Edmunds.com: Toyota's Generous Incentives Ignite Online Interest

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Edmunds.com believes Toyota's announcements of zero-percent financing and special lease deals are being very well received because of a sharp rise in purchase intent by site visitors, Auto Remarketing reported.

Officials indicated that the incentive offerings generated nearly a 40-percent spike in purchase interest when measured over a 48-hour period.

Comparing recent history, the increase is significant. In January, Edmunds.com said Toyota's purchase intent averaged a little more than 13 percent and then fell to as low as 9.7 percent because of recall announcements.

On Monday, site officials found that Toyota purchase intent had recovered to 13 percent. On Tuesday when the incentives program was revealed, they spotted that Toyota purchase intent soared to 18 percent — a 14-month high on Edmunds.com.

Apparently, slightly later announcements of zero-percent financing by Chrysler and General Motors didn't have the same effect, according to executives. 

In fact, Edmunds.com indicated that Chrysler purchase intent decreased from 3.3 percent to 2.9 percent, and GM purchase intent rose just slightly from 12.6 percent to 12.7 percent.

"Because of the Toyota recall, people have been closely watching the company's moves, and many were ready to take action upon hearing the announcement of this highly anticipated incentives program," explained Edmunds.com senior analyst David Tompkins.

"Chrysler and GM didn't get quite as much attention for two main reasons: historically — such as in the Keep America Rolling campaign in 2001 — followers never get the same level of attention that the initiators do, and, second, this type of announcement is far more rare for Toyota," Tompkins continued.

George Kang, another senior analyst at Edmunds.com, also offered his perspective on the attention the Toyota incentives sparked.

"The Toyota recall saga allowed other automakers to snag some market share, and now Toyota wants it back," Kang interjected.

"Despite their ongoing challenges, the company still has plenty of brand strength and consumer confidence," Kang added.

Edmunds.com pointed out that purchase intent measures actual buyer interest reflected by pricing research, vehicle configuration and other focused steps. Officials maintain that purchase intent has a strong correlation to sales.

They went on to note that automaker purchase intent reflects share of total Edmunds.com traffic engaged in purchase intent activity, while model-level data reflects share of Edmunds.com traffic engaged in purchase intent activity within the indicated model's segment.