Posts Tagged ‘ industry trends ’

November 2012: Monthly Vehicle Sales vs Consumer Confidence

December 14, 2012

After a somewhat slow October, the auto industry saw an increase in light vehicle sales for November 2012. October brought somewhat sluggish auto sales, yielding a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 14.23M, November came in strong with 1.14 million units sold, raising the SAAR to 15.48M. Experts are observing that the sales are partly driven by the devastation left behind by Hurricane Sandy. Edmunds.com noted that about 30,000 sales of automobiles were lost or deferred in October due to the superstorm. Also, between 200,000 and 250,000 vehicles were damaged or destroyed by Sandy, which fuels a demand for...

September Slowdown for Auto Parts Retail Sales

November 14, 2012

Retail sales through auto parts stores were down again compared to one year ago. September sales were down 4% from September 2011, following a 1% decline in August. Auto parts retail sales for the first half of 2012 posted better than a 5% increase from 2011, aided in part by unseasonably warm weather in January and February; the second half of this year tells a different story, however. The third quarter ended with about a 1% decrease from the third quarter of 2011. Total October retail sales as reported by the government were down 0.3% from September, a sign...

Trend 1: Why New Car Auto Sales Are Rising

October 29, 2012

Today we’re going to wrap up our “66 Trends in 66 Days” series with Trend 1: reasons for the continuing increase in automobile and light truck sales in the face of a weak economy. The auto industry tracks monthly unit sales as a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) figure, which has been steadily rising since the summer of 2009. Monthly auto sales in September 2012 hit 14.9 million units, the highest level in over four years. And it could have been even higher because September was soft for fleet sales, meaning the September surge was primarily based on consumer...

Trend 2: Purchase Frequency by Vehicle Owned

October 28, 2012

Have you ever wondered how often enthusiasts tend to buy parts and accessories? We surveyed more than 2,500 enthusiasts to find out how often they make a purchase and arranged the information by what type of vehicle they bought for. We surveyed enthusiasts and asked the question, “How often do you buy parts or accessories for your vehicle?” We also asked what vehicle they purchased parts for in order to better understand any trends within certain segments. We found that, on average, 50% of all different types of vehicle owners buy once a month or more. Owners of street...

Trend 3: Bringing the Web to Your Vehicle

October 27, 2012

A popular trend with car manufacturers over recent years has been the integration of the web into the modern vehicle. Recently, manufacturers have been adopting platforms that rely on the driver’s mobile phone for connectivity. This trend is now changing as more manufacturers focus on a more direct way to connect vehicles to the web. At a discussion about the web-connected vehicle at the SF MusicTech Summit event held in October 2012, GM’s Chief Infotainment Officer, Philip Abram predicted that in 5 years, “software will define the experience in the car.” The main obstacle that manufacturers are facing is...

Trend 4: Enthusiasts: Time Between Decision and Actual Purchase

October 26, 2012

Today, we are going to look at some of our own research to better understand how long it takes an enthusiast to actually purchase a product after they have made the decision to buy. As a part of our own syndicated Hedges & Company research, we sought to find out how long it took enthusiasts to make the actual purchase after deciding to buy. We surveyed more than 2,500 enthusiasts, and asked them what the average length of time was from when they decide to buy a part or accessory to when they actually buy. The data shows that,...

Trend 5: The Top 5 Most Sold Vehicles of 2012

October 25, 2012

The automotive industry has been on the path to recovery with vehicle sales up from last year’s numbers and holding strong. A variety of different makes and models of trucks are leading the pack in sales; here is a look at the stats of the top 5. The top 5 most sold vehicles as of September, 2012 are: 1). Ford F-Series – Ford’s popular truck series is the top selling vehicle so far with 463,733 units sold as of September 2012. At this time last year, Ford had sold 416,388 F-Series trucks, marking a rise of 11% in 2012....

Trend 6: Vehicles at the 2012 SEMA Show

October 24, 2012

The SEMA Show draws all kinds of different entities of the automotive sector, and with them they bring the best products, parts, facts and research they have. Perhaps the largest attractions at the show, however, are the custom vehicles. Here is a look at what some of the most talked about vehicles that will be at this year’s show. Ford plans to unveil at least 20 vehicles at the SEMA show. Of the vehicles to be shown, the showcase will feature various Focus and Fusion models built by various motorsports groups such as Bojix Design, Tanner Foust Racing, and...

Trend 7: 3 Things Aftermarket Retail Stores Need to Stay Ahead of the Curve

October 23, 2012

There’s a lot of competition in the automotive aftermarket—retail stores have to compete with online prices and specialty parts catalogs, and the seemingly endless selection that both provide. So what advantages do retail stores have that can keep them ahead of the competition? 1). Customer service: When customers enter an automotive parts store, they aren’t just looking for a part, many need help. Parts stores have an advantage over non-retail entities in the fact that their employees can actively provide help in a personal environment. Employees are able to explain benefits of certain products, ask open-ended questions about the...

Trend 8: Vehicle Segment Trends by Region

October 22, 2012

Jumpstart Automotive Group released a report on online car shopping trends by U.S. region showing the top vehicle segments as well as the top shopping consideration. The company analyzed behaviors of automotive website users in 2012 “to draw connections between specific U.S. territories and the most popularly researched vehicles and top car shopping considerations among consumers within those territories.” The study found that: People in the Northwest region of the U.S. tend to prefer hybrids and consider price as a priority. Consumers in the Southwest prefer compact cars and focus on the features of a car when considering a...

Trend 9: 3 Things You Didn’t Know About 2007-2013 Jeep Wrangler Owners

October 21, 2012

The countdown has brought us to only nine trends left, so here it is: Market Research Trend 9: 3 Things You Didn’t Know About 2007-2013 Jeep Wrangler Owners. The 2007-2013 Jeep Wrangler, designated the “JK,” received a facelift from its previous “TJ” version. The “JK” is a larger model in terms of both wheelbase and width, and is available in a new 4-door model as well as the traditional 2-door model. The “JK” is available in a convertible soft top as well as a 3-piece hardtop, and the doors are removable as with previous models. Here are a few...

Trend 10: Engine Block Buyers: Amount Spent Annually on Parts and Accessories

October 20, 2012

Have you ever wondered exactly how much the automotive enthusiast spends on parts & accessories throughout the year? We surveyed enthusiasts who had recently bought or shopped for engine blocks to find out how much money they spend on an annual basis. Enthusiasts were given the following choices in regards to how much money they spend annually on parts & accessories: less than $500 $500 to $1,000 $1,001 to $2,500 $2,501 to $5,000 $5,001 to $7,500 $7,501 to $10,000 $10,000 and up Enthusiasts revealed that the top two ranges in which their annual spending fell into were $1,001 to...

Trend 11: How Enthusiasts Decide Where to Buy

October 19, 2012

Welcome back to our blog, today we’ll take a look at how enthusiasts decide where to buy their engine components. We surveyed thousands of automotive enthusiasts about their shopping habits to find out things like where they go to find information, what magazines they read and websites they visit, how much they spend on parts annually, etc. Today, we’ll give you a look at our findings of what enthusiasts considered most important when deciding where to buy. The choices enthusiasts were given were: product knowledge, return policy, business reputation, ability to install, bought from them before, lowest price, product...

Trend 12: 2 Things to Know About How Consumers Perceive Price

October 18, 2012

Welcome back to our countdown of 66 trends in 66 days! Today we’ll give you a look at how consumers perceive prices when shopping. How you present a price greatly affects if a consumer perceives the product as “expensive” or “cheap.” Research shows that typeface, size of the price or dollar symbol and other characteristics have an effect on of price impression and consumer buying behavior. How you present the price can also influence whether consumers will believe it to be “too high” or “fair.” 1). How far apart you space a “regular” price and a “sale” price can have...

Trend 13: 3 Things You Didn’t Know about 1994-2004 Mustang Owners

October 17, 2012

The fourth generation Ford Mustang, also known as “SN-95,” included styling from previous Mustangs and came with a 3.8 liter overhead valve V6 engine or a 4.6 liter single overhead camshaft V8. This generation included three alternate models: the 2001 Bullitt, the 2003 and 2004 Mach 1, and the 2003 and 2004 Cobra. Here are three things to know about fourth generation Mustang owners: 1). 53% of 1994-2004 Mustang owners are homeowners. 2). The average household income of a 1994-2004 Ford Mustang owner is $61,741; for comparison, the average US household income is around $51,000. 3). 62% of 1994-2004...

Trend 14: A Sign Auto Parts Retail Sales Are Slowing?

October 16, 2012

Today’s trend is a little concerning: the growth in auto parts sales is slowing down compared to the first half of 2012. This is important to watch as you plan your company’s automotive aftermarket forecast for 2013. Retail sales of auto parts went negative for the second time this year. August 2012 showed a slight drop from 2011, following a decent July (up about 3.5%) and a slight drop in June. We’re holding to our forecast that the year will come in between 3% and 4% over 2011 but we’ll be watching economic signs closely for any changes over...

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