Budget Cars Narrow the Gap with Luxury Brands in Terms of Owner Love

(Bloomberg) -- Money can’t buy you love, at least when it comes to your daily drive, according to a J.D. Power study of new-car buyers’ emotional attachment to their vehicles. While premium brands rank highest in terms of satisfaction among U.S. car owners, the market research firm said cheaper mass-market nameplates are catching up quickly.

J.D. Power said the study, the results of which were released Wednesday, shows average scores for all brands rose to 823 on a 1,000-point scale, up from 820 in 2018, due mainly to better infotainment and advanced safety systems.

But the gap separating luxury and mass market brands’ average scores narrowed to just 35 points, the smallest difference in the study’s 24-year history and down from 50 points just three years ago.

“Every automaker is producing vehicles that consumers like, but some of them are doing it at a higher level than others,” Dave Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power, said in a statement.

Of the 32 brands ranked, J.D. Power said 22 improved over last year in its combined assessment of 77 categories, which ranged from the power rush of stepping on the gas to the comfort of the driver’s seat.

Luxury brands took the top nine spots, led by Volkswagen AG’s sports car specialist Porsche brand with 891 points, closely followed by BMW AG’s eponymous nameplate and Hyundai Motor Group’s Genesis. But Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s beefy Ram pickup trucks came in ninth with 851 points and its Dodge muscle car brand took 10th with 848 points.

J.D. Power, a unit of London-based XIO Group, said its study is based on responses earlier this year from about 68,000 people who bought or leased a new 2019 model-year vehicle after 90 days of ownership.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kyle Lahucik in Southfield at klahucik3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chester Dawson at cdawson54@bloomberg.net, Craig Trudell

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.