« The Plastiki Expedition | Main | U.S. Postal Service Honors Abstract Expressionists »
March 8, 2010
Cars.com Consumer Search Index: Toyota and GM Lose Ground With Consumers in February
Hyundai, Kia and Ford Accelerate on Cars.com as Longtime Market Leaders See Declining Interest.
Amidst concerns over the Toyota recall, interest in several of the brand's popular models declined sharply in February on Cars.com. According to the most recent Cars.com Consumer Search Index, which tracks the fluctuation of consumer contact with dealers originating from the site, 6 of the top 10 decreases were for Toyota models including Rav4, Corolla, Camry, Highlander, Prius and FJ Cruiser.
GM rounded out the top ten decreases, with four models experiencing sharp declines in consumer interest - Sierra 1500, Corvette, Tahoe and Equinox.
The Korean manufacturers Hyundai and Kia benefited directly from Toyota's troubles. Interest in the new Hyundai Sonata, Hyundai Tucson and the Kia Sorento skyrocketed in the month of February according to Cars.com.
In addition to the two Korean manufacturers, Ford continued its strong performance on the site which has helped propel the manufacturer past GM in terms of total sales for the first time since 1998.
The Hyundai Sonata topped Cars.com's list of new cars experiencing the largest increase in consumer contacts to dealers, with a whopping 106 percent increase. The Sonata was followed by the Hyundai Tucson at 83 percent and the Kia Sorento at 69 percent. Ford also had three cars in the top 10. The new Fusion, Escape and F-150 ranked 6th, 7th and 8th respectively.
The Toyota Sienna, which wasn't part of the recall, bucked the trend and ranked 4th out of the 10 vehicles experiencing the largest increase in consumer contacts to dealers.
"The aggressive marketing efforts on the part of Hyundai and Kia are working when it comes to generating interest among car shoppers," said Cars.com Editor in Chief Patrick Olsen. "It's nothing short of surprising to see the activity that the new Toyota Sienna has generated, considering all the turmoil surrounding the automaker's recalls."
Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, which is owned by some media companies, including Belo, Gannett Co., Inc., The McClatchy Company, Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company.
Cars.com Consumer Search Index - February 2010:
• Consumer Contacts to Dealers:
February Movers ------ % Increase
-------------------------------------------
Hyundai Sonata ------ 106%
Hyundai Tucson ------ 83%
Kia Sorento ------ 69%
Toyota Sienna ------ 30%
Honda Odyssey ------ 19%
Ford Fusion ------ 15%
Ford Escape ------ 11%
Ford F150 ------ 10%
Honda Civic ------ 9%
Chevrolet Camaro ------ 7%
------------------------------------------
February Losers ------ % Decrease
------------------------------------------
GMC Sierra 1500 ------ 51%
Toyota RAV4 ------ 50%
Toyota Camry ------ 38%
Toyota Corolla ------ 37%
Toyota Highlander ------ 37%
Chevrolet Corvette ------ 35%
Toyota Prius ------ 34%
Chevrolet Tahoe ------ 33%
Chevrolet Equinox ------ 28%
Toyota FJ Cruiser ------ 25%
------------------------------------------
Source: Cars.com
|GlobalGiants.Com|
"The news from the car sales front corroborates that the marketing and communications structure of a big automobile company is flawed without the following two distinct specialist divisions working in conjunction:
• One that specializes in long term advertising & marketing strategy, studies the genuine needs of diverse auto consumers, and keeps itself abreast of the trends and developments in the auto industry.
• One that specializes in short term advertising & marketing strategy, remains alert, monitors the changes and fluctuations in the wants and preferences of various categories of car buyers, watches the movements of the competitors, and looks after the situation."
© GlobalGiants.Com. All Rights Reserved.
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 1:09 AM | Link to this Post
