Brand loyalty among U.S. car buyers rose to 51.5% in the first quarter of 2013, up two points compared with the first quarter of 2012. Cadillac from General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), Porsche and Mazda posted the largest gains, and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) continues to lead the industry with a 65.1% loyalty rating.

The data comes from auto industry research firm R.L. Polk & Co. and counts brands with at least 1,000 new car buyers returning to the market.

Porsche led all makers, with a loyalty score increase of 9.5% to 42.1%. Cadillac was second, with a boost of 8.3% to post a score of 47.4%. Mazda increased its loyalty score by 7.8% to 37%. In all, 13 auto brands posted a larger jump in loyalty scores than the 51.5% average.

A Polk executive noted:

In each case, strong-selling models fuel the loyalty to these brands. We saw a majority of the contribution for brand loyalty coming from Cayenne owners for Porsche, CTS owners for Cadillac and Mazda3 owners for Mazda.

Following Ford’s overall leadership in brand loyalty are Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) with a loyalty score of 58.5%, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC), Chevrolet with 56.2% and Mercedes and Nissan tied at 55.9%.

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