Top 2012 Car Brands as Rated by Women

Women-Drivers.com has released its 2012 report showing the top car brands as rated by women. Each year, Women‐Drivers.com tracks thousands of consumer reviews with regards to women’s purchasing and browsing experiences at new car dealerships. These scores are compiled from thousands of reviews written in the 2012 calendar year. On the site, dealerships’ scores range from 5.0 (the highest) to 1.0 (the lowest). Dealers with a Women Satisfaction Index or WSI® scores between 3.8 – 5.0 are recognized and marketed as CERTIFIED Women‐Drivers Friendly™.

Women now account for over half of all car purchases; however, they influence and initiate an estimated 80% of them. One of the reasons the company captures the ‘browsing’ is that on average women visit three (3) dealerships when in the market for a new vehicle; the higher a dealership’s browsing score is a critical indication that consumers were treated well and will return to this dealership to buy.

"When a woman walks into a dealership that treats her with respect and engages her during the buying process, the dealership is out to gain a purchase from that customer," said Anne Fleming, the company’s president, and Car Buying Advocate. "It's pretty simple, respect + customer engagement = sale and potential future purchases. And clearly, these dealerships get that." The company notes a positive correlation between the WSI® and CSI. Higher ranking WSI scores at many dealers have impacted those same stores’ CSI scores.

The Top 15 Brands for PURCHASING experiences at dealerships:

The average WSI® score for all brands was 4.46. These top brands ranked consistently high with women customers who were very satisfied with the engagement and treatment by the sales person, their overall dealership experience, as well as the financing process.

1. Mercedes: 4.90
2. Lexus: 4.83
3. Dodge: 4.78
4. Chrysler: 4.76
5. Jeep: 4.75
6. Lincoln: 4.72
7. Acura: 4.55
8. Chevrolet: 4.51
9. Buick: 4.48
10. Honda: 4.39
11. GMC: 4.38
12. Toyota and Mazda: 4.36
13. Cadillac: 4.35
14. Ford and KIA: 4.33
15. Hyundai: 4.23

The Top 15 Brands for BROWSING experiences at dealerships:

Mercedes dealers scored the highest WSI® ranking pulling in a 4.50 score from browsers ‐‐ women customers who went to a dealership but did not purchase that day. The average WSI® score for all brands in this category was 4.01. These top brands ranked consistently high with women customers who were very satisfied with the engagement and treatment by the sales person and their overall dealership experience. The higher a dealership’s browsing score, the higher the probability that women will return there to purchase.

1. Mercedes: 4.59
2. Jeep: 4.53
3. Mazda: 4.38
4. Chevrolet: 4.24
5. Lexus: 4.10
6. Chrysler: 4.07
7. GMC: 4.02
8. Hyundai: 3.99
9. Acura and Ford: 3.97
10. Dodge: 3.92
11. KIA: 3.82
12. Volkswagen: 3.67
13. Audi: 3.44
14. Buick & Cadillac: 3.37
15. Toyota: 3.26

*Some brands are not represented in this report because they were no longer being marketed in 2012, or, due to lack of statistically significant data.

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Comment by AutoSTARR on February 25, 2013 at 2:50pm: Shared this on LinkedIn -- great info. Curious, did any of these brands surprise you, compared with past years' favorite picks?

Comment by Anne Fleming on February 22, 2013 at 9:04pm: Patty- appreciate your comments and sorry the browsing image didn't stick. Please send me your email and I will get it to you. I apologize for delayed response am at day 1 of a 3 day yoga retreat. My best, anne

Comment by Patty Van Dyke on February 22, 2013 at 9:46am: Great article ... I will share this in my next training sessions. I have visited this statistic with "the guys" before, but like everything else, it needs to be re-visited once in a while! Thank you, Anne.

PS Your image isn't showing (just below The Top 15 Brands for BROWSING experiences at dealerships:). I'm curious to see it! :)

Comment by Robert Campellone on February 21, 2013 at 3:50pm: I totally agree