Skip advert
Advertisement

Best car makers for brand loyalty: only one can top Tesla

Three in four Toyota buyers would stick with the brand in the future, with the firm’s premium marque, Lexus, also performing well in this regard

Toyota Prius - front cornering, close

Toyota has been revealed to be the car brand with the most-loyal customers, beating the likes of even Tesla and Porsche. Thanks to positive past experiences, three quarters (75.8 per cent) of buyers plan to stick with the Japanese giant for their next purchase.

Tesla fans are infamous for their seemingly undying loyalty to the brand and its CEO, Elon Musk, yet Auto Express and Carwow Group’s latest Driver Power survey data of more than 23,000 people shows that the American EV firm lags slightly behind Toyota; ‘only’ 70 per cent of owners pledge to buy another Tesla in the future, with innovation and the environment being the driving factors.

What’s more, Toyota’s premium brand, Lexus, rounds off the podium places; great experiences in the past, plus Lexus’s reputation for safety, were the deciding factors for the 68 per cent of buyers looking to stick with the brand in the future.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Perhaps one surprise omission from the top three was Porsche, with the German brand coming in behind the likes of Subaru and Kia; those brands’ buyers cited safety and value for money as their main likes respectively.

At the other end of the scale, Mitsubishi was the brand least likely to attract repeat customers – a good thing, given it no longer sells any models here in the UK. Still operating in the UK is Cupra, which almost three in four (73.5 per cent) owners said they would not stick with when choosing their next car. SEAT didn’t fare much better, either, with only just under a third of owners saying they’d consider staying loyal to the marque when buying their next car.

Last year, the most popular car brand was Volkswagen, with over 166,000 new models hitting the roads in 2024 – something that might drop in the future because only around half (54 per cent) of owners said they’d buy a VW again. Overall, while three in five people said they’d stay with their current brand of choice for their next purchase, it shows that with a rapidly changing market, at least some people are looking to try something new in the future.

Did you know you can sell your car with Auto Express? Get the highest bid from our network of over 5,500 dealers and we'll do the rest. Click here to try Auto Express Sell My Car now...

Skip advert
Advertisement
Consumer reporter

Tom is Auto Express' Consumer reporter, meaning he spends his time investigating the stories that matter to all motorists - enthusiasts or otherwise. An ex-BBC journalist and Multimedia Journalism graduate, Tom previously wrote for partner sites Carbuyer and DrivingElectric and you may also spot him presenting videos for the Auto Express social media channels.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Toyota’s Century brand is being groomed to battle Rolls-Royce, Bentley and the ultra-luxury elite
Toyota Century Coupe - front static

Toyota’s Century brand is being groomed to battle Rolls-Royce, Bentley and the ultra-luxury elite

Does Toyota’s Century brand have the history to rival the best luxury car badges from Britain and the world? The bosses certainly think so…
News
1 Oct 2026
Toyota 4Runner review: thirsty, impractical US SUV is full of charm
Toyota 4Runner - front cornering

Toyota 4Runner review: thirsty, impractical US SUV is full of charm

Toyota’s rugged 4x4 is an excellent off-roader, but it doesn’t stack up as a family SUV
Road tests
22 Sep 2026
Best new cars coming soon: all the big new car launches due in 2026, 2027 and beyond
Best new cars coming soon 30/06/26

Best new cars coming soon: all the big new car launches due in 2026, 2027 and beyond

Here are the most important new cars from Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Dacia, Ferrari, Ford, Skoda and more
Best cars & vans
21 Sep 2026
Best cars with pop-up headlights
Best cars with pop-up headlights - header image

Best cars with pop-up headlights

Safety laws and modern tech have largely extinguished the pop-up headlight so let’s take a look back at the all time greatest cars to feature them.
Best cars & vans
3 Sep 2026

Most Popular

New BMW i3 gets a huge £10k price cut with arrival of 40 xDrive model
BMW i3 50 xDrive - front 3/4

New BMW i3 gets a huge £10k price cut with arrival of 40 xDrive model

More details emerge of new i3 line-up, with 40 xDrive model providing a more affordable alternative to 50 xDrive launch edition
News
30 Sep 2026
New BMW 3 Series revealed: petrol-power, i3 design and smaller than an Audi A5
BMW 3 Series - front

New BMW 3 Series revealed: petrol-power, i3 design and smaller than an Audi A5

New BMW 3 Series compact exec looks very similar to the i3 EV, but launches with two mild-hybrid assisted petrol engines
News
29 Sep 2026
New Hyundai Ioniq 3 price drops to £18,495 with EV grant
Alastair Crooks with the Hyundai Ioniq 3

New Hyundai Ioniq 3 price drops to £18,495 with EV grant

Hyundai’s new electric hatchback is eligible for the full £3,750 Electric Car Grant (ECG)
News
2 Oct 2026

Find a car with the experts