Toyota Falls From Top Spot, Boosting Ford to No. 1 in All-New 'Automotive Brand Indicator' Data From Kelley Blue Book

IRVINE, Calif., May 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com today announces the latest results from the company's all-new 'Automotive Brand Indicator' (ABI), showing Toyota dropping from the top spot among all brands to No. 2, boosting Ford to No. 1 for Q1 2010.

The ABI is derived from four primary components that are important in determining brand performance based on consumer attitudes and behaviors.  The Kelley Blue Book ABI combines brand consideration data and perception ratings on factors of importance from Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence's Brand Watch™ study with new-car shopper activity and leads data garnered from the 15 million monthly visits to kbb.com, and puts this information through a rigorous analytics modeling process to determine each brand's strength.

"Toyota had a very tough first quarter this year due to the recall crisis, and the latest Automotive Brand Indicator (ABI) results from Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence reflect Toyota's struggles in all areas in which the ABI tracks," said James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com.  "Meanwhile, Ford is the darling of the industry right now with exciting new product and marketing initiatives, and undoubtedly they were able to overtake the top spot in Q1 2010 due to problems Toyota experienced at the time.  However, Toyota is slowly crawling back into consumer's good graces, especially with its continued enticing incentive offers.  Even if Toyota reclaims its top position in Q2 2010, the fight to see who is king of the hill has certainly gotten more crowded."

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Kelley Blue Book's ABI is a standardized measure providing a comprehensive summary of how consumers view OEMs, and is used to indicate how an automotive brand is performing and perceived relative to the market and key competitors.  The ABI index and ranking data can be used as a diagnostic tool, identifying key drivers to help automakers spotlight areas in which they can improve or leverage to increase their brand strength.  In addition, ABI results can help automakers determine where they should focus their marketing efforts so they can better position their brands within today's competitive automotive landscape.

"While some companies may track various forms of consideration, shopper activity or leads, Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence's all-new Automotive Brand Indicator is revolutionary in that it adds in consumer perception data from surveys and provides the additional advantage of showing an automakers' performance relative to both the market and competition," said Rick Wainschel, senior vice president of market intelligence and brand strategy for Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com.  "The ABI results combined with detailed analysis from Kelley Blue Book's Market Intelligence and Advanced Analytics teams can help automakers gain a better understanding of where their brand stands in the marketplace, strategically hone their marketing plans and ultimately, improve new-car sales."

Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence tracks 37 automotive brands and can provide quarterly ABI results upon request by auto manufacturers.  Deep-dive analytics and consulting also are available.  For Market Intelligence inquiries on any automotive brand, please contact Hwei-Lin Oetken, vice president of market intelligence services for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com, at 949-267-4460 or hoetken@kbb.com.

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)

Since 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, has provided vehicle buyers and sellers with the new and used vehicle information they need to accomplish their goals with confidence. The company's top-rated Web site, www.kbb.com, provides the most up-to-date pricing and values, including the New Car Blue Book® Value, which reveals what people actually are paying for new cars. The company also reports vehicle pricing and values via products and services, including software products and the famous Blue Book® Official Guide. According to the C.A. Walker Research Solutions, Inc. - 2009 Spring Automotive Web Site Usefulness Study, kbb.com is the most useful automotive information Web site among new and used vehicle shoppers, and half of online vehicle shoppers visit kbb.com. Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com also is a W3 Gold Award winner, sanctioned by the International Academy of Visual Arts. Kbb.com is a leading provider of new car prices, used car Blue Book Values, car reviews, new cars for sale, used cars for sale, and car dealer locations.

SOURCE Kelley Blue Book