• by Tanya Gazdik , December 5, 2017

LOS ANGELES — Tesla X is the most-loved vehicle in America, according to Strategic Vision, which unveiled the winners in the Customer Love Index at the Los Angeles auto show.

The Strategic Vision Customer Love Index measures the amount of love that buyers feel toward their new vehicle. Vehicles and brands that perform well in the index are much more likely to see an increase in loyalty and future sales, according to the researchers.

Strategic Vision has spent the past 40 years developing metrics that quantify emotion, culminating in The Edwards Commitment Scale, which captures emotional responses ranging from "I hate it" to "I love it," with “Satisfied” as the middle. 

“By using a scale that incorporates the natural language of the customer we have the best tool to predict future behavior when it comes to advocacy, loyalty and sales,” says Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision.

The Tesla Model X creates considerable Love across many aspects of the vehicle experience, from power and performance to human-machine interface and driver-assistance features, on top of perceived environmental friendliness, according to the researchers. The individuality and prestige of the Model X complement the sense of power that comes from driving one to create an exciting luxury vehicle that owners are proud to call their own.

BMW is the most-loved luxury brand in 2017, delivering on both performance and workmanship expected of the make and creating strong advocacy and loyalty intention for the brand. Coming in close behind BMW and ahead of Lexus is the emerging luxury brand Genesis. The Genesis G90 is the Most Loved Luxury Car of the year, and the new brand presents a significant challenge to established luxury players.

On the truck side, the Japanese manufacturers have delivered standard and full-size pickups that their owners truly love, with Honda Ridgeline and Toyota Tundra being the Most-Loved Vehicles in their respective segments.

Volkswagen may be showing the early signs of a recovery in consideration after its earlier diesel emissions troubles. VW Loyalty Intention has moved closer to the industry average (39% vs. 41%) compared to being under water last year. VW products continue to create strong positive emotional experiences for owners. Time and efforts to improve brand trustworthiness may make it easier for those owners to remain with the vehicles they love, according to the researchers.

Strategic Vision’s Customer Love Index is based on results from the New Vehicle Experience Study surveying 34,064 new-vehicle buyers who purchased from October 2016 to April 2017, after their first 90 days of ownership. CLI uses the Edwards Commitment Scale to directly measure love in 120 different aspects of the ownership experience. These, combined with dozens of additional questions, gauge the strength and type of emotional connection buyers have with their vehicles.