(January 14, 2015) DETROIT — Thirty-three winners were honored for automotive loyalty and conquest efforts during the IHS Automotive Loyalty Awards announced this week in Detroit. The awards were presented during the Automotive News World Congress held in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show.

Winners were named in eight featured categories during the event, based on IHS Automotive analysis of new vehicle registrations during the 2014 model year. Ford took top honors for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, and the Ford brand also was recognized as the winner for Overall Loyalty to Make.

IHS Automotive also recognized brands for ethnic loyalty to make among various audiences; most improved loyalty; and two awards recognizing conquest in the auto industry — the highest percentage of conquest registrations and most improved conquest percentage of registrations. In addition, 25 segment-level loyalty winners were announced, many of which are repeat winners from previous years.

“This year’s winners have demonstrated superior performance in their ability to retain their customers among their models and brands,” said Edouard Tavernier, senior vice president at Southfield, Mich.-based IHS Automotive.

“As the overall market growth flattens, the competition for buyers returning to market has never been greater. Manufacturers will need to continue to launch great new products to retain their customers, while driving aggressive conquest programs in order to be successful at growing their market share.”

Loyalty is determined when a household that owns a new vehicle returns to market and purchases or leases another new vehicle of the same make, model or manufacturer. The IHS Automotive Loyalty Awards are presented annually to OEMs and brands that demonstrate a manufacturer’s ability to retain owners over repeat buying cycles. They are the only fact-based awards of their kind in the industry.

IHS Automotive analyzes loyalty throughout the year and regularly works with its customers to effectively manage owner loyalty and conquest efforts through in-depth research and analysis of automotive shopping behaviors, related market influencers and conquest and retention strategies. This year’s awards are based on an analysis of nearly 16.5 million new vehicle registrations during the 2014 model year, which ran from Oct. 1, 2013 through Sept. 30, 2014.

“We are pleased to recognize those OEMs that have put a concerted effort in maximizing customer loyalty,” said Michael Gingell, vice president, global market analysis solutions and corporate development, IHS Automotive.

“Going forward, successful OEMs will excel at keeping their customer base through a greater understanding of their customers’ experiences-- as well as the impact these experiences have on the consumers’ next vehicle purchase decision.”

A complete list of the IHS Automotive 2014 Loyalty Award Winners by category is as follows: