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New-Vehicle Buyers Shopping Online Up 15 Percent From 1998

13 July 1999

J.D. Power and Associates Reports: New-Vehicle Buyers Shopping Online Up 15 Percent From 1998

                26 Percent of Used-Vehicle Buyers Shop Online

    AGOURA HILLS, Calif., July 12 -- The percentage of new-
vehicle buyers using the Internet to help them through the shopping process
has grown from 25 percent to 40 percent in just one year, according to the
J.D. Power and Associates 1999 New Autoshopper.com Study(SM) scheduled for
release in August.  This growth is fueled not only by an increased
availability of the Internet, but also due to a greater percentage of
consumers with online access who turn to the Internet when shopping for a new
vehicle.
    "Although we continue to be amazed by the growth of automotive-related
Internet usage, the real key is that people are using the Internet to go
deeper into the shopping process than ever before," said Chris Denove,
consulting operations director for J.D. Power and Associates.  "For example,
the number of people purchasing a vehicle through an online buying service has
more than doubled in the past 12 months."
    The study also shows that consumers are placing an increased reliance on
information found online to help them decide which vehicle to purchase.
    Internet usage is not confined to new-vehicle shoppers, as 26 percent of
consumers buying a pre-owned 1994 to 1999 model-year vehicle are using the
Internet to help them with their purchase, according to the J.D. Power and
Associates 1999 Used Autoshopper.com Study(SM) scheduled for release later
this month.
    "The used-vehicle buyer is more concerned with going online to locate
specific vehicles for sale, which makes the Internet more of a substitute for
traditional classified advertising," Denove said.
    The 1999 New Autoshopper.com study is based on more than 3,000 telephone
interviews with consumers regarding their Internet use when shopping for a new
vehicle.  The Used Autoshopper.com Study is based on nearly 10,000 mail survey
respondents who just purchased a used vehicle.  Both studies are independently
funded by J.D. Power and Associates.

    Headquartered in Agoura Hills, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a
global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors
including market research, forecasting and customer satisfaction.  The firm's
quality and satisfaction measurements are based on actual customer responses
from more than one million consumers annually.  J.D. Power and Associates can
be accessed through the World Wide Web at http://www.jdpower.com.  Media e-mail
contact: john.pepitone@jdpower.com.  This press release is provided for
editorial use only.
    No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in
this release or J.D. Power and Associates survey results without the express
prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates.