Tesla Scores Highly For Brand Loyalty Thanks To Cult-Like Following

Last year it won a single category in the IHS Markit Annual Automotive Loyalty Awards, now it’s up to three.

By: Andrei Nedelea

Apr 23, 2021 at 8:45am ET

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Compared to the brands that have gained loyal followings over decades, such as Jeep or Mustang (and many others), whose story is one that doesn’t require much explaining, Tesla is quite different. In the space of a bit over a decade, it has garnered some of the most loyal, die-hard fans of any existing automaker, fans that may even be more ardent in their love for the company than the OEM groupies we had grown accustomed to.

In fact, some have said Tesla fans are cult-like in their singular love for the company. This can be quantified and it has, by IHT Markit, which presented Tesla with three awards in its 2020 Automotive Loyalty Awards: Asian Market Loyalty to Make, Highest Conquest Percentage (for the second time in a row), and Highest Alternative Powertrain Loyalty to Make.

This is the first time Tesla has won the Asian Market Loyalty to Make distinction, thanks to a 55 percent loyalty rate. Previously, an Asian automaker, Toyota, had won the category in 2018 and 2019.

According to IHS Markit automotive business line leader Joe LeFeir, who spoke to Car and Driver,

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We hear a lot of people talk about the next generation of buyers and how ‘everything’s changing’. This is nowhere more evident than in the loyalty rates we see with companies like Tesla. They’ve created a cult-like following of their brand, and it’s showing up in the way their consumers are coming back and staying loyal to them.

Tesla didn’t win in any specific segment, and in fact, no electric car did this year. General Motors won the Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer award, while the Overall Loyalty to Make went to Ford.