COSTA MESA, Calif., February 15, 2013 – The Hyundai brand continues to grow in 2013, tying for the No. 1 spot in the automotive category in the 2013 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. Brand Keys, a New York-based brand, customer loyalty and engagement consultancy, publishes this annually syndicated study which examines customers’ relationships with 375 different brands in 54 categories. For the third year in a row, Hyundai made the top of the list in the automotive category.
“Congratulations to Hyundai for yet another loyalty win,” said Robert Passikoff, founder and president of Brand Keys, Inc. “Hyundai has managed to sustain real levels of emotional engagement for their brand and for their customers by leveraging and personalizing technology, all the while providing real brand value.”
Hyundai’s continued brand success is largely attributed to the positive reception of its newly redesigned vehicles including Santa Fe, Elantra GT, Elantra Coupe and Veloster Turbo, all of which have received significant consumer interest since their respective launches last year. These new vehicles contributed to Hyundai’s great success in 2012, breaking the 700,000 vehicle sales barrier and increasing market share to six percent.
The Hyundai brand also remains dedicated to creativity and innovation, supporting its music partnership with The Recording Academy® and The GRAMMYS®, engaging with consumers that love great music and are passionate about music creation.
“We’re looking forward to both new and returning customers experiencing a 2013 Hyundai line-up filled with stylish and affordable vehicles,” said Steve Shannon, vice president, Marketing, Hyundai Motor America. “Hyundai continues to be completely committed to our customers from the moment they consider shopping for a new car, through the sales and service process. It’s rewarding to see that our efforts to exceed customer expectations results in superior long-term loyalty.”
Automotive brands rounding out the top of the list in the 2013 Index are: Ford (tied for No. 1), Toyota/Honda (tied for No. 2), GM (No. 3), Chrysler (No. 4), and BMW/Lexus (tied for No. 5). For the complete 2013 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, visit http://brandkeys.com.
For the Brand Keys 2013 survey, 39,000 consumers self-selected the categories in which they are consumers and the brands for which they are customers. Assessments fused rational and emotional aspects of the categories to identify the drivers of loyalty and engagement, and to determine how well the brand met or exceeded consumers’ expectations in the category.