April 21, 2021—A study by Morning Consult, a data intelligence company, found that Ford, Toyota, Tesla and BMW ranked among the top U.S. companies in consumer trust, the Detroit Free Press reported.
"When the pandemic first hit the United States last year, the travel industry ground to a halt. Over the summer, people started to venture out again, mostly sticking to road trips," John Leer, economist for Morning Consult, told the publication. "As Americans increasingly relied on their cars for transportation and travel, they also grew more trusting of auto companies, particularly Tesla, Ford, Toyota and BMW."
This is the first time automakers made the trust list over the past two years.
The report, which gauged consumer trust beyond just the U.S., interviewed more than 300,000 consumers in 10 countries and specifically examined the impact of COVID-19 on trust, with 21 percent of consumers around the world now trusting brands more because of their pandemic responses. Among the overall feedback, 20 percent said they trusted companies less and 59 percent said there was no impact.
