FRANKFURT, Germany and SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -

German drivers are most loyal to the Ford brand, according to IHS Markit which tracked nearly 340,000 vehicle transactions that occurred in Germany between August 2016 and July of this year.

IHS Markit's latest analysis on German shoppers' loyalty found that an overwhelming 73.5 percent of German consumers return to market for Ford brand vehicles.

The business information provider’s brand loyalty rates reflect how often consumers return to market for a new vehicle and acquires a vehicle of the same brand.

Behind Ford is smart, with 72.6 percent loyalty, followed by Volkswagen at 72.1 percent loyalty, according to IHS Markit.

And among premium brands, Mercedes customers are most loyal.

Roughly, 84 percent of new Mercedes owners return to market for new Mercedes vehicles, the study found, followed by BMW at 70.7 percent and Audi at 62.9.

“We are excited to bring this unique new analysis to customers in the German automotive market,” IHS Markit sales and marketing solutions vice president Steve Had said in a news release. “This effort highlights the ongoing successes of automakers and brands that continue to win back customers in this hyper-competitive environment and paves the way for manufacturers to engage in more targeted and efficient marketing efforts based on this insight.”

Additionally, brands with the most improved loyalty year-over-year according to IHS Markit analysis include SEAT with a 15.5 percentage improvement, followed by Lada, with 7 percentage points and Suzuki with a 6.4 percentage point improvement.

As for this year’s most improved premium brands, Jaguar’s loyalty improved by 2.6 percentage points since last year, followed by Volvo with 2.2 percentage points and Mercedes, which improved by a percentage point.