SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – ALG’s Spring 2011 Perceived Quality Study (PQS) showed Toyota’s Perceived Quality Score rose 4 percent over the last six months and Lexus again captured the luxury category’s highest Perceived Quality rating during the reporting period.  The study also showed that Land Rover, up 2.5 percent, and Kia, up 5.6 percent, experienced the biggest gains in perception among luxury and mainstream brands respectively.

“The continued rebound of Toyota is a testament to the brand’s solid reputation for quality and ownership loyalty. Toyota isn’t out of the woods yet, however, as the company faces the repercussions of another large recall earlier this year,” said Eric Lyman, director for Residual Value Solutions for ALG.  “We also see the success of Land Rover being fueled by the growing popularity of its driver-oriented Range Rover Sport and the Evoque, helping the brand slowly notch perception improvements. For Kia, the consumer quality recognition is the payoff for a recent revolution in product quality and design supported by aggressive marketing campaigns.”

ALG surveys approximately 3,000 to 4,000 U.S. consumers twice a year for its PQS to gauge perceptions of a number of luxury and mainstream automotive brands. 

Additional highlights from the survey include: in the luxury category, Lexus topped the charts with an overall PQS of 83 (out of 100), followed by Mercedes (82.7 and -1.4 percent compared to the Fall 2010 Study), BMW (80.2; +1.7 percent), Porsche (79.7; - 0.6 percent) and Acura (78.1; +0.9 percent). Honda (81.2; -0.2 percent) once again led the mainstream brands and Toyota (73.5; +4.0 percent) rebounded to finish the year strong. Ford Trucks (71.2; +1.9 percent), Subaru (70.6; +2.5 percent) and Nissan (69.8; +1.2 percent) finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the mainstream category.

The complete list with scores and details is available on ALG’s website.