Lincoln Nautilus Wins 2024 Loyalty Award For Mid-Size Segment

The Lincoln Nautilus has long ranked as having one of the most loyal groups of owners in the automotive world, even being recognized for winning the Overall Loyalty to Model accolade in the 2023 S&P Global Mobility Automotive Loyalty Awards, one year after topping the luxury mid-size utility segment in those same awards. After receiving a total refresh for the 2024 model year, it seems as if nothing has changed in that regard for the Lincoln Nautilus, though it didn’t quite win the ultimate prize this time around.

While the Lincoln Corsair took home the Overall Loyalty to Model award this year, the Lincoln Nautilus still topped the luxury mid-size utility segment yet again. The Nautilus certainly wasn’t alone in that regard, as it joins the Ford F-150, which earned the top spot in the light-duty pickup space, the Ford Expedition, which ranked atop the full-size SUV segment, as well as the Ford Super Duty F-250 and F350 in the heavy-duty truck segment.

These accolades are based on an analysis of over 13.1 million new retail vehicle registrations in the U.S. during the 2024 calendar year and are designed to highlight the importance of brand loyalty, determined when a household that owns a new vehicle returns to the market to acquire another vehicle of the same make, model, or manufacturer.

This year, S&P found that based on consumer buying activity from January-December 2024, overall industry loyalty rates saw a slight year-over-year improvement for the third year in a row. Brand loyalty was 51.6 percent in 2024, an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to 2023’s 51.0 percent – growth that occurred as customers returning to market increased by four percent versus the previous year, signaling not only that more people are coming back to purchase vehicles, but they are remaining with their previous brand when doing so.

“While brand loyalty is still below pre-pandemic levels, we are starting to see a consistent trend of customers going back to the brands they are familiar with,” said Joe LaFeir, President, Automotive Insights, S&P Global Mobility. “This will be important as we navigate a period of uncertainty in our industry assessing tariff and trade impacts on vehicle demand, making retention an even greater indicator of brand health.”