Page 228 - Toyota Under Fire

RESPONSE AND THE ROAD TO RECOVER Y

dai. Another J.D. Power study in December 2010 found that
19 percent of new-vehicle shoppers would not consider a Toyota
because of the “bad reputation of the manufacturer,” up from 2
percent a year earlier.* In Consumer Reports’s main survey of cus-
tomer satisfaction released in early January 2011, Toyota had re-
gained the top spot, but Ford was right on its heels, virtually tied
for first place.† Again, the picture is of a resilient company, but
one that has work to do to regain its former competitive status.

FIGURE 4.5 EDMUNDS.COM DATA ON CUSTOMER
CONSIDERATION OF AUTOMOTIVE PURCHASES)
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Jan-09 Feb-09 Mar-09 Apr-09 May-09 Jun-09 Jul-09 Aug-09 Sep-09 Oct-09 Nov-09 Dec-09 Jan-10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10 May-10 Jun-10 Jul-10 Aug-10 Sep-10 Oct-10 Nov-10

Vs American Vs Foreign

Historically, Toyota has been at its best when severely chal-
lenged by the environment, including tough competition. The
actions that Toyota took in 2010 put it in a position to compete

* Lauren Abdel-Razzaq, “Toyota Reputation Drops among U.S. New-Car Buyers,
J.D. Power Says,” Automotive News, December 14, 2010; http://www.autonews
.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101214/RETAIL 03/101219918/1143.
† David Shepardson, “Ford, Toyota in ‘Dead Heat’ among Consumer Perceptions,”
Detroit News, January 6, 2011; http://detnews.com/article/20110106/AUTO
01/101060366/Ford--Toyota-in-%E2%80%98dead-heat%E2%80%99-among
-consumer-perceptions.

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