I thought this was interesting too:
The brand loyalty of former Cruze and Focus owners has been steadily declining in the last three years. The percentage of Focus owners trading in their vehicle and buying another Ford has declined from 40% in 2016 to 33% through September of this year. The drop in brand loyalty is more pronounced among former Cruze owners: 45% elected to trade in their Cruze for another Chevrolet vehicle so far this year, compared to 57% in 2016.
If I had to trade my Focus for a brand new car, I would try the Elantra GT N-line and a GTI. Maybe an Accord / Mazda 6 with a stick shift. But, I don’t buy new cars, so it’s a mote point.
It will be interesting to see in 2029 when GM and Ford try to relaunch their cars if people will come back or if these customers have written them off permanently. As Audi showed us, it takes 20 years to turn a brand around…