Hyundai Ousts Nissan to Become One of Top Five Most-Considered Brands

According to the latest Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence Brand Watch study, Korean automaker Hyundai has made its first foray into the top five most-considered auto brands among new-car shoppers, ousting Japanese brand Nissan into sixth place.

Domestic auto manufacturer Ford continues its reign in the top spot as the most-considered among the 37 new-vehicle brands tracked in the Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence study, followed by Toyota, Chevrolet, Honda and Hyundai, respectively.

According to the Q2 2010 Brand Watch Study, over the past quarter Hyundai consideration has surged nearly six percentage points in the non-luxury coupe/sedan/hatchback segment, now garnering 29 percent of the total consideration among shoppers of this segment and bested only by Honda (45 percent), Toyota (42 percent) and Ford (38 percent).  

The KBB study shows that Ford continues to increase its lead over Toyota, the second most-considered brand. Ford has 29 percent of overall brand consideration regardless of segment, whereas Toyota has 22 percent. In the second quarter 2010, Ford increased its lead in the non-luxury SUV/CUV segment by four percentage points over the previous quarter to capture nearly half (46 percent) of the consideration among new non-luxury SUV/CUV shoppers. In comparison, Honda and Toyota tie for second and third places, each only having 35 percent.

Meanwhile, Toyota continues to experience the fallout from its recall and reputation crisis earlier this year. Since the second quarter 2009, overall Toyota consideration has fallen eight percentage points (from 30 percent to 22 percent), now holding steady to its number two spot when it formerly dominated the number one spot. In addition, Toyota's luxury brand Lexus experienced an all-time low since 2007 in the luxury sedan/coupe/hatchback category at 30 percent in the second quarter, down from 41 percent in first quarter 2007.  

On a bright note for Toyota, the company's lauded "Swagger Wagon" marketing campaign for the all-new redesigned 2011 Sienna is resonating well with consumers, as the brand surged more than six percentage points in the minivan category over the past quarter to now capture 53 percent of the category consideration in the second quarter 2010. In addition, new-car shoppers ranked the Toyota brand tops in the minivan category for exterior styling.

"The latest Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence findings show how the deck is being reshuffled in the automotive marketplace, with certain brands now holding places in consumer perception that we may not have believed just one or two years ago," said James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com. "Ford continues its upward trajectory and Hyundai is truly on a roll.  Both brands prove that when you make dynamic, exciting and affordable products that appeal to the new-car shopping masses, consumer perception begins to change and subsequently, sales will follow."