Autobytel Announces Most Requested Vehicles for Q3
IRVINE, Calif.--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 Gainers1: Toyota Corolla (+44%), Dodge Caliber (+76%), Nissan Sentra (+35%)
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. 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
