Chrome System -- Honda No. 1 Among Online Auto Shoppers: Aggregated Regional Consumer Demand Information Important to Auto Manufacturers, Supply Chain
PORTLAND, Ore.--Aug. 1, 2001--Data Mining of Chrome System Corporation's Vehicle Configuration
Database Shows Online Shoppers Have Definite Regional Preferences;
Auto Manufacturers Could Benefit
Chrome Systems Corporation, provider of automotive data, configuration technology and commerce solutions, announced today the Chrome Top 10(TM), national and regional rankings of the most popular vehicles researched by the nation's online shoppers year-to-date through the first seven months of 2001.
Online shoppers in many of the nation's biggest cities follow the national norm, preferring the Honda Accord in Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. But Boston's online shoppers prefer the Honda Civic; Chicago's online shoppers prefer the BMW 325; Detroit online shoppers prefer the Ford Focus; Portland, Ore. online shoppers want the Acura Integra; and those in Washington, D.C. prefer the Volkswagen Jetta.
SUV's are more popular this year than last. Nationwide, SUV's accounted for about 21% -- one in every five requests -- last year, while this year SUV's account for one in every four requests (25.79%). Online shoppers' most popular SUV so far this year is the Ford Escape, 6th overall in the Chrome Top 10.
Pickups are less favored so far this year, compared to last. Light pickups accounted for about 11 1/2% (one in every 9 requests) last year; this year pickups account for about one in every 11 (9.45%). Online shoppers' most popular light pickup so far this year is the Toyota Tacoma, 16th in the rankings.
"Accurate demand information allows manufacturers to get the right cars to the right places at the right time," said Bob Navarre, Chrome CEO. "Manufacturers can more accurately forecast demand by specific regions; suppliers can better predict what parts they'll need where and when. Both benefit the consumer by shortening lead times to build, reducing assembly, logistics, marketing and carrying costs and improving the consumer purchasing experience."
Chrome Top 10(TM): Online Shoppers' Favorite Vehicles Nationwide --
YTD through July 2001
Make Model SUV
1 Honda Accord
2 Honda Civic
3 Volkswagen Jetta
4 Honda Odyssey
5 BMW 325
6 Ford Escape X
7 Ford Mustang
8 Acura MDX X
9 Ford Focus
10 Hyundai Santa Fe X
Online Shoppers' Favorite Vehicles by Region --
YTD through July 2001
% Requests for
Metro Area Make Model SUV's Pickups
National Honda Accord 25.79% 9.45%
Atlanta Honda Accord 28.56% 10.08%
Boston Honda Civic 24.29% 5.30%
Chicago BMW 325 26.00% 3.61%
Dallas/Ft. Worth Honda Accord 29.76% 13.76%
Detroit Ford Focus 25.36% 9.42%
Los Angeles Honda Accord 25.72% 7.74%
New York Honda Accord 28.36% 3.25%
Philadelphia Honda Accord 27.37% 5.09%
Portland/Vancouver Acura Integra 21.61% 12.08%
San Francisco Honda Accord 21.41% 5.17%
Washington, D.C. Volkswagen Jetta 23.67% 5.44%
Chrome Top 10: Online Shoppers' Most Popular Manufacturers --
YTD through July 2001
Manufacturer % Requests
1 Ford 11.6%
2 Toyota 10.9%
3 Honda 10.8%
4 Chevrolet 8.2%
5 Volkswagen 6.3%
6 Nissan 4.8%
7 BMW 4.7%
8 Dodge 4.4%
9 Acura 3.9%
10 Hyundai 3.4%
The Chrome Top 10 rankings are compiled from online car shoppers' requests for price quotes made through Chrome's pricing and configuration tools Chrome Carbook(TM) and AutoBuilder(TM), accessible from more than 1,500 websites. This work represents one example of data mining that could be performed on this database. What we report here is a partial predictor of future purchase.
"If they're looking at price data they're probably less than a month away from buying a car," said Art Spinella, president, CNW Marketing/Research. "If they're focusing more on the models available and the styling features within models then they're likely two to four months from making a purchase."
"Manufacturers could use the knowledge of the gap between consumer request and consumer purchase to better meet consumer desires," Navarre said.
Chrome: Most Accurate Data Provider
In April 2001, CNW Marketing/Research conducted its second annual online vehicle pricing accuracy study, evaluating ten online new-vehicle pricing websites on pricing accuracy and orderability. For the second year in a row Chrome ranked first in accurate vehicle pricing and 100% orderable configuration.
About Chrome
With more than 12,000 clients, including half of all automotive dealers in the U.S. and Canada, Chrome provides configuration technology, software and professional services to produce complete enterprise solutions for all segments of the retail automotive industry, including manufacturers, fleet companies, dealers and Internet sites. Chrome pioneered the technology behind electronic vehicle configuration and for the past 15 years has collected, analyzed and enhanced "raw" automotive data from all manufacturers. Chrome provides the North American ordering system for General Motors and its 8,300 dealers. Chrome sets the standard in ordering systems for fleet management, serving 15 of the 17 largest fleet leasing companies. Chrome's automotive dealer clients accounted for more than half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2000. The company is based in Portland, Ore. For more information, contact www.chrome.com, 800/936-8906.
Copyright (c) 2001, Chrome Systems Corporation. All rights reserved. Chrome Carbook(TM), AutoBuilder(TM)and Chrome Top 10(TM) are trademarks of Chrome Systems Corporation.