Mercedes-Benz is the UK’s most trusted car brand, according to the 2020 CarGurus Car Buyer Trust Index report, a first-of-its-kind study commissioned by online automotive marketplace, CarGurus.
The German car maker topped a list of 21 manufacturers that have been ranked as part of the inaugural CarGurus Car Buyer Trust Index*, a new independent report that provides unprecedented insight into how perceived trust impacts decision-making among different genders and age groups.
Audi, Ford, Toyota and Volvo completed the top five with Fiat recording the lowest overall brand ranking.
Researchers at GlobalWebIndex asked 2,183 car-buyers to rank car makers on five key factors that build trust: integrity, transparency, genuineness, social conscience and reliability. This formulated the overall performance for each brand.
Twenty-one car makers were included in the Index, with 20 based on sales data from The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Ltd (SMMT) with Tesla added as a brand of topical interest. Tesla finished mid-table when it came to consumer trust, slotting into 12th place in the report.
Overall Brand Performance
| Brand | Index | |
| 1st | Mercedes Benz | 73.6 |
| 2nd | Audi | 70.6 |
| 3rd | Ford | 70.2 |
| 4th | Toyota | 69.4 |
| 5th | Volvo | 67.9 |
| 6th | BMW | 66.7 |
| 7th | KIA | 66.7 |
| 8th | Vauxhall | 66.4 |
| 9th | Mini | 65.7 |
| 10th | Honda | 65.5 |
| 11th | Volkswagen | 65.2 |
| 12th | Tesla | 64.4 |
| 13th | Nissan | 64.4 |
| 14th | Land Rover | 64.2 |
| 15th | Hyundai | 63.7 |
| 16th | SEAT | 63.1 |
| 17th | Skoda | 62.7 |
| 18th | Citroën | 60.8 |
| 19th | Renault | 59.8 |
| 20th | Peugeot | 58.8 |
| 21st | FIAT | 55.4 |
In addition, the report also showed how men and women differ when it comes to trusting automotive brands.
Mercedes-Benz was most trusted overall by male car buyers whereas Audi and Ford shared the top spot as the brands in which women put the most faith.
There were greater differences of opinion among some of the other brands, though. Kia, rated as second overall for men, was a lowly 15th for women. MINI, on the other hand, was ranked fifth overall by women and 15th by men.
Brand Trust: gender differences
| Male | Female | |
| 1st | Mercedes Benz | Audi & Ford |
| 2nd | KIA | |
| 3rd | Volvo | Toyota |
| 4th | Audi | Mercedes Benz |
| 5th | Vauxhall | MINI |
| 6th | Ford | Volkswagen |
| 7th | Toyota | Tesla |
| 8th | BMW | BMW |
| 9th | Hyundai | Honda |
| 10th | Land Rover | Volvo |
| 11th | Citroën | Nissan |
| 12th | Honda | SEAT |
| 13th | Nissan | Vauxhall |
| 14th | Skoda | Land Rover |
| 15th | MINI | KIA |
| 16th | Volkswagen | Peugeot |
| 17th | SEAT | Skoda |
| 18th | Tesla | Hyundai |
| 19th | Renault | Renault |
| 20th | Peugeot | FIAT |
| 21st | FIAT | Citroën |
“For consumers, having trust in a purchase – and who they are buying it from – is fundamental to the buying journey. Therefore, we created the CarGurus Car Buyer Trust Index to help gain a deeper understanding of how trust is built, and the extent to which it informs car-buying decisions,†said Chris Knapman, CarGurus UK editor.
“The Car Buyer Trust Index provides unprecedented insight into the role that trust plays in the car buying process, while at the same time showing our commitment to becoming the world’s most trusted and transparent car-buying platform.â€
Founded by TripAdvisor co-founder Langley Steinert, CarGurus combines dealer reviews with comprehensive car valuation analytics to bring trust and transparency to the automotive marketplace, allowing buyers to quickly and easily find great deals from the best dealers.
To view the full CarGurus Car Buyer Trust Index visit https://insights.cargurus.com/ukcarbuyertrustindex2019/p/1
*Article Source https://www.cargurus.co.uk/
