Message #21 From:
NewsBot Date: October 25, 2006 07:17:00 AM
ABTL News Autobytel Announces Most Requested Vehicles for Q3
IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Autobytel has announced its latest Consumer Choice report,
revealing the most requested vehicles and overall buying decisions among
Autobytel’s millions of shoppers during the
third quarter. Here’s a quick look at the big
winners and losers for Q3, and the trends that defined the quarter on
Autobytel’s car buying websites:
Truck and SUV Requests up 25% and 12%, Respectively, vs. Q2
Fifteen percent of the shoppers recently polled by Autobytel said that
falling gas prices are making them more likely to consider a larger
truck or SUV. And it appears that this subset of buyers may be putting
their money where their mouths are. Purchase Requests for trucks and
SUVs rose 25% and 12%, respectively, in Q3 versus Q2 (when gas was about
70 cents/gallon more expensive).
But Cars Still Rule Online
Trucks’ gains didn’t
necessarily come at the expense of passenger cars, which as a category
generated 9% more requests in Q3 than they did in Q2 and featured
several breakout performers, including the Dodge Caliber and Toyota
Corolla. A quick look at the top-10 most requested vehicles (see below)
for the quarter shows that cars – particularly
smaller, fuel-efficient, import cars – still
dominate online.
Top-3 Most Requested Passenger Cars: Honda Civic, Honda Accord,
Toyota Camry
Q3 Request Losers: Toyota Avalon(-29%), Honda Fit (-14%),
Hyundai Sonata (-13%)
… And Just How Real Is the “Truck
Comeback” Anyway?
It’s qualified, at best. Although truck
demand was up 25% versus the second quarter, that’s
a very low benchmark to beat, given the major Purchase Request decline
the category suffered in Q2. It’s also not
clear which was more important for Autobytel shoppers: fuel prices or
incentives. While the surge in requests for the Toyota Tacoma (the most
requested truck overall in Q3) may be related to fuel prices, the two
other biggest Purchase Request gainers – the
Toyota Tundra and the Dodge Ram – relied on
steep summer rebates to attract buyers. Requests for the Ford F-150 were
up only a modest 8% vs. Q2 (when F-150 requests fell 43% vs. Q2 2005),
while requests for the other traditional category heavyweight, the Chevy
Silverado, fell 14%, albeit with a redesign on the way.
Top-3 Most Requested Trucks: Toyota Tacoma, Dodge Ram, Ford F-150
Q3 Request Gainers: Dodge Ram (+55%), Toyota Tacoma (+47%),
Toyota Tundra (+103%)
Q3 Request Losers: Honda Ridgeline (-23%), Chevrolet Silverado
(-14%)
Small, Mid-Size and Crossover SUVs Lift Category
The SUV category received a similar boost from incentives on what had
been slow-moving models, including the Jeep Wrangler (which garnered 36%
more Purchase Requests than Q2), Jeep Grand Cherokee (+34%), and Nissan
Pathfinder (+73%). But the lion’s share of Q3
Purchase Request gainers in the SUV category were car-based, relatively
fuel-efficient offerings, including, notably, the Toyota Highlander
Hybrid, which generated 45% more Purchase Requests than Q2 …despite falling gas prices. (Although it should be noted that
requests fell dramatically for the Ford Escape Hybrid.)
Top-3 Most Requested SUVs: Toyota RAV4, Acura MDX, Toyota FJ
Cruiser
Big Q3 Request Gainers: Toyota Highlander (+26%) and Highlander
Hybrid (+32%), Subaru Outback (+53%), Nissan Murano (+27%)
Big Q3 Request Losers: Hummer H3 (-10%), Ford Escape Hybrid
(-49%), Scion xB (-8%)
“The gas price drop in conjunction with big
summer incentives provides an interesting ‘best
case’ scenario in terms of consumer demand
for big trucks and truck-based SUVs in the current market,”
said Autobytel analyst Brian Chee. “And it
appears that even in this ‘best case,’
there’s a definite ceiling. Still, if gas
prices stay low during the current round of truck clearance sales, we
could see more upward movement in the months ahead. The big question is:
If a 70 cent/gallon drop in gas prices, with major incentives already in
place, can only muster a relatively mild rebound, what will happen when
gas prices inevitably start going back up?”
We may find out sooner than expected: OPEC just announced that it’s
cutting oil production.
Subcompacts May Be “Siphoning Off”
Hybrid Demand Among Fuel-Conscious Shoppers
Despite the success of the Highlander, requests for hybrids overall fell
10% versus the previous quarter, which could simply be chalked up to
lower gas costs. But given that fuel-sippers like the Toyota Corolla and
Yaris, Mazda3, and Kia Rio were all up strongly in Q3, it may be more
likely that potential hybrid buyers are simply opting for subcompacts
instead – considering the price, design
sophistication, and comparable fuel economy they offer. After all, why
spend the hybrid premium when you don’t have
to?
The Autobytel Q3 Hot List
Each quarter, certain new vehicles capture the imaginations of Autobytel’s
shoppers, generating a response – in terms of
page views and/or Purchase Requests – that
dramatically exceeds expectations. Here’s a
look at some of the cars and trucks that managed to cut through the
clutter of nameplates in our competitive research environment, and turn
heads (online) in Q3:
2007 Dodge Caliber
2007 Scion tC
2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid
2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
2007 Lexus ES
2006 Volkswagen Rabbit
2006 Dodge Charger
2007 Acura RDX
2007 Jeep Wrangler
2007 Nissan Versa
The Top-10 Most Requested Vehicles Overall During Q3
Toyota Camry (including hybrid)
Honda Civic
Honda Accord
Toyota Corolla
Honda Odyssey
Toyota Yaris
Toyota RAV4
Toyota Sienna
MINI Cooper
Toyota Prius
About Autobytel Inc.
Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq:ABTL) is one of the largest online
automotive marketplaces, empowering consumers to make smart vehicle
choices using objective automotive data and insightful interactive
editorial content. The result is a convenient car-buying process backed
by a nationwide network of dealers who are committed to providing a
positive consumer experience. Every day consumers choose Autobytel-owned
and operated websites —Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com,
CarSmart.com, Car.com, AutoSite.com, Autoahorros.com, and CarTV.com–
to facilitate their car-shopping decisions. Autobytel’s
ability to attract millions of highly qualified, in-market car buyers
and connect them with retailers has made it a leader in facilitating the
entire customer car-buying lifecycle.
The Company’s innovative marketing,
advertising, data and CRM products, including its Web Control®
customer management system, Retention Performance Marketing (RPM®)
service reminder program, Special Finance LeadsSM,
and AIC® data center, are designed
to enable dealers to offer a premium consumer experience. Since
pioneering pro-consumer online automotive content and purchasing in
1995, Autobytel has helped more than twenty-seven million car buyers,
generating billions of dollars in car sales for dealers.
1 all percentage losses/increases based on
comparison with Q2 2006
