Tesla’s Brand Power Retains Customers Better Than All Automakers, Says Report

Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.

Tesla’s brand retains customers better than other automakers, and it tends to steal customers from other brands, according to new data shared by S&P Global Mobility last week (via @Umbisam).

The data measures a 12-month period leading up to July 2022, looking at how drivers purchased — whether switching to a new brand, or remaining loyal to a previously owned brand.

The report calls consumers switching from one brand to the next “nomads,” adding that more than half of car buyers will switch to a different brand when returning to the market.

Tesla is a newer automaker, meaning that most of its buyers (83 percent) bought the brand as nomads from other companies.

Those owning a specific vehicle brand and leaving are referred to as “one and done,” and the report says this term applies to about 58 percent of car buyers who left a given brand after their first purchase within the 12-month period, compared to just 39 percent of Tesla buyers.

The next best automaker in the “one and done” category is Ford, which has roughly 50 percent of buyers leaving for another brand after a single experience.

The data corroborates S&P Global Mobility’s findings in a similar report last year, which showed that more Tesla buyers stuck with the company in their next vehicle purchases than with other automakers.