The battle to win--and keep--hearts and minds is fiercer than ever in the current low-volume U.S. luxury market. Audi made major strides this year, gaining market share and losing the least of the major Luxury carmakers. And on top of that, it earned R.L. Polk's award for the "most improved brand loyalty" in the industry.

Audi saw its brand loyalty, measured as the amount of repeat customers, grow by 4.9 percent in 2009. That's enough to beat the improvement of not just every luxury brand, but every carmaker in the U.S. The overall brand loyalty title went to Toyota, topping GM for the first time in nine years.
Some of the credit for Audi`s improvement may be due to its online presence as well. A study released today by Luxury Lab found Audi`s consistent brand messaging across every channel so good that it earned a rating of "Genius". See John Voelcker's article at ThecarConnection for the full details.

“Maintaining a solid loyal customer base is not easy, but it is essential to survive in today’s competitive environment,” said Stephen Polk, chairman, president and CEO of R. L. Polk & Co. The truth of that statement is borne out in Audi`s year-end sales totals. Audi is the ray of sunshine piercing the darkness here, falling just 5.7 percent for the full year and raising market share from 7.1 percent to 7.8 percent. December marked Audi`s sixth-best month and third-best December ever in the U.S. The stunning A5 and S5 were particularly strong, with the S4 and R8 5.2 FSI pushing image at the top of the market.