Truck brand loyalty has a champion, and it will not surprise anyone who has ever seen a Ford F-150 parked in a driveway. J.D. Power’s 2026 U.S. Automotive Brand Loyalty Study, released Oct. 6, puts Ford on top for the fifth year running.
The runner-up is the part worth a second look. Toyota ranks No. 2 among truck brands, and it is not even close to an afterthought.
Ford’s Truck Brand Loyalty Rate Tops the Whole Study
Ford posted a 66.2% loyalty rate among truck owners. That is the highest figure in the entire study, across every brand and segment. In plain terms, roughly two out of three Ford truck owners who traded in bought another Ford.
Toyota landed at 62.2%, the second-best truck result. The gap between them is four points. For a segment where people argue about tailgate designs like it is a family feud, that is a tight race.
One quirk of the study: J.D. Power publishes only the top two brands in each segment. So Chevrolet, Ram and GMC fans will not find their trucks ranked here. Their loyalty numbers simply are not in the public release. (No, that is not a verdict on anybody’s favorite pickup.)
How J.D. Power Measures Pickup Truck Loyalty
The method is straightforward. The study uses data from the Power Information Network and tracks how many owners buy the same brand when they trade in for a new vehicle. Only new-vehicle sales at franchised dealers count, according to Ford Authority’s breakdown, and this year’s data runs from September 2025 through August 2026.
It also ranks brands, not individual models. So this is Ford versus Toyota as companies, not F-150 versus Tundra as trucks. That distinction matters when you compare any truck brand loyalty number.
Ford Slips a Bit, but Still Leads
Ford’s lead is not growing. CarBuzz reports that its truck loyalty was 66.5% last year and 65.1% the year before. This year’s 66.2% is a touch lower than 2025, but still the best number in the study.
Toyota, meanwhile, is a familiar face in the silver-medal spot. CarBuzz notes it has finished second in truck loyalty in each of the past five years. That is consistency, and in a truck market this competitive, consistency counts.
Here’s the Thing: Loyalty Is Getting Pricier to Earn
Why does this matter to anyone who is not an auto executive? Because loyalty is where affordability bites. When a new truck costs what it costs, staying with a brand you already trust is the safe bet. Higher borrowing costs, such as mortgage rates hitting 7.49%, only sharpen that instinct to stick with what works.
J.D. Power says that is exactly what happened. Overall brand loyalty averaged 50.2% this year, up from 49% last year. Tariffs and economic uncertainty could have shaken buyers loose, but automakers largely absorbed the added costs, so the disruption never came.
“In many ways, this was a year of avoided chaos,” said Tyson Jominy, J.D. Power’s senior vice president of OEM customer success. Not exactly a victory parade, but in this economy, avoided chaos is practically a headline.
Beyond Trucks: Loyalty Across the Leaderboard
Trucks are not the only place loyalty runs deep. Auto Remarketing’s rundown of the other segment leaders shows Toyota doing plenty of winning outside the pickup bed:
- Premium car: Porsche at 61.3%, with BMW second at 49.3%
- Premium SUV: Lexus at 59.2%, with BMW second at 56.4%
- Mass market car: Toyota at 64.8%, with Honda second at 57.5%
- Mass market SUV: Toyota at 63.8%, with Honda second at 63.0%
Jominy noted that very few brands ever reach a 60% loyalty rate, yet four of this year’s five highest-ranked brands sit in the 60% range. Some segments, he said, are closing in on pickup-truck loyalty levels, a sector long known for exceptional loyalty. Even so, truck owner loyalty remains the benchmark the others chase.
What to Watch Next for Truck Brand Loyalty
Ford has now won this category five years straight, and Toyota keeps knocking. The question for 2027 is whether that four-point gap holds, widens or finally closes. The next study should arrive around this time next fall. Meanwhile, EV news such as the Tesla Powershare home backup rollout hints at how fast the vehicle landscape is shifting.
Until then, the trucks are not going anywhere. Neither, it seems, are their owners.
