Recalls are Affecting Toyota Loyalty - Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports has conducted a quick study to see how the recent rash of Toyota recalls has affected owner loyalty. The question was asked of current Toyota owners, would they from Toyota again? 60 percent said yes they would, which is high, but drops them down by 10 percent since the last survey (December, 2009). It also dropped them in behind Honda.

Toyota is still above other major brands however, including Chevrolet (52 percent), Ford (51 percent), and Dodge (28 percent). Notably, Dodge owners are less likely to purchase another vehicle from that brand than in December, at 28 percent versus 32 percent.

Among the top brands, purchase intent among all consumers changed by a notable amount between the two surveys for only one brand; Toyota registered a decline of nearly 4 percentage points. The change was similar between genders, but purchase intent declined more among respondents aged 18 to 44 years old than those aged 45 and over.

Even with this modest decline, Toyota purchase intent among all respondents remains greater than all brands except Ford (17 percent) and Chevrolet (14 percent). (Source: Consumer Reports)

The survey was conducted on February 4-8 of 1,832 adults who said that their household owns a vehicle.

It's unclear how long the affect will last one way or another. The quick drop is remarkable, but will it last? Will it rebound, or continue to drop from this point forward.