Size Matters - Nine Cars Women Own More Than Men Do

2008 Volkswagen Tiguan - Small CUV

• SEE ALSO: Heels on Wheels - Cars For Women
• SEE ALSO: What Cars a Woman Wants
• SEE ALSO: Carz4Girlz - Because Girls can Be Car Crazy Too!

Washington DC June 24, 2008; The AIADA newsletter reported that there are currently only nine new vehicles registered to more women than men. But the L.A. Times reports that while men still dominate the car-buying statistics, women have been steadily growing as prime car buyers (not simply "influencers") since the 1980s.

Because the VW Beetle has been the No. 1 woman-dominated vehicle for years, the automotive press has long maligned it for being the quintessential "chick car." To be fair, the flower vase on the dash does give this impression.

But since its arrival in May, the VW Tiguan has taken over the No. 1 position, making it the ultimate in estrogen-based car buying. The arrival of the Tiguan came alongside the ugly reality of the $4 gallon of gas, so J.D. Power and Associates' Power Information Network put together the sales numbers from the last two months to see where women's buying habits were headed.

The Nissan Rogue came in at number five on the list with 53.1 percent of buyers being female and fuel economy ratings of 21-22 city/26-27 hwy. It will come as no surprise to AIADA members that all nine vehicles preferred by discerning female buyers are international makes.

 Pos        Brand                    Model           % Female Owners


1           Volkswagen           Tiguan                 61.7%
2           Volkswagen           Beetle                  57.9%
3            Hyundai               Tucson                  55.7%
4            Kia                    Sportage                 53.5%
5            Nissan                 Rogue                   53.1%
6            Volvo                  V50                     52.6%
7            Volkswagen            Eos                     51.3%
8            Honda                 CR-V                    50.9%
9            Nissan                Sentra                  50.1%