We just launched our 2024/2025 reports. The 2025 Brand Reputation Scorecard and the 2024 Voice of the Customer Report are now live.

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Early Momentum: Ford's Tariff Advantage Could Help Lagging Reputation

Ford won the PR battle last week by being the first automaker to lean into the tariff-driven market shift. The company launched employee pricing for all customers and doubled down on its American roots—a smart move that grabbed headlines and likely resonated with buyers. While tariffs will disrupt every automaker’s operations, at least for the first 60 days, Ford has a chance to pick up meaningful market share.

It’s still too early to gauge how tariffs will impact customer experience at the dealership level—we’ll report on that in May when more data is available. For now, let’s look at how Ford’s reputation trended in January and February to set the stage for its April performance in the wake of the tariff announcement.

Ford’s 2024 Reputation Data (with industry benchmarks in parentheses):

• 4.6 average rating (4.57)
• 9.3 Google reviews per month per rooftop (11.4)
• 80% response rate (88.9%)

In our 2024 OEM rankings, Ford finished 25th out of 29 with a reputation health score of 84/100. As a refresher, the reputation health score is a combination of four reputation metrics: monthly review volume, rating, response rate, and negativity percentage. While the brand did climb one spot compared to 2023, it remains near the bottom of the list.

This doesn’t mean Ford delivers a bad customer experience—the 4.6 rating is strong—but compared to other brands, Ford struggles to activate its customer voice at scale. Lexus, for example, which has topped the rankings two years running, averaged 27 reviews per dealership at a 4.7 rating in 2024. That’s the benchmark.

Early 2025 Momentum

Ford’s year started slow, with just 7 reviews per month in January, but climbed to 9 in February. The ratings, however, showed a notable increase—from 4.52 in January to 4.77 in February. Its response rate also improved, hitting 84.7% year-to-date.

For perspective, January was a down month across the industry, with overall review volume falling and the median rating dropping to 4.41. In February the median rating rebounded to 4.71. So far in 2025, Ford is generally tracking the industry trend and even slightly outperforming it.

We’ll have March data soon and will follow up with a full Q1 update. If Ford maintains its February momentum and outperforms in April, we expect it to climb in the Widewail Reputation Rankings by year-end.

This is a unique opportunity for brands to turn a short-term spike in customer demand into long-term brand value—especially in the form of reviews. Ford has the opening. Time will tell if it capitalizes.

More on Ford in upcoming REVs.

We have data through the end of February for every OEM here.

EXPLORE

The Customer Lens on Tariffs

Next month we’ll report on the early impacts of tariffs on customer experience. While it’s still a bit early to publish definitive findings, our research team is actively tracking the shifts.

Our initial insights will be part of a new 2025 series - Voice of the Customer: Q1 Market Update. This report will include:

• Industry reputation benchmarks
• Shifts in customer sentiment from Q1
• A first look at how tariffs are influencing customer experiences

The full report will go to our REV subscriber list in late May.

What to Expect — and What We’re Watching

1. Buyers will double down on diligence

If new car prices jump $3K or more, expect fewer—and far choosier—shoppers. They’ll do more research, ask tougher questions, and expect faster, more transparent interactions.

Who wins? Dealers with fast follow-ups, strong online reviews, and confidence-inspiring customer experiences.

How we’ll study it: We’ll compare communication responsiveness and wait times across brands—especially those with lower tariff exposure (like Subaru, which recently ranked #1 in the 2025 Pied Piper Internet Lead Effectiveness Study.)

2. Vehicles will age further; service lanes get busier

Ownership cycles are at record highs, and we expect the tariffs to increase average ownership further. With longer ownership cycles, fixed ops will become an even stronger growth center. But volume only helps if customers return and refer. This is where online reviews matter most—highlighting standout advisors or coaching opportunities.

How we’ll study it: We saw a 30%+ increase in reviews mentioning high-dollar repairs (brakes, engines, transmissions) from 2023 to 2024. We’ll keep tracking this trend as we continue to get a better idea of how tariffs are impacting service centers across all dealerships

3. A high-leverage moment for your brand

You can’t control interest rates or tariffs. But you can influence what people see, say, and feel about your brand online.

Early reports show short-term sales bumps as tariffs pull demand forward. That makes this the ideal time to strengthen your reputation before broader customer experience challenges take hold.

How we’ll study it: We’ll analyze reputation and topic data for brands like Ford and Stellantis, both of which are offering deep discounts to gain market share.

Consider:
If you had to improve sales without spending more on ads, what would you do first?