.
The September 22-29 ChangeWave survey of 2,025 respondents shows Ford (F) — which avoided bankruptcy and didn’t take government bailout funds — has emerged as the unequivocal winner among the big three U.S. manufacturers.
Hyundai, the South Korean company, is one of the few car companies that has reported sales growth most of this year. ChangeWave say that in terms of consumer buying plans the results show Toyota (+17) and Honda (+10) with by far the most momentum followed by Hyundai (+8) and Ford (+6). On the downside, both Chrysler (-9) and GM (-6) show negative momentum and, unless this trend is reversed, face a significant loss of market share going forward.
ChangeWave’s conclusion: “As expected, Toyota (71%) and Honda (69%) have the highest customer loyalty rates in the industry. But Ford currently ranks a surprising third, followed by Hyundai.The best that can be said for GM (53%) is it finds itself in the middle of the pack, Chrysler (28%), on the other hand, has the lowest customer loyalty rating in the industry.”
Douglas A. McIntyre
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