Does Vehicle Size Matter to U.S. Car Buyers? Absolutely
Despite rising fuel costs, most Americans are not looking to reduce the size of their vehicles any time soon according to new and exclusive research collected by BuyingAdvice.com.
A new survey conducted by the web site shows that most new car buyers intend to buy a vehicle of approximately the same size as the one they're replacing, though 31 percent say fuel efficiency is now a primary concern when choosing a vehicle.
In response to the poll, which was conducted among 3,308 visitors of the web site, 44 percent of respondents said that they were looking for a car of the same size as their old one, while 28 percent were looking for something larger. Only 28 percent of respondents were searching for something smaller.
But when asked to name their primary criteria for selecting the size of their new vehicle, fuel efficiency was the most popular response, chosen by 31 percent of the sample, easily beating out interior comfort at 20 percent, safety at18 percent and passenger capacity, also at 18 percent.
Industry experts say that the simplest way to get better fuel efficiency is to drive a smaller vehicle, but U.S. consumers have been very resistant to adopting the compact or sub-compact cars that dominate the market in other areas of the world.
"In most other countries drivers have faced far higher fuel costs, purchase prices and other factors which tend to push consumers toward smaller cars for decades," says retired executive Dan West.
"If you are paying $10 or $12 for gas and parking is tight where you work and live, then a compact or subcompact becomes far more attractive. For instance in the United Kingdom, the Ford Focus has been the best selling vehicle for many years and hatchbacks outsell saloons. Whereas in the U.S. the hatchback has traditionally met with a lot of consumer resistance," says West.
Most of the sample, 44 percent, said they were in the market for a midsize car. Thirty-three percent said they were looking for a large or full-size vehicle and 17 percent said they were going to buy a compact vehicle. Only six percent were shopping for a sub-compact.
The cultural differences extend beyond simple fuel cost and purchase prices. West explains that Americans expect more space in their cars because of wider roadways and driving much longer distances typically.
"It is not uncommon to see a European family of four going on vacation in a compact vehicle. But then, they are not necessarily traveling as far to their destination. By the time you have driven 800 miles in the U.K., you have driven from one end of the country to another. In the U.S., you may not have even left your home state. That has a significant influence on how consumers choose their vehicles," he says.
According to our sample, the number of passengers is not necessarily a major reason for buyers to prefer larger vehicles. The majority of respondents, 66 percent, said they usually have only 1 to 3 people in their vehicle. Thirty-six percent of those polled said that 2 was the most common number of occupants in their car, and only 13 percent said that they regularly carried more than 4 people in their vehicle.
"Of course, when choosing a family vehicle, the number of occupants comes into play. But with the increasing popularity of the SUV, there are an increasing number of options for the family with several children. But still this doesn't by itself explain the popularity of mid-size and full-size vehicles in the U.S. market," says West.
"Large cars are just a part of being American. And though we may have stepped away from the glory days of the fin-tailed, Detroit-built, gas-guzzling monster; it may take several generations and a significant rise in fuel costs to make us look at compact vehicles as something more than just an attractive option for the first time buyer and those on a limited budget," he says.
Published on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 - Email to a friend
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