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For the U.S. automotive industry, superior customer loyalty was recognized this week. I had the pleasure of watching our customers receive the annual Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards in Detroit as part of the overall activities surrounding the 2013 NAIAS (North American International Auto Show). It's a great feeling knowing OEMs and their dealer networks are working like crazy to make the buying and vehicle ownership experience richer, truer and highly relevant for their customers.
As in past...
Read More »Many of you may be returning to work this week after an extended vacation around the holiday season. Welcome back! I'll keep this blog short and informative.
It's 2013 and the world didn't end last month as the Mayans (supposedly) predicted. Given this, we can officially remove Mayan prognosticators from the category of a legitimate forecasting entity. However, Polk has a few predictions. They go something like this:
- New auto sales for 2013 will jump 6.6 percent over last year. Our U.S....
I rely on some form of a "mileage countdown" system when tracking the time to change the oil in my car. Whether it's an electronic display on my dashboard or a sticker in the upper lefthand corner of my windshield, I'm regularly comparing my current mileage against the target that commands a visit to my local lube/oil shop. Unfortunately, it's kind of like waiting for your alarm clock to hit the magical point when the buzzer goes off early in the morning. You know it's coming, but you really...
Read More »As someone who works in the auto industry, knowing how long Amercians hold onto their car or truck gives me a sense of what future sales demand may look like--"demand" in terms of selling replacement parts and service as well as understanding factors that impact new vehicle sales. We're all looking for "demand signals," right?
Polk's research shows that as of the second quarter of 2012, the average number of months that both new and used vehicle owners hold onto their vehicles is climbing. Among...
Read More »Welcome to a series of blog posts about the global automotive market based on a paper that I recently worked on with a set of colleagues that discusses important strategic questions for automotive business planners. For those of you interested in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), this blog focuses on the question, "Will BRIC countries continue to drive organic growth in the automotive industry?"
Answer: Yes!
Why? Of the 38 percent jump Polk expects to see for global light...
Read More »My global colleagues just prepared a brief analysis of the car market in Japan. While 2012 is certainly better than last year's struggle, the outlook for 2013 and beyond will be an uphill climb.
For you crystal-ball gazers, here are four automotive forecast views that Polk has about the Japanese auto market:
- In 2011, Japan sold 3.5 million new cars and for comparison's
sake, during the first half of 2012, new car sales rose by 57
percent compared to the first half of 2011.
- For the full-year 2012,...
Facebook has a big day today. I imagine many employees will thoroughly enjoy their happy hour after they leave their offices in Menlo Park and other locations. Mark Zuckerberg...he's going to certainly relish his ringing of the NASDAQ bell in New York. Third largest IPO many analysts say. Crazy.
Auto folks - you're watching, right? Of course you are. New media has been emerging and in the eyes of the business community, and consumer sector, Facebook appears to have something to offer. Debate...
Read More »Americans continue to hold on to their cars and trucks longer than ever before. Nearly six years (71 months) among new vehicle owners is the latest trend. New Polk consumer research shows the opportunities for professionals managing OEM aftersales and the automotive aftermarket operations should have a lot to look forward to given this trend. It's about parts and service business, folks.
Two years ago, I posted a blog on the same behavior and when we started to see a real incline in the average...
Read More »If you appreciate automotive marketing that blends mild humor while showcasing product performance, you'll enjoy this video from Hyundai.
The main point of their message? A rear-wheel drive Genesis can "drift" like no other car! Another clip featuring the same driver, Rhys Millen, shows him conquering Pike's Peak with the Red Bull Hyundai Genesis RM580 in order to demonstrate this similar feat on a treacherous stretch of mountain road.
So is the Hyundai brand "drifting" in a slow and steady...
Read More »A lot of what we do for our clients is about helping them measure, coach and improve customer loyalty. Over the last three years, we have seen an incredible level of interest among our OEM clients to try to aggressively help their dealers succeed in this area. Dealer loyalty is an objective rivaling, yet complementing, customer satisfaction scores. It's a big deal if a retail operation is successfully, with hard science to back it, bringing owners back to their store. And OEMs want them to...
Read More »Le...Read More »
Driving home from work, literally 5 minutes from the office, I was rear-ended while sitting at a stop light by a large SUV who simply forgot to put on the brakes. Wrong place at the wrong time I guess. My precious Mazda6 is thrown into the intersection and...Read More »
So the new Prii monicker got me thinking about another popular double-'i' term: Nintendo's Wii. Nintendo's latest video-game system has some interesting comparisons to this hybrid car. Here's a comparison between the two products. Warning to reader: this is not based on rigorous consumer research.
Okay, so what else am I missing when you...Read More »
So Liz, I concur! People need to have a personal affinity - an emotional link to a brand. And when it comes to cars, boy do we ever...Read More »
Do you care if your brakes on your car work really well? It's
one of those basic attributues we expect when buying a
vehicle. Take a look at this 2010 ad for the
Mercedes-Benz E Class titled Sorry. I think
it's a masterpiece in demonstrating the raw benefit of their
braking technology. Automotive marketing works when it triggers
emotion and humor. Nice job to the agency Jung von
Matt/Neckar!
Posted by Lonnie Miller, Vice President, Marketing & Industry Analysis, Polk (02.08.2011)
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High
fuel costs...CAFE standards...an increasing number of small cars
sold in the U.S...you would think pickups, SUVs and their brethren
are a dying breed. I don't think so. Take a look at this chart. If
you are an OEM motivating your dealer network to stock trucks,
SUVs, minivans or full-size vans, well here is your geographic road
map. Nationally, over half of all new retail registrations fall under the broader "truck" category. By 2015, we don't expect this proportion to exceed 52% of all...Read More »
I
don't know why it stands out to me, but Toyota's wild spin on trying to make
their Sienna minivan hip really appealed to me last
spring.Well, this week at the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, I saw another execution of automotive marketing for Toyota. They have a concept version of the Sienna. It's nearly 4 feet longer and has a variety of crazy interior offerings. Some say it adds a little SEMA-feel to the Detroit show (I agree!). Whatever they say, I think it's...Read More »
As the review author, Dan Neil, notes, "The Odyssey...Read More »
This is good for the automotive aftermarket since you'd assume these cars and trucks need to stay in good shape. It's a challenge for dealers trying to improve their new vehicle sales. Let's hope longer vehicle retention also translates to stronger customer retention, but...Read More »
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