I don't think high insurance costs would result in brand damage as such. But it absolutely would result in reduced sales and/or reduced resale value, because sufficiently many people comparing which car to buy will look at the insurance cost for each particular car they are comparing as part of that decision.

I agree that if sufficiently many people consider insurance costs in the buying decision, then a high theft rate will reduce sales. I guess I am just wondering whether or not most people actually do that. It’s been a while since I bought a car, but my impression was that many (most?) people just buy based on the biweekly payment, and everything else from depreciation to gas to insurance is an afterthought.