A new study has revealed just how important the brand loyalty shown by customers of Ford’s F-150 and Chevrolet’s Silverado are for the two brands as a whole.
The study from S&P Global notes that owners of Ford F-Series models showed 59.7% brand loyalty in 2022. While that was down slightly from the 62.2% recorded in 2021, Ford’s overall brand loyalty as of 2022 remained at a strong 58.6%. Remove the F-Series models from the equation and brand loyalty falls to 49.5%.
It is a similar story at Chevrolet. Last year, brand loyalty among Silverado customers rose from 54.7% in 2021 to 55.4% while total brand loyalty across the brand was sitting at 56.3%. If the Silverado is removed, brand loyalty at Chevrolet dropped to 47.9%. The GMC brand also enjoys strong loyalty at 45.1%.
Read: Tesla Ends Ford’s 12-Year Brand Loyalty Award Run
Ram does not enjoy the same level of loyalty among its light duty pickup customers, falling from 47.3% prior to the pandemic to just 36% in 2022.
“The Ford, Chevy, Ram and GMC Sierra dominate the segment,” associate director of loyalty solutions and industry analysis at S&P Global Mobility, Tom Libby said in a press release. “They know the value of their entries in this segment, and they will go to extensive lengths to protect their position.”
The Ford F-Series and Chevrolet Silverado also perform well when taking into account defections to rival brands. For example, in the year ending in February, the Ford F-Series had a net outflow (defections minus conquests) to the Chevrolet brand of 5,914 households. The Chevrolet Silverado then had a net inflow of 1,915 households from the Ford brand while the Silverado gained 688 previous Ram owners.
Ford’s F-Series remains the best-selling pickup truck in the U.S. but it’s not without competition. In fact, while it topped retail registrations for 21 months during the 36-month period from January 2020 to February 2023, the Chevrolet Silverado topped this list for 10 months throughout that period. But as S&P notes, when looking at the numbers longer term and considering both retail and fleet sales, the F-Series has maintained its position as the top-selling truck in the US for 46 consecutive years, based on Ford-reported sales data.
