One-quarter of Americans are considering buying a Toyota as their next car, according to a survey on Saturday that underlined the Japanese giant's clout in the world's biggest auto market.

The survey by the influential magazine Consumer Reports said that Toyota also has the strongest brand image among automakers in the US, ahead of Ford. 'This comes at a time when Toyota is poised to surpass General Motors (GM) as the world's largest automaker,' the publication noted.

'Supporting the perception and brand loyalty numbers, 24 per cent of Americans are considering a Toyota for their next purchase,' it said.

Trailing behind were Japan's Honda with 17 per cent, GM's Chevrolet brand with 15 per cent and Ford at 13 per cent.

Last year, Toyota overtook the German-US carmaker DaimlerChrysler to become the third-selling auto company in the US, catching up on Ford in second place and GM in first.

In terms of global production, Toyota looks poised to overtake GM this year as the world's biggest automaker. 'Despite taking recent hits, Ford, and even Chevrolet, are brands still thought of highly by consumers,' said Jeff Bartlett, deputy editor of ConsumerReports.org.

'But our survey shows Toyota's brand appeal attracts car buyers, and it retains current owners,' he said, noting that fully 78 per cent of current Toyota owners say they are likely to consider buying another.

Consumer Reports surveyed 907 adults in car-owning households by telephone over Nov 30-Dec 3.

Toyota won top rankings in four of the six categories studied: performance, quality, techno logy/innovation and value.

Ford led by a single percentage point over Toyota in the design/style category, while Volvo rated a 10-percentage-point lead in the safety category.

The survey was released on the eve of the press opening of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. - AFP