Schaumburg, Ill., Jan. 5, 2017 — Buying a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicle can give consumers an extra layer of confidence when making a purchasing decision because of the multi-point inspections included in the manufacturer’s program. In a recent analysis of consumer repurchase behaviors based on ownership of new, CPO and non-CPO used vehicles, Experian® found that the owners of a CPO vehicle who returned to market to buy another CPO vehicle of the same make were the most loyal group of buyers.
“Over the last few quarters, our analysis shows that pre-owned vehicle purchases are on the rise, and becoming more and more popular among consumers across all credit risk tiers,” said Brad Smith, Experian’s director of automotive data and analytics. “Auto manufacturers continue to increase sales through higher rates of lease penetration, then channel these off-lease vehicles into certified pre-owned fleets. In essence, they are controlling both supply and demand of their off-lease used vehicles and building an amazingly loyal customer base. By understanding these loyalty rates, manufacturers, dealers and resellers are able to make smarter decisions that create more opportunities for themselves and in-market consumers.”
The analysis looked at nearly 12.6 million return-to-market events occurring between September 2015 and August 2016. Consumers going from a CPO vehicle to a CPO vehicle from the same original equipment manufacturer (OEM) showed the highest loyalty rate at 75 percent. Consumers going from a new vehicle to another new vehicle came in second, at 60.9 percent. Rounding out the top five: consumers with a CPO going to a new vehicle (54.1 percent), consumers with a new vehicle going to a CPO (49.1 percent) and consumers with a non-CPO used vehicle going to a CPO (47.1 percent).
Which brands do consumers choose time and time again?
The 75 percent of CPO owners choosing to purchase another CPO vehicle were particularly loyal to Ford — 84.6 percent of its CPO owners chose another Ford CPO vehicle. The top five:
| CPO to CPO brand loyalty | |
| Ford | 84.6 % |
| Mercedes-Benz | 82.8 % |
| Honda | 81.9 % |
| Toyota | 81.6 % |
| Lincoln | 78.1 % |
Those CPO owners that chose to buy a new vehicle were most loyal to Kia, with 65 percent of Kia owners remaining loyal to the brand. The top five:
| CPO to new brand loyalty | |
| Kia | 65 % |
| Ford | 63.5 % |
| Toyota | 63.1 % |
| Honda | 60.5 % |
| Chevrolet | 58.4 % |
For overall brand loyalty including all purchase types, Tesla ranked highest, with 70.3 percent of Tesla owners choosing to buy another. Subaru was second, with 65.9 percent of its owners coming back, followed by Ford at 65 percent, Toyota at 63.5 percent and Mercedes-Benz at 63.1 percent.
Other findings:
• Michigan is the most loyal state, with 63 percent of owners remaining loyal to their brands. North Dakota (62.4 percent) and South Dakota (61.4 percent) round out the top three states with the most brand-loyal consumers.
• CUV/SUV owners were most loyal when returning to market, with 69.6 percent returning to buy another CUV/SUV, followed by pickup owners (59.6 percent), sedan owners (58.4 percent), minivan owners (33.2 percent) and hatchback owners (29.4 percent).
About Experian
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