Consumer trust in automotive brands has dipped — demonstrating a continued downward trend, according to analysis for the Gustavson Brand Trust Index (GBTI) 2019 survey.
Overall trust in major OEM brands has actually increased slightly from 2016 but the average brand trust score has decreased from 2018, putting the automotive category in the 13th spot out of 26, and down from 9th last year.
“Trust is an important determinant of choice for car buyers, given the expense involved and the degree of risk if things go wrong,” said Dr. Saul Klein, dean and professor at the Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria.
“While this risk is often associated with functional trust (does the car perform as promised), and relationship trust (are we treated fairly and honestly), it is also increasingly being associated with value-based trust as consumers want to use their purchasing power to have a positive impact,” said Klein. “The strength, and then decline in trust in Tesla is a reflection of these changing factors. So is the acute disappointment that still persists in the mind of VW consumers after their emissions scandal.”
The company’s press release indicated that Tesla ranked number one among OEMs and 11th in overall brand trust in 2016. Fast forward to 2019 and Tesla slipped to 12th in the automotive category, and 136th overall, thanks in large part to disappointing Model 3 production efforts and the “erratic behaviour” from CEO Elon Musk.
It still ranks as the most innovative and eco-friendly brand according to the GBTI 2019 results, but lags behind in terms of word-of-mouth recommendations (at #158 in 2019 and # 102 in 2018).
Consumer trust in Volkswagen slipped after dieselgate, landing it in the 304th position. In comparison, Toyota managed to recover from its recall crisis and came in 11th as the top brand in the automotive category. In 2019, it is still considered the leading brand among the OEMs in the automotive category for the second consecutive year, although the brand slipped from 11th to 15th overall.
In terms of consumers, the survey also revealed that women are more trusting than their male counterparts, while millennials are less trusting than other generations.
“Values-based trust continues to be a key area for brands to differentiate themselves in garnering customer loyalty,” said the GBTI news release. “Consumers are less forgiving if high-level malfeasance is involved and the brand is slow to admit its errors or to provide appropriate remedies.”
The survey measures “trust” through five categories: brand trust (consumer perception on trustworthiness), functional trust (consumer perception on brand performance), value-based trust (consumer perception on brand social responsibility), relationship trust (perception of how the brand interacts with consumers), and word-of-mouth (consumers recommending the brand).
