Edmunds says more of Toyotas sales come from trade-ins of older models

Edmunds: More Toyota trade-ins for new Toyotas

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — More of Toyota’s sales are coming from owners who trade-in their old Toyotas in order to buy a new one, the auto industry research group Edmunds.com said Thursday.

Edmunds.com suggests its figures show consumers loyal to Toyota are showing strong confidence in the automaker. The increase in trade-ins comes even after Toyota Motor Corp. suffered a string of massive recalls during the past year.

In 2010, 49 percent of Toyota’s new car sales included a Toyota trade-in, up from 42 percent in 2009.

The industrywide figure so far in 2010 was 42 percent of trade-ins matching the new car purchase.

Ford Motor Co. has the highest score, with 59 percent of new Ford sales coming from customers turning in another Ford.