Affluent Car Buyers Drive Strong Sales

Washington DC March 5, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that auto-sales figures from February show that car companies are facing a U.S. market driven by choosy consumers seeking well-made, technically innovative brands. Last month, auto sales were down 0.5% largely because blue collar brands such as Ford, Chrysler, Dodge, Pontiac, and Buick weren't selling.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the brands that did well were mainly those aimed at affluent, city-living Americans. BMW, for example, said February sales rose nearly 12 percent. Audi sales jumped 37.5 percent.

The Toyota and Lexus brands each set new February records. In the wake of Al Gore's appearance at the Oscars and renewed Congressional interest in CAFE standards, environmentally friendly cars are also selling.

Toyota said last week the company sold a total of 18,860 hybrid Toyota and Lexus vehicles in February, up 72% from the year before. Put another way, the "Hybrid Toyota" brand sold more cars than either Mercedes-Benz, or Buick, or Acura.