AutoTrader.com Cross-Shopping Data Shows Majority of New Mercury Buyers May Gravitate to Ford if Mercury Brand is Shut Down - DUH!

COMPARE: Ford Vs. Mercury Specs, Prices and Dimensions
SEE ALSO: Ford Buyers Guide
SEE ALSO: Mercury Buyers Guide

ATLANTA, June 4, 2010; If Ford shutters its Mercury brand this fall, as announced on Wednesday, Ford itself may have the opportunity to capture the largest share of new Mercury buyers left without their brand. More than 28% of new Mercury shoppers on AutoTrader.com also looked at new Ford vehicles, and more than 7% of new Mercury shoppers on AutoTrader.com also looked at new Lincoln vehicles.

The top 10 new-car brands cross shopped by new Mercury shoppers on AutoTrader.com were:

  1. Ford - 28.8%
  2. Chevy - 11.3%
  3. Hyundai - 8.2%
  4. Honda - 7.8%
  5. Toyota - 7.8%
  6. Lincoln - 7.5%
  7. Nissan - 7.3%
  8. Mazda - 6.1%
  9. GMC - 5.9 5.2%
  10. Kia - 5.2%

"With the Ford-Lincoln combo, if the Mercury brand closes as planned, marketing and outreach to the new Mercury buyers who also looked at Fords and Lincolns could go a long way to keeping those buyers in the Ford family," said AutoTrader.com President and CEO Chip Perry. "But with many other popular brands represented in our cross shopping list, a lot of these new-car buyers could be up for grabs from other brands that want to be creative and aggressive in marketing to and attracting these buyers."

For Mercury loyalists looking to purchase a new Mercury, AutoTrader.com currently has more than 9,100 new Mercury vehicles listed for sale on the site.