Jumpstart Automotive Group

We’re in a market where demand is being created by auto manufacturers, dealers and even our government. Despite the uncertainty that still looms over us, we’re being told that now is actually a perfect time to purchase that new car or truck that we’ve been holding back on.  Not only can consumers get financing again, but also they can get tax breaks, payment guarantees and additional incentives if they purchase now.

Vehicle pricing and incentives have reached levels of discounts and guarantees like none we’ve ever seen. The average incentive spending has topped $3,100 per vehicle sold, the highest it has ever been, and there are now competitive programs among OEMs that will back consumers in the event of a job loss within a year of purchasing a new vehicle.  So, how is this affecting consumers? If they’re getting closer to purchasing a vehicle, which ones are they researching the most?

Most Popular Vehicle Segments in the First Quarter

As gas prices came back down last fall, we saw consumer interest move away from compacts and hybrids and back to larger vehicles, namely SUVs and trucks, proving that consumers still aren’t ready to ditch their larger gas-guzzlers for the sake of the environment.

The sedan segment held the greatest share of audience through the course of 2008 and continues to remain on top in the first quarter of this year. Despite the higher cost and gas mileage, SUVs are still the second most shopped vehicle early in 2009, as seen in the segment breakout in Table 1.1 below.

Table 1.1 Share of Shoppers by Vehicle Segment, Q1 2009

As mentioned above, the sedan continues to lead with nearly 30% of Jumpstart’s audience researching vehicles within this category, followed by SUVs at 18% share.  The compact category still remains strong in the first quarter with 13% share.

In the monthly trends for vehicle segments in Table 1.2 we see that the only two segments that gained share in March were compact and hybrids.  While hybrid remains a small segment of vehicle shoppers, their total share on Jumpstart sites jumped by 49% from February to March. 

Table 1.2 Monthly Breakout — Share of Shoppers by Vehicle Segment, January-March, 2009

Sales by Vehicle Segment

Crossover utility vehicles (CUV) and midsize cars topped U.S. vehicle sales over the first quarter of 2009, representing 22% and 20% share of sales respectively.  Small or compact cars trailed close behind with 19% share of vehicle sales in the first quarter. A monthly breakout of sales by segment (Table 2.2) also shows that similar to vehicle research online, the compact category also gained traction in sales during the month of March, increasing by 31% from its February numbers.

Table 2.1 Share of Vehicle Sales by Segment, Q1 2009

Table 2.2 Monthly Breakout of Vehicle Sales (Unit) by Segment, January — March, 2009

As we watch online shopping and sales trends through the course of the year, it will be interesting to see what factors in our economy will affect vehicle sales the most. Are consumers gaining interest in compact cars because they’re a more economical choice in a recession? Or is the renewed interest driven by fear that gas prices will shoot up again this summer, thus driving consumers to be more concerned with fuel economy? Will we see that the manufacturers who are offering the greatest incentives gain share of sales because of those offers? 

Finally, what factors will ultimately drive demand and earn the confidence of consumers: pricing incentives and guarantees, fuel efficiency or other factors? Only time will tell.