Toyota Customers Loyal Despite Recalls, Study
If you think a little recall can keep a company like Toyota down, you’d be wrong. Even with the slew of recalls in 2009, the setbacks have had “little to no impact” on how consumers see Toyota.
At least that’s what a study released by North Carolina State University found. Researchers first looked at the used car market to see how factors that had nothing to do with the recall, like promotions, marketing campaigns and new models could impact sales. Then, they studied the average prices for specific used models to determine how much Toyota owners were willing sell their vehicle for and how much used-car buyers would be willing to pay for them.
The results found that even though Toyota received a lot of press surrounding the recalls, it really didn’t have an effect on what consumers were willing to pay for a Toyota vehicle. In fact, the average price of vehicles that were affected by the recall only declined by about two percent when compared to unaffected vehicles.
This study highlights the importance of a well-established reputation. When the university did a similar study of Audi vehicles recalled in 1986 due to similar acceleration issues, researchers found an average price slide greater than 16 percent over a six month period.
More by Amy Tokic
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I still am not a "new toyota" fan. I believe that there quality is the same as all the automakers today. Everyone will have a screw up once in awhile. Back in the 70's and 80's however I think that Japan was on top in overall quaily over the US automakers. I feel that once Japan got the Americans on their side for cars... they now build the same as the US because most are now built by us.