Ford Website Satisfaction Trails General Motors But Beats Other Rivals

July 19, 2021 8:38 am

Ford has enjoyed somewhat mixed results in some recent J.D. Power studies, including a fifth-place finish in the 2021 Automotive Brand Loyalty Study, recognition in the first-ever U.S. OEM EV App Benchmark Study, and a below-average finish in the 2021 Customer Service Index Study. That trend continues as Ford website satisfaction ranks behind the automaker’s chief rival – General Motors – but ahead of other key mass-market automakers, according to J.D. Power’s summer 2021 U.S. Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study.

The study, which has been conducted each year since 1999, gets its data from 11,443 new-vehicle shoppers that plan on buying in the next 24 months, ranking automakers’ websites by their usefulness using four measures – information/content, visual appeal, navigation, and speed. In that regard, Ford website satisfaction ranked near the top of the pack, though a bit behind some key rivals.

In terms of mass-market automotive manufacturers, Buick and Fiat topped all brands with a score of 732 out of 1,000, followed by Jeep (723), GMC (722), Chevrolet (721), Ram (721), Ford (719), Mazda (718), Toyota (715), Hyundai (713), Subaru (712), Kia (711), Honda (710), Nissan (708), Dodge (702), Chrysler (699), Volkswagen (691), Mitsubishi (680), and Mini (657).

J.D. Power’s 2021 U.S. Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study also found that 49 percent of shoppers are willing to purchase a vehicle online, which is a sharp 11 percent increase from a previous study conducted 18 months ago. This is precisely why automakers like Ford are introducing new ways to purchase vehicles online, both new and used.

“As online vehicle shopping and purchase behaviors continue to shift, this study is adapting to accurately reflect these changes,” said Jon Sundberg, director of digital solutions at J.D. Power. “This year’s study puts more emphasis on auto shopping tools that give consumers the information they need to make online purchase decisions, allowing us to stay on top of these emerging trends and communicate them to auto manufacturers.”

We’ll have more automotive insights like this to share soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for ongoing Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.