October 17, 2011

Buyers' Loyalties Loosen
Consumers have shown a recent willingness to cross-shop outside their traditional habits, according to Automotive News. Prodded and lured in one direction by such factors as inventory shortages at import leaders Toyota and Honda, and shooed in the opposite direction by disappearing brands such as Pontiac, Saturn, and Mercury, some consumers find themselves unanchored. The billion-dollar question: Are they changing shopping patterns out of temporary inconvenience, or is a new attitude emerging in the consumer standoff between import and domestic brands? Compete Inc., an automotive market research firm, finds that the tendency of Japanese-brand shoppers to cross-shop Chevrolet, Ford, and Dodge has trended steadily upward since the first quarter of 2010. Similarly, J.D. Power and Associates reports that the percentage of auto shoppers who traded in an Asian import-brand vehicle and bought another one has declined slightly. Although some argue the changes mean customers are moving toward domestic brands, Toyota spokesman Joe Tetherow contends that "A lot of this change in numbers has to do simply with the inventory problems we've dealt with this year," referring to the global Japanese production crash caused by the earthquake. "Our customers [tend] to be pretty loyal.” For more on trending brand loyalty, click here.

Charging Stations Multiply But Electric Cars Are Few
When McDonald's franchisee Tom Wolf built his latest restaurant in Huntington, W. Va., late last year, he installed two chargers for all-electric cars so customers could juice their batteries while eating. So far, the charging station has been used a few times. Across the U.S., The Wall Street Journal reports that such equipment is proliferating even though it is unclear whether plug-in cars will prove popular. Walgreen Co. has chargers outside four Texas stores and plans to add more there and in San Francisco, Orlando, Fla., and Washington, D.C. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. expects to have chargers outside some Tennessee restaurants within months. Click here for a map of charging locations across the U.S. Opinions vary on demand. J.D. Power & Associates expects all-electric vehicles will account for less than 1 percent of U.S. auto sales in 2018, or about 102,000 cars and light trucks. Including hybrids and plug-in hybrids the market share is forecast at 8 percent. Nissan Motor Co., more bullish on the technology than other big car makers, expects pure-electric-vehicle sales will make up 10 percent of global vehicle sales by 2020. For more on the proliferation of EV charging stations, click here.

Subaru Future-Business Plan: 40-Percent Sales Hike
America and China feature extensively in Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.’s Subaru automaking division's future business plan, dubbed Motion-V, which runs through to 2016 and targets record annual sales of 900,000 vehicles for Japan's iconic all-wheel-drive brand. Through the recession and recovery, Subaru has been on roll – and, reports Edmunds Auto Observer, over the next five years it plans to build on that momentum by launching three all-new models as well as its first hybrid-electric vehicle. Subaru's mainstay Legacy and Forester models will also be redesigned, where new engines and transmissions are earmarked to improve fuel economy by 30 percent. The new-generation 2012 Impreza will be in U.S. showrooms by the end of this year. As the plan takes shape, Subaru simultaneously will completely revamp its Japanese production base and step up its presence in Asian markets as it seeks to hike sales from today's 650,000-unit level. Subaru is looking to hit 900,000 units by March 2016, mainly through that expansion in United States and China and then achieve 1 million annual sales in the subsequent five years. Read more about Subaru’s business plan to grow its market share in key markets by clicking here.

VW Wants to be a Rock Star, Even if it Loses Some Core Fans
As its sales soar and its vehicles get more appealing, Volkswagen has run afoul of the miffed-hipster effect. Some of the brand's most devoted fans have become its harshest critics. They say VW has "dumbed-down" its cars and abandoned its German character to appeal to more Americans. But, contends The Detroit Free Press’ Mark Phelan, the hipsters don't understand. VW didn't get into the car business to be a cool, cult brand any more than Bono and the Edge formed U2 to play moody songs to poetry majors in half-empty clubs. VW wants lots of sales. It's 21.7 percent ahead of 2010's pace. In September, the first month the bigger, better 2012 Passat was widely available, VW's sales skyrocketed 35.6 percent. For the first time in decades, the prices VW charges for some of its key vehicles match what most Americans think the brand is worth. At the same time, VW hopes to keep some of its old buyers with expensive models that offer more performance and technology. The Jetta GLI, for instance, will cost $7,000 more than a base Jetta, but comes with an independent suspension and a turbocharged engine. For more on VW’s attempts to lure in more American buyers, click here.

Research Group Sees Deterioration in U.S. Fuel-Economy Gains
For all the attention devoted to American car buyers’ rediscovery of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles in 2011, a report suggests that such purchase trends are having little impact on overall fuel economy. A team at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute said that the fleetwide average fuel economy of new vehicles purchased in the United States had been on a downward slide since March. From a high of 23 miles per gallon in that month, the average has slid to 22.1 mpg through September, reports The New York Times. One reason that fuel economy numbers were flat, and have decreased since March, was the moderation of gasoline prices this year. Lower prices at the pump do not motivate people to purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles, said Dr. Michael Sivak, the head of the institute’s Human Factors Group. In addition to looking at average fleetwide fuel economy, the team is also calculating a national Eco-Driving Index, which represents the average monthly amount of greenhouse gases produced by an individual American driver who purchased a new vehicle that month. Calculations of the Eco-Driving Index, along with a graph and table of current and recent values, can be found here. For more on the study of U.S. fuel economy at The New York Times, click here.

Around the Web
BMW Unveils Sixth-Generation 3 Series [Edmunds Auto Observer
Watch: Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda Races in NASCAR Camry [DriveOn
Google's Autonomous Prius Hits the Road [Forbes
VW Will Keep Suzuki Stake [The Detroit News]