Toyota RAV4 EV debute at 2010 LA Auto Show. The RAV4 EV anticipates a 2012 sale date with its 100-mile range.
Despite its troubled past recalls, the Toyota automaker has been named the most-considered brand among new-car buyers in the recent survey.
The report was the latest Market Intelligence Brand Watch study from Kelley Blue Book. Toyota was consistently in the quarterly survey’s top spot from early 2007 to mid 2009, but then fell to second place behind Ford amid widespread recall issues.
In the latest survey, Ford fell back to second place followed by Honda, Chevrolet, Nissan and Hyundai.
The top three brands are within two percentage points of each other, meaning the competition for the survey’s top spot was extremely close.
“The latest Brand Watch data from Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence indicates that Toyota is slowly recovering from its public-perception crisis and regaining a position of prominence in the minds of new-car shoppers,” said James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com. “However, whether Toyota will ascend as high as it was before the recall crisis remains yet to be seen. Hot competition from the likes of Ford, Honda, Chevrolet, Nissan and Hyundai could make it very hard for Toyota to keep a strong lead moving forward.”
Shoppers participating in the latest survey ranked durability and reliability as their top priority when choosing a new vehicle. That was followed by fuel efficiency, comfort, performance and safety.
Ford continued to rank as the number one most-considered brand of truck, and Honda remained at the top of the minivan rankings. Of all minivan brands, only the domestic makers Dodge and Chrysler saw a small increase in shopper consideration within the latest quarter.