The Toyota Brand Identity Has Become The Best Car Brand Perception In The Automotive Industry

Toyota has been one of the most popular car brands in the world for a long time, with reliability and safety as the most common characteristics associated with it. Toyota vehicles have always been regarded as family-oriented vehicles, that rarely break down and are relatively affordable and economical. These traits alone are enough for them to appeal to the masses that want a car with desirable features that can safely take them from point A to point B at a low cost.

Toyota Best Brand & Public Image

That’s why Toyota’s brand identity is always somewhere at the top of all surveys measuring brand perception, which indicates how consumers feel about a certain brand and can give a company a much-needed edge over its competitors.

Features of 2017 Toyota Prius

	2017 Toyota Prius
MSRP	From $24,685
MPG	Up to 58 city / 53 highway
Horsepower	121 hp
Battery	207 V lithium-ion, 202 V nickel-metal hydride
Engine	1.8L I-4 Engine
Wheels	15" aluminum Wheels
Transmission	2-spd CVT w/OD Transmission
Torque	105 @ 3,600 rpm
Drive Type	Front-wheel Drive

7 Brand Ratings Determined Toyota’s Image

The great image that Toyota Motor Company has with the public was once again confirmed by one of the most impactful surveys measuring the popularity of car brands. It’s the annual Consumer Report Car-brand Perception Survey, which determines brand ratings based on seven categories: quality, safety, performance, value, fuel economy, design/style, and technology/innovation.

The Japanese automotive giant has topped the list several times in the past, but in the past couple of years, its brand lost some of its appeal as a result of numerous safety recalls, mainly due to faults in electric vehicles. However, according to the 2017 Consumer Report survey, Toyota is back as the top brand, earning a total of 145 points, going 25 points clear of second-place Ford, with 120.

How many vehicles has Toyota sold?

Toyota is the first automobile manufacturer to sell more than 10 million vehicles per year starting in the year 2012. You can probably think of a few manufacturing plants you’ve driven past, as their production goes beyond the industry average.

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Best Toyota Vehicle’s All Time

Rank	Model	Year
1	Toyota Camry	1992
2	Toyota Stout	1964
3	Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40	1960
4	Toyota 2000GT	1967
5	Toyota Corona	1965
6	Toyota Supra Turbo	1993
7	Lexus LS400	1990
8	Toyota Celica ST	1971
9	Lexus LFA	2011
10	Toyota Corolla GT-S	1985
11	Toyota Celica Supra	1983
12	Toyota MR2	1985
13	NASCAR Toyota Camry	2008
14	Toyota Tundra	2000
15	Lexus RX300	1999

Toyota Running Ahead of Competitors Such as Ford

This is a 5-point improvement over the previous year for Toyota, while Ford earned 3 points more compared to the 2017 survey. Toyota and Ford are followed by Honda, which was ranked second last year, with 109 points. Chevrolet was ranked fourth, with 105 points, a 13-point improvement from last year.

These are all brands that traditionally have a good public image, so it’s no wonder that they are at the top of the list, but the next one on the list can be considered a bit of a surprise, as it’s a pretty young company, that has only been present in the market for a couple of years.

2017 Models of Toyota

Make / Model	Price*	MPG**
Avalon	$33,300	21/30
Camry	$23,070	24/33
Corolla	$18,500	28/36
Yaris	$15,250	30/36
Prius	$24,685	54/50
Prius v	$26,675	43/39
Camry Hybrid	$26,790	42/38
Avalon Hybrid	$37,300	39/40
86	$26,255	21/28
Corolla iM	$18,750	27/35
Yaris iA	$15,950	30/39
Prius c	$19,560	53/46
Prius Prime	$27,100	54/133

*Starting MSRP

**Estimated fuel economy

Huge Jump for Tesla Motors & Public Image

It’s Tesla Motors, the electric-car manufacturer, which jumped to fifth place, with a score of 88 points. It’s a huge improvement, considering that it was ranked 11th in 2013, and it has to do with the continuous development and positive publicity the company got over the course of the last twelve months, with pretty good sales figures for its Model S sedan, its stock rising steadily, and finally reporting profits for the first time ever in its history.

Subaru a Huge Competitor of Public Image

Another notable detail from this survey is Subaru’s surge, which, just like Tesla, entered the top 10 for the first time, gaining 87 points, which was enough for 6th place.

The fact that some pretty famous brands, such as Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, or Lexus, are surpassed by newcomers like Tesla, or a pretty small player in the automotive industry, like Subaru, might seem a bit odd, but it actually makes a lot of sense, as the overall score was calculated based on how many times a brand was mentioned as a leader for a particular category, combined with category importance.

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More Toyota Articles

	Articles
1	Comparing Nissan, Honda, & Toyota
2	Review of Toyota's Sports Car 86
3	10 Facts about Toyota
4	How Far Can You Drive a Toyota on Empty?
5	Toyota Camry Hybrid Review & Compared to Honda, Volt, and Ford Fusion

Ford, Honda, & Toyota at the Top of Public Image

Considering that most respondents said that vehicle quality and safety are the most important attributes for them, and makes like Toyota, Ford and Honda gained the most mentions as leaders in these categories, whereas the famous luxury brands mostly gained recognition for their design and performance, which is clearly not a priority for car buyers, the results are not surprising, at all.

Final Thoughts

Be that as it may, the survey doesn’t determine which car makers sell good vehicles, and which of them sells bad ones, but it merely reflects consumers’ opinions about different brands, which as Consumer Report Deputy Editor Jeff Bartlett says, is “influenced by word-of-mouth, marketing, and hands-on experience.”

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