Sales Success Story Hyundai Sonata Makes Giant Leap to No. 5 on 2010’s Top 20 Most-Researched New Cars List

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Kelley Blue Book, the leading provider of new car and used car information, today announces the most-researched new vehicles of 2010 on the company’s top-rated website, www.kbb.com.  In addition, Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com reveals the top five brands with the greatest share of market interest for 2010.

This year marks the fifth consecutive year that Kelley Blue Book saw increased visitation to its website, with nearly 24 million more visits to kbb.com in 2010 versus 2009.  Because kbb.com is one of the most-trafficked automotive research sites, visitation to specific vehicles has become a leading indicator of sales patterns for manufacturers.

Kbb.com’s Top 20 Most-Researched New Vehicles of 2010

1. Honda Accord	6. Nissan Altima	11. Toyota Sienna	16. Ford Escape
2. Honda Civic	7. Honda Pilot	12. Honda Odyssey	17. Toyota Prius
3. Toyota Camry	8. Ford Mustang	13. Chevrolet Equinox	18. BMW 3 Series
4. Honda CR-V	9. Toyota Highlander	14. Toyota Corolla	19. Chevrolet Camaro
5. Hyundai Sonata	10. Toyota RAV4	15. Ford Fusion	20. Volkswagen Jetta

The Honda Accord, Honda Civic and Toyota Camry (in varying orders each year) have been the top three most-researched new vehicles on kbb.com each year since 2004.  However, a few vehicles made jumps into the top 20 most-researched new vehicles for 2010 that were not on the list in 2009, and many models have changed their standings among the top 20 when compared to last year.

The most noteworthy success story this year is the Hyundai Sonata, which made a giant leap up 24 positions, from number 29 last year to number five this year.  Hyundai’s popular all-new Sonata helped to re-shuffle the deck among the top 20 most-researched new cars of 2010, knocking a few vehicles further down on the list compared to where they were last year.

A number of popular new or redesigned models also increased their standing for 2010 versus 2009, including the Ford Mustang, up eight positions to number eight, the Toyota Sienna, up seven positions to number 11, and the Chevrolet Equinox, up seven positions to number 13.  In addition, the BMW 3 Series was new to the list for 2010, making its debut at number 18.

Likewise, many vehicles that are staples on the annual kbb.com top 20 most-researched new vehicles list experienced a decline in standing for 2010 when compared to 2009.  The Toyota Corolla fell nine positions to number 14 this year, and the Toyota Prius dropped nine positions to number 17.  In addition, the Chevrolet Camaro was down seven positions to number 19 for 2010.

“The site traffic on Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com clearly demonstrates which models are resonating with today’s new-car shoppers, especially when we examine the most-researched new vehicles of 2010,” said James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com.  “Hyundai’s homerun Sonata was not only the darling of the industry this year, but also made a strong impression in the minds of new-car shoppers by leaping ahead to the fifth most-researched new car of 2010.  In addition, two popular Toyota models, the Corolla and Prius, experienced drops on the list this year, likely due to a combination of lower fuel prices and reduced overall interest in compact and hybrid vehicles, and also possibly due to Toyota’s public perception crisis during the recall saga of 2010.”

Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com 2010 Top Five Brands with Greatest Share of Market Interest Among New-Car Shoppers

1. Toyota with 13.4 percent
2. Honda with 11.4 percent
3. Ford with 10.2 percent
4. Chevrolet with 8.3 percent
5. Nissan with 6.2 percent

Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chevrolet and Nissan (respectively) are the top five brands with the highest share of market interest — defined as the percent of new-car shopper activity for a particular brand — on Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com for 2010.  While these five brands remain in the same positions as last year, Toyota has experienced a decline in share of market interest for 2010 while Ford’s share of market interest continues to grow.  Toyota managed to hold down its top spot for 2010, even though its share of market interest declined 2.4 percentage points from last year.  While Ford remains in the number three spot, its share of market interest increased 1.5 percentage points for 2010 when compared to 2009.  The remaining three (Honda, Chevrolet and Nissan) brands’ share of market interest numbers remained relatively flat year-over-year.

For more information and news from Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com, visit www.kbb.com/media, follow us on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/kelleybluebook (or @kelleybluebook), or like our page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kbb.