When Newsweek and TechnoMetrica partner to seek car buyers’ favorite automotive brands to compile The Newsweek Automotive Consumer Awards, they’re pinning down a hard-to-assess data point: brand loyalty. While it’s a hard-to-measure thing, it usually involves measuring the space between what vehicles customers own now and what vehicles they’d like to buy. The research methodology used to determine the awards is based on a comparison of respondents’ aspirational brand choice and the vehicle brands they currently drive. (Unsurprisingly, there’s often a gap.)
The awards are driven by interviews with approximately 10,000 car buyers conducted by TechnoMetrica over a 12-month period, and this year’s awards bore good news for Ford, which topped the list of the “Most Desired Vehicles Brand,” followed by Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda and Subaru. Ford also topped the list for the “Most Desired American Vehicle Brand,” and “Most Driven Vehicle Brand.”
The outcome of the Most Desired Vehicle Brand Awards was based on car buyers’ unassisted responses to the following question: “If you were to buy or lease a vehicle today, what brand are you most likely to buy or lease?” To determine Americans’ Most Driven Vehicle Brands, TechnoMetrica asked two questions: “What is the make of the vehicle that you drive most often?” and “What is the type of your vehicle? Is it a Sub-compact car, Compact car, Mid-size car, Full-size car, Minivan, Pick-up, Small SUV or Large SUV?”
To determine the Best Automotive Brand rankings, vehicle brands were assigned a score based on their performance in the three overall awards (Most Desired Vehicle Brand, Most Driven Vehicle Brand, and Best in Brand Loyalty). All three categories are equally weighted in developing the Best Automotive Brand rankings.
The Most Desired Luxury Vehicle Brand list was topped by Mercedes-Benz, followed by BMW, Lexus, Acura and Audi. Ford also topped the best Automotive Brand Overall list, followed by Toyota, Chevrolet, Honda and Nissan.
There were some age-related demographic variances, however, which may be of concern to Ford. While Ford was found to be the most desired vehicle brand overall, it slips when it comes to younger Americans. Chevrolet tops the list of most desired vehicle brand among Gen-X Americans, with Ford coming in second. Among Millennials, Ford drops to number four on the list, preceded by Chevrolet, Toyota and Honda.
