Most Requested Cars for First Quarter: Accord, Altima, Camry, Civic and Silverado Top List
IRVINE, Calif.--April 14, 2003--Autobytel Inc. , the Internet's largest new car buying service, today announced the vehicles that were requested most by the company's online car buyers during the first sales quarter of 2003, shedding light on several unfolding online buying trends. New models and enhancements, for example, made a big splash with Internet buyers, while passenger cars, in general, are shaping up to be significantly more popular than trucks/SUVs. The announcements signal the front runners in the race for the 2003 Autobytel Consumer Choice Awards(TM), which will be determined at the end of the sales year based on Purchase Request data(1) collected by Autobytel on a quarterly basis.
Internet Sales Strong Despite Industry Downturn
The first quarter highlighted many key differences between online car buyers and traditional buyers. First and foremost, despite the well publicized pre-war and wartime industry downturn, online auto shoppers are still shopping -- and buying -- at a brisk pace. One out of three of all U.S. Internet users visited an auto site in February(2). During that month -- one of the worst for the industry in five years -- visits to Autobytel websites rose 95%(3) year over year. And, as industry car sales dropped 4.4% in the first quarter year over year, the number of sales generated for dealers through Autobytel held steady(4).
Chevrolet Silverado, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry(5) Are Most Requested Vehicles by Online Buyers
The Nissan Altima, the 2002 Overall Consumer Choice winner, is once again in the running for top honors. The redesigned Honda Accord has also emerged as a very popular contender, as have the recently redesigned Camry and the upgraded Silverado. This preference for new or redesigned models (the Altima underwent a dramatic redesign in 2002) suggests that online consumers are responding very favorably to enhancements made by the automakers to boost top-selling vehicles.
Cadillac, Ford, Hummer, Infiniti, MINI, Volvo(5) Reap Big Gains in Online Vehicle Purchase Requests
The front-runners in the year-over-year growth category underscore the attractiveness of new model enhancements in the first quarter. Four out of the top six brands that achieved the biggest percentage gains in online vehicle Purchase Requests in the first quarter feature popular new models: the Hummer H2, Infiniti G35, MINI Cooper and Volvo XC90. Cadillac's inclusion is notable in that the brand was last year's winner in this category -- and is thus fighting its own 2002 success, so to speak, to rank among the biggest gainers.
New Models and Redesigns Well Received Across Categories
The Internet shopper's responsiveness to new vehicle designs and features plays out across several categories. In the compact category, for example, the Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe are giving traditional leaders Toyota Corolla, Volkswagen New Beetle and Chevrolet Cavalier a run for their money. The new Volvo XC90 and Acura MDX, meanwhile, ranked among the five most requested luxury vehicles.
GM, Ford and Dodge Still Rule Truck Category
A quick look at the overall Q1 sales leaders reveals that online shoppers are making some very different buying decisions than their traditional counterparts, with a pronounced online trend toward passenger cars (more below). In the truck category, however, online and offline shoppers are closely aligned in their preference for domestic trucks over import trucks -- with traditional favorites Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado dueling it out, once again, for top honors. Overall, only one import, the Toyota Tacoma, ranked among Autobytel's 10 most requested trucks.
Passenger Cars Outpace SUVs
A particularly interesting finding this quarter is the relative popularity of passenger cars over trucks/SUVs among online shoppers. During the first quarter, nearly 70% of the sales volume driven by the five top-selling vehicles in America was attributable to trucks -- yet trucks only represented 23% of the order volume generated by Autobytel's top five vehicles. (Fifty-eight percent of the sales volume for the top 10 sellers in America was driven by trucks -- vs. only 38% for Autobytel's 10 most requested vehicles.)
New SUV Incentives Make Late-Model SUVs Affordable -- and Popular
Used SUVs are scoring big on the Internet, as aggressive Big 3 incentives on new trucks and SUVs cause their late-model counterparts to depreciate -- often markedly -- resulting in good values for buyers. Three of the top five used vehicle model/years are Big 3 SUVs (six out of the top 10 overall) -- this in a category traditionally dominated online by import sedans. Notably, five of Autobytel's top 10 most popular used vehicle model/years are Fords.
Civic Hybrid and Jetta TDI Illustrate Consumer Preference for Fuel-Efficient Versions of Popular Models
Around the New Year, as war jitters heightened and gas prices skyrocketed, research activity on the Autobytel websites concerning information about fuel-efficient vehicles (including hybrid vehicle research) rose dramatically -- and has not fallen since. (Autobytel's online Fuel Economy Guide was a particularly popular site destination during this period.) This heightened interest in fuel-efficiency among Autobytel shoppers is translating into big year-over-year gains in Purchase Requests for hybrid vehicles -- with Purchase Requests up 58%, for example, for the Toyota Prius. Yet despite strong first-quarter showings, both the Prius and the Honda Insight are losing online market share to the Honda Civic Hybrid -- which was the dominant force behind the Autobytel Q1 hybrid spike.
The Civic's strong showing supports a recent Autobytel website survey that reported a strong consumer preference for hybrid versions of currently popular models. The survey, coupled with significant online interest in hybrids, suggests that a significant rise in U.S. hybrid sales (already up 50% industry-wide in Q1) may be just around the corner, as major automakers prepare to roll out hybrid-powered versions of several of their established, popular models. Ford has plans to introduce the Escape Hybrid later this year, and GM is developing hybrid versions of the Chevy Malibu sedan (for 2006) and the Equinox (for 2007). An advanced hybrid system will be available in the Saturn VUE beginning in 2005. Lexus plans to unveil the first luxury-branded hybrid, the RX330, in 2005.
The popularity of the diesel Volkswagen Jetta TDI (49 mph/hwy), another big year-over-year mover in Autobytel's fuel economy category, further confirms consumers' willingness to adopt non-traditional, fuel-efficient options of popular models. It may also signal revived interest in diesel-powered vehicles.
2003 Q1 Autobytel Consumer Choice Awards Leaders
(Listed alphabetically, not by Purchase Request volume)
Overall Most Requested New Vehicles
Chevrolet Silverado
Honda Accord
Honda Civic
Nissan Altima
Toyota Camry
Overall Increase Vehicle Requests Q1 2002 - Q1 2003
Cadillac
Ford
Hummer
Infiniti
MINI
Overall Most Requested Used Vehicles
2000 Ford Explorer
2002 Ford Explorer
1999 Honda Accord
2000 Honda Accord
2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Most Requested New Passenger Cars
BMW 3 Series
Honda Accord
Nissan Altima
Toyota Camry
Volkswagen Jetta Sedan
Most Requested New Trucks
Chevrolet Silverado
Dodge Ram
Ford F-150
GMC Sierra
Toyota Tacoma
Most Requested New Sports Cars
Acura 3.2CL
Ford Mustang
Infiniti G35MINI Cooper
Nissan 350Z
Most Requested New Luxury Cars
Acura MDX
Cadillac Escalade
Lexus ES
Mercedes-Benz E
Volvo XC90
Most Requested New Economy Cars
Chevrolet Cavalier
Pontiac Vibe
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Matrix
Volkswagen New Beetle
Most Requested New Minivans
Chrysler Town & Country
Dodge Caravan
Dodge Grand Caravan
Honda Odyssey
Toyota Sienna
Most Requested Fuel Economy Vehicles
Honda Civic Hybrid
Toyota ECHO
Toyota Prius
Volkswagen Jetta (TDI)
Volkswagen Jetta Wagon (TDI)
(2) comScore Media Metrix Press Release 3/20/2003.
(3) Year-over-year in January '03, Nielsen/NetRatings.
(4) As measured by Autobytel surveys.
(5) Vehicles listed in alphabetical order -- either by model or brand name. They are NOT ranked according to Purchase Request volume.
(6) Nielsen/NetRatings Q4 2002 Digital Media Universe Report (Autobytel Inc. is the unduplicated audience of the Autobytel, Autoweb.com, CarSmart and Autosite.com Brands. Autobytel Inc. provides content to the Yahoo!, AOL and MSN portals and various automotive manufacturers' sites. The unduplicated audience of these Brands has an active reach of over 94 percent of the Digital Media Universe.)
