Toyota Retains Most New-Car Buyers

J.D. Power released its annual Customer Retention Study today, and it says Toyota is the top automotive brand new-car buyers return to when looking to replace their current car. Toyota takes over the top spot from its own Lexus division this year  — by a slim margin  — while Honda retains its No. 3 spot. BMW and Suzuki both saw significant gains in the study, which is based on feedback from 138,630 new-car buyers.

There’s no reason to doubt such a large survey pool, but one has to wonder how valid it is to have Scion, a relatively new brand with only three models since it debuted, ranking fifth in retention. The oldest turned-in Scion could have only been 3 years old. For the full list of retention rates, click below.

Source: J.D. Power

2006 Make Retention Rates

•   Toyota              63.9%
•   Lexus                63.2%
•   Honda               60.3%
•   BMW                 56.5%
•   Scion                56.3%
•   Cadillac             55.5%
•   Chevrolet          55.3%
•   Mercedes-Benz  53.6%
•   Ford                53.3%
•   Hyundai            51.6%
•   Subaru              51.1%
•   Nissan              48.8%
•   Industry Average 47.9%
•   Porsche            46.5%
•   HUMMER           44.5%
•   Suzuki              43.9%
•   Kia                  42.8%
•   GMC                41.4%
•   Land Rover       41.2%
•   Jeep                40.5%
•   Saturn              40.4%
•   Dodge               40.1%
•   Buick               39.9%
•   Chrysler           38.2%
•   Acura              37.6%
•   Lincoln             37.3%
•   Audi                35.6%
•   Volkswagen      35.5%
•   Volvo              35.5%
•   Saab               33.4%
•   MINI                32.4%
•   Mercury           31.9%
•   Mitsubishi         30.5%
•   Jaguar             29.8%
•   Infiniti             29.0%
•   Pontiac            27.8%
•   Mazda             26.8%
•   Isuzu              4.7%