It turns, quite well so far. Toyota had more than its share of major recalls and tough headlines over the past 12 months, yet the brand has held up nicely, based on our recent 2010 Car Brand Perceptions Survey. In fact, Toyota showed a slight year-over-year increase, and it leads all other brands by a significant factor.
Fielded in December, the annual survey collected feedback from 1,752 random households on the brands thought to lead in seven key categories: Safety, quality, value, performance, design/style, technology/innovation, and environmentally friendly/green. The resulting scores reflect consumers' total perception level of a brand across those categories, and not the actual qualities (or CR test results) of the brand's individual vehicles.
In the 2009 Car Brand Perceptions Survey, Toyota led with a 193 overall score, with second-place Honda trailing behind at 149. With the 2010 survey, Toyota increased its lead to 196 . Honda slipped to third place with 135, conceding second place to Ford with 141 points. Overall, Toyota’s performance by each category was relatively consistent from year to year, with just slight adjustments, as seen in the chart below.
| Car Brand Perceptions Surveys: Toyota |
| Categories |
2010 Survey | 2009 Survey |
| Overall | 196 | 193 |
| Safety | 18 | 16 |
| Quality | 30 | 32 |
| Value | 26 | 27 |
| Performance | 22 | 22 |
| Design/style | 17 | 14 |
| Technology/innovation | 32 | 34 |
| Environmentally friendly/green | 51 | 48 |
Toyota has an enviable reputation for building good, safe, and reliable cars, though this past year presented challenges for the company often considered the benchmark by industry and consumers alike. Last summer, it garnered negative publicity for a tragic unintended acceleration case, leading to ongoing investigations and the recalling of millions of vehicles.
Despite these recalls, Toyota remained a clear leader in the view of American consumers. However, the recent recall for sticking accelerators poses the latest threat to this reputation. (Read: “More than floor mats: Toyota recalls 2.3 million vehicles for sticking accelerators.”)
Will this latest news change how consumers perceive Toyota? We will find out with next year’s survey, though your thoughts are welcomed in the comments below.
Read our full report on the 2010 Car Brand Perceptions Survey.
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