June 28, 2010—Hyundai and Ford climbed in new-car shopper activity this year while Honda and Toyota lost favor among new-car shoppers, according to a recent analysis by Kelley Blue Book (KBB) Market Intelligence.
The analysis compared kbb.com traffic data from May 2009 and May 2010.
The increase in activity for Hyundai and Ford, according to a kbb.com press release_notes, is largely due to strong, effective marketing efforts and consumer interest in popular models such as the Ford Mustang. Although Toyota and Honda still hold the top two spots respectively in new-car shopper activity, Toyota’s year of recalls and Honda’s aging Civic model are contributing to the decrease in consumer interest in those brands.
The top five increasing brands are:
1. Hyundai
2. Ford
3. GMC
4. Kia
5. Subaru
The top five decreasing brands are:
1. Toyota
2. Honda
3. Pontiac
4. Dodge
5. Lexus
"Many brands we see on the top five upward climbers and bottom five downward decliners list for May 2010 would have been shocking to many consumers and industry professionals if you would have shown them this data just a few years ago," said James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com. "These results prove how great product supported by strong marketing, along with consumer confidence and excitement about the brand can alter shopper behavior in the relatively short course of only a year."
