Automotive brand loyalty is on the rise after stagnation and decline over the past few years, according to new research.

An S&P Global Mobility report shows brand loyalty increased in the first half of the year, according to its review of new-vehicle registrations. It put the loyalty rate at about 53%, up two percentage points year-over-year, the first such bump in four years.

The stretch of brand loyalty decline was sparked by the pandemic-era inventory shrinkage and resulting vehicle price inflation.

The research found that so far this year over half of mass-market and luxury automotive brands have enjoyed loyalty bumps of at least one percentage point. S&P credits revived vehicle supplies and “a strong pipeline of return-to-market households.”

“Last year we saw a big jump in the number of households returning to market for a new vehicle, but the inventory was lacking,” said S&P Associate Director, Loyalty Product Management, Vince Palomarez in a press release on the findings. “This year, return-to-market volume remains consistent; however, inventory levels are up more than 40%, so households have more opportunity to remain loyal to their previous brand.”

Conquest activity, meanwhile, experienced decreases over the six months, the luxury segment falling 6% and the mass-market segment declining 1%.

Among brands, Tesla tops competitors with a 68% loyalty rate, according to the report, while General Motors is at the head of multibrand automakers, also with a 68% rate.

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