J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Launch Models Often Face Low Awareness Levels among New-Vehicle Buyers
December 1, 2004
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.—Fewer than one-half of new-vehicle buyers show a strong familiarity with newly launched models during the shopping process, while nearly one-third are not aware of new models at all, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Avoider StudySM released today.
The study, which examines the reasons consumers fail to consider (avoid) particular models when shopping for a new vehicle, finds that low awareness levels of launch models makes landing on the consideration list of new-vehicle buyers increasingly difficult.
"The first hurdle for any launch model is generating awareness, which is a difficult feat considering the large number of new models launching into an already crowded marketplace," said Scot Eisenfelder, senior vice president at J.D. Power and Associates. "Most manufacturers hope that attractive styling of a new model creates a buzz in the marketplace and encourages consideration from consumers. While launch models are more likely to attract customers due to styling, these models are also more susceptible to styling avoidance since the design is new to consumers and therefore prone to incur both ridicule and praise."
Reliability, quality and resale value continue to play critical roles in the reasons new-vehicle buyers avoid particular models. Although the quality gap between domestics and imports continues to narrow, as evidenced in the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Initial Quality and Vehicle Dependability studies, domestic models are far more likely to be avoided by consumers because of perceived reliability concerns than are Japanese and European models. While styling is the most-often-mentioned reason import buyers cited for avoiding a domestic model, 38 percent mention concerns about reliability, 25 percent mention poor quality and 25 percent say the vehicle will depreciate too fast.
"Overcoming negative perceptions of poor quality that exist among consumers is a great challenge for manufacturers, even after quality issues have been corrected," said Eisenfelder. "Repeatedly emphasizing these improvements may eventually weaken old perceptions and level the playing field on the issue of quality and reliability between domestics and imports."
Despite the fact that many import models are built at U.S. plants, many consumers display a strong sensitivity to a brand’s origin, particularly in certain regions of the country. Imports are avoided significantly more often than domestics in the Midwest, South and Northeast. The lone exception is in the West, where the levels of avoidance for both imports and domestics are equal. The gap is strongest in the Midwest, where 53 percent of domestic vehicle buyers avoid an import because they specifically did not want a foreign/import vehicle, compared to just 27 percent of import buyers who specifically didn’t want a domestic brand. Imports are also often avoided either because shoppers believe they cost too much, the vehicles are too small, or because incentives weren’t offered.
| Top
10 Reasons for Avoiding a Vehicle
|
|
|
1. Styling |
6.
Too small |
|
2.
Reliability |
7.
Lacked performance |
|
3. Costs too
much |
8.
Didn’t offer incentives |
|
4. Poor
quality |
9.
Poor gas mileage |
|
5. Resale
value |
10.
Maintenance costs |
The 2004 Avoider Study is based on responses from 35,364 owners who registered a new vehicle in May of 2004.
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm’s quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually.
J.D. Power and Associates. www.jdpower.com
