More mainstream buyers considered Toyota or BMW vehicles when shopping for a brand than any other in the third quarter of 2022. Toyota not only maintained its lead, but widened it over Ford and Chevrolet.
In the luxury segment, BMW comfortably maintained its lead as Tesla buyer consideration dwindled, with the Tesla Model Y and Model S dropping from the Top 10 most-shopped list.
Those are the latest findings of the Q3 2022 Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch, a consumer perception survey compares a brand or model to its competitors in its market based on a dozen characteristics essential to a consumer’s purchasing decision.
“BMW and Toyota continue to stand firm in their positions as the most-shopped luxury and non-luxury brands,” said Vanessa Ton, senior research and market intelligence manager at Cox Automotive.
“The third quarter also saw a noteworthy drop in consideration for Tesla, which could have been caused by a number of factors. Increased competition from other automakers offering more new electric vehicles, price hikes and a lack of new products all may have contributed to Tesla’s considerable decline. However, we have seen Tesla’s shopping numbers drop before and they always eventually rebound. It will be interesting to see if they rebound more slowly or quickly this time around.”
What luxury buyers want
BMW continues to rank at the top in consideration among luxury buyers at 22%, up 1% from the previous quarter. It was followed by Lexus and Cadillac (17%), Audi (15%) and Mercedes-Benz (14%) rounding out the top five. Tesla fell 3%, tying with Acura at 12%, Buick came next at 11%, up 1%, followed by Infinti and Genesis (8%) then Volvo (7%). Lincoln, Land Rover and Porsche tied at 6%, while Jaguar, Rivian and Alfa Romeo tied at 2%. Polestar and Maserati tied at 1%, while Lucid came in last at 0 percent.
Tesla’s fall is notable, but Cox pointed out the brand has fallen before, as Tesla buyers don’t cross shop other products, at least not yet. Intensifying EV competition from other automakers price hikes, a lack of new products, CEO Elon Musk’s $44-billion acquisition of Twitter and his provocative political comments may have also contributed to its drop. Also notable is Lincoln, which spent heavily on TV brand advertising only to see consideration drop 1%, as did Jaguar, both of which await fresh products. Meanwhile, Genesis consideration rose 1% as the brand continues to field new models.
But when it comes to the most shopped luxury vehicles, Cadillac comes first with the Escalade, followed by the Buick Enclave, Tesla Model 3, BMW 3 Series, Acura MDX, Buick Encore, BMW 5 Series, Acura RX, Cadillac CT5 and BMW X5. Only the Tesla Model 3 made the top 10, although BMW has three models in the list, followed by Cadillac, Buick, and Acura with two each. Overall, 67% of buyers considered SUVs down 2% from last year, while 53% of buyers considered cars, up 4% year-over-year.
Of the factors driving consideration, Mercedes-Benz ranked first in safety, driving comfort, reputation, interior layout and prestige. Tesla grabbed top grades for driving performance, fuel efficiency and technology, Cadillac led in exterior styling, Land Rover led in ruggedness, while Lexus grabbed first for reliability.
What the rest of us consider
Toyota increased its lead over Ford and Chevrolet in the third quarter of this year among non-luxury customers — despite having one of the lowest inventory levels in the U.S. automobile sector — as 35% of non-luxury customers expressed interest in Toyotas. That’s the same proportion as the previous quarter, as No. 2 Ford and No. 3 Chevrolet each fell 1%, to 30% and 29%, respectively.
Honda remained steady at 24% as did Hyundai at 15%, and Kia and Nissan tied at 13%. GMC fell 1% to 12%, tying with Jeep and Subaru, which both rose 1 percent. Dodge fell 1% to 9%, Volkswagen rose a percentage point to 6%, tying with Ram, which remained unchanged. Mazda fell 1% to 5%, as did Chrysler tat 4%. Mini, Mitsubishi and Fiat all tied at 1%, with Mitsubishi’s consideration falling 1 percent.
Honda and Toyota dominated the Top 10 mainstream models considered by mainstream byers buyers despite the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado claiming the two top spots. They were followed by the Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Honda CR-V, Toyota Camry, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Tacoma, Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and Chevrolet Tahoe. Overall, Toyota had four models, Honda had three models, followed by Chevrolet with two and Ford with one.
SUVs consistently held the top spot among vehicle types, with 67% of non-luxury buyers considering one, up 1% from last year. The most shopped SUVs were the ones in the top 20, followed by the Dodge Durango. But don’t count cars just yet, as 40% of consumers considered one, up from 32% last year. The Honda Accord, Honda Civic and Toyota Camry were the top three, followed by — surprise — the Dodge Charger and Toyota Corolla. Meanwhile, 32% of buyers considered pickups, unchanged from last year, while 5% considered minivans.