More Car Shoppers Consider a Toyota; GMC Interest Surges

A third of new car shoppers considered a Toyota last quarter. But General Motors was the big winner of Kelley Blue Book’s fourth-quarter Brand Watch Report. America’s largest automaker took two of the top five spots.

The numbers come from Kelley Blue Book’s fourth-quarter Brand Watch survey — a consumer perception survey that also weaves in shopping behavior to determine how a brand or model stacks up with its segment competitors on a dozen factors key to a consumer’s buying decision.

Kelley Blue Book produces separate reports covering luxury car shoppers and those shopping for hybrids and electric cars. We expect to publish those figures shortly.

Toyota held the top spot among mainstream car brands. That’s hardly surprising news. The company has led the survey for most of the past five years. More shoppers looked at a Toyota than a vehicle from any other brand, even late in 2022 when microchip shortages meant Toyota dealers had few cars to sell.

Chevrolet, however, knocked Ford out of second place. GMC, General Motors’ upscale all-truck-and-SUV brand, showed up in fifth place – its first time in the top five.

GMC likely benefitted from a general increase in luxury-vehicle shopping in Q4, as many GMC products are priced in luxury territory and are cross-shopped by some luxury shoppers.

Truck shopping also increased notably in Q4, benefiting a brand that only sells trucks, and interest in Hummer products continues to grow, which drives additional GMC shopping traffic.

The Top Ten Most-Considered Brands

Pickup Trucks Dominated the Most-Shopped List

Every type of vehicle slipped in consideration in the fourth quarter except one – Americans looked hard at pickup trucks.

A third of all non-luxury shoppers considered a pickup.

Traditional cars slipped as gas prices fell. Shopping for sedans had picked up last year as gas prices rose, but the impact of high gas prices doesn’t linger. Of all non-luxury shoppers, 36% considered a car, down from 40% in the third quarter but still up from 31% in the year-ago fourth quarter.

As always, SUVs remained the most-shopped category, with 67% of non-luxury shoppers considering them, a percentage that has held steady for many quarters.

The Top Ten Most-Considered Models: