Car Brands With the Most and Least Loyal Customers

Luxury car brand Jaguar is one of just five car brands that could not retain even a quarter of its former drivers. Looking at the car’s reviews, it is easy to see why. Jaguar scored a 5 out of 10 in J.D. Power’s overall quality rating and 44 out of 100 in Consumer Reports’ brand report — both the lowest score of any car brand. Consumer Report declined to recommend any Jaguar models, and for every 100 Jaguars on the road, J.D. Power found 130 problems, the most of any brand considered.

Dodge is one of just four major car brands with a loyalty percentage below 20%. The brand’s reputation may suffer from a string of recent subpar reviews. Besides Chrysler, Dodge received the lowest score from the American Customer Satisfaction Index, 77 out of 100. And after testing five Dodge models, Consumer Reports declined to recommend a single one.

Fiat’s lack of customer loyalty in the U.S. market may be part of a much larger issue with the car brand’s sales overall. Fiat’s sales dropped by nearly 40% in the first six months of 2019 compared to the first half of 2018. Just 16.5% of previous Fiat owners who got a new car in the last year returned to the Italian auto brand. This is perhaps not surprising as Fiat was rated as the least reliable car brand, scoring just a 5 out of 10 in J.D. Power’s dependability rankings.

According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, drivers who get behind the wheel of a Chrysler are less satisfied with their overall customer experience than those who drive another brand from a major car brand. Chrysler’s sales through the first half of 2019 were down more than 27% from the same period in 2018.

Smart, a subsidiary of Daimler, is known for its tiny cars and miniscule sales. Through the first six months of the year, fewer than 500 smart cars have been sold in the U.S. market. Less than 15% of Smart drivers who bought a new car in the last year bought another Smart. Perhaps these drivers saw the writing on the wall. These miniature vehicles never really caught on in the U.S. and will be discontinued after the 2019 model year.