J.D. Power and Associates Unveils Assessment Tool for Monitoring Success of New Model Launches

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., January 23, 2009: In an effort to assist auto manufacturers in assessing the success of vehicle launches, J.D. Power and Associates announced the introduction of its Vehicle Launch Index today at the 2009 Automotive Roundtable in New Orleans, La.

The Vehicle Launch Index provides automakers with information that quantifies how well new vehicle models perform during their launch years. Performance is measured against industry and segment benchmarks on a monthly basis. The index includes all vehicle launches in the U.S. since 2007 and is actively tracking all current and future vehicle launches.

"With the introduction of the Vehicle Launch Index, manufacturers are now able to gauge the marketplace success of their newly launched vehicles through an external, independent source," said Gary Dilts, senior vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power and Associates. "The Vehicle Launch Index provides a real-time, comprehensive view into marketplace activity, allowing manufacturers to quickly respond to ever-changing industry conditions."

Extensive research and modeling, combined with an industry-wide perspective and proprietary Power Information Network(R) (PIN) data, has resulted in the unique ability to assess multiple factors that are critical to launch success. The Vehicle Launch Index examines factors that include turn rate, credit quality, residual factor, dealer gross profit, vehicle price and incentive spend.

"In 2009, manufacturers are making multibillion-dollar investments in more than 50 major product launches in the U.S. alone," said Dilts. "Current market conditions demand a need for a third-party, syndicated assessment to ensure manufacturers maximize the return on their investment."