One of the questions that came up in yesterday’s post, The Truth About The Ten Best-Selling Sedans Of 2010, was how to interpret a high percentage of fleet sales. After all, “fleet sales” could describe a huge variety of sales to diverse buyers at widely varying price (and profit) points. Rental fleet sales are widely seen as being far worse than other types of sales, which is why the resale value trackers at Automotive Lease Guide keep such a close eye on what they call “Rental Fleet Penetration.” In its latest newsletter, ALG notes
ALG tracks several key metrics that impact residual values and brand health. Of these metrics, rental fleet penetration (RFP), which ALG measures as the total number of vehicles sold into rental fleet channels divided by total sales, has been found to have an impact on both residual performance and perception of quality… As a general rule, ALG recommends RFP levels below 10% for Mainstream brands and <5% for Luxury brands to avoid any negative impact from rental fleet sales on residual performance.
Reuters reports that GM is upping its sponsorship and promotional spending, as it seeks to re-establish its media presence which retracted considerably during and after its bailout and bankruptcy. In addition to boosting sports sponsorships and
co-producing TV shows, like a documentary about a year in the life of a Detroit fire station or a three-part Discovery series on the city,
GM has another strategy in mind as well: product placement for the Chevy Volt. According to the report
GM also is in talks with a reality TV producer about the inclusion of the automaker’s new plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt car in a show under development
but what about movies? After all, if Chrysler (which has plans for only one niche electric vehicle, the Fiat 500 EV) can feature heavily in a movie which was promoted using the line “Electric cars are gay” (see video above), surely GM could get a movie made called “Range Anxiety” in which the Volt rescues the President’s daughter from an evil, but range-limited foreign car by driving farther than 100 miles. Subtle, right? Why don’t I just stick to blogging and let you come up with Volt product placement ideas.
With TTAC bringing retail market share into its year-end sales analysis, we’re fascinated by the results of Consumer Reports’ Car Brand Perception Survey. The results show Toyota falling slightly but holding onto the top spot, and Ford making strides towards overtaking the Japanese Juggernaut. That trend at the top absolutely comports with our retail market share data for 2010, as does Honda’s less-dramatic slide in favor. CR also shows Chevy losing some ground in most of the survey’s rating areas, especially “Design/Style,” where the bowtie brand dropped out of the top five brands. Still, Chevy does surprisingly well in the CR survey, considering it lost more retail share than any other brand besides Toyota. Between TTAC’s year-end retail share numbers and CR’s brand perception survey, industry-watchers now have more ways than ever to track the performance of automotive brands in the minds of consumers, rather than as measured by sheer volume.
Speaking to CNN, former Shell Oil President John Hofmeister warns that, although American oil consumption may have already peaked, high prices at the pump could come back with a vengeance over the short and medium term.
The issues that gave rise to high priced gasoline in 2007 and 2008 are repeating themselves, except the world demands even more oil in the next several years than before. Asian growth is continuing, e.g. 17 million new cars per year just in China, and will demand more oil. U.S. economic recovery has brought demand back to where it was before. Economic growth means even more demand. But the U.S. Government is prohibiting expansion of U.S. domestic crude oil production which puts upward pressure on global crude oil prices… If we stay on our present course there is no question but that prices will rise to the $5.00 gallon level by 2012 in my opinion.
With profits returning to the auto industry in large part thanks to rebounding sales of large cars and SUV/Crossovers, this is the kind of warning that should ring out in the headquarters of the major manufacturers. Gas prices have been on a subtle upward trend since bottoming out at just over $1.60 in December of 2008, and the national average seems to be creeping up to the level it was at before it skyrocketed to over $4/gal in the Summer of 2008. Which makes you wonder: will the automakers be better prepared to deal with a spike in gas prices this time around?
They say that “everything sells at a price,” but right now no amount of money will buy you a Fisker Karma. And, according to a leaked internal email obtained by Fiskerbuzz.com, the price of the Valmet-built luxury plug-in hybrid is rising.
In 2008, pricing was originally estimated to be around $80,000. This estimate was then more clearly defined in 2009 as an MSRP of $87,900 and has now increased another $8,000 to the final pricing of $95,900 for the EcoStandard model.
The Karma’s solar roof, the largest continuous and most highly curved solar roof in a passenger car, was planned to be a $5,000 option. The roof is now standard.
With an MSRP of $95,900 the Karma is within 10% of the originally announced MSRP of $87,900 announced in 2009 – an incremental change over the course of two years.
More pricing info and apologia/perspective (depending on how you look at it) after the jump…
Though the final numbers are not quite in yet, according to well-respected Brazilian car market journalist Joel Leite, writing for Brazilian car site webmotors.com.br, the big losers in 2010 are clear. I for one am quite shocked. Of all makers and importers in Brazil, only four lost share. The rest were all able to keep up with market growth and even gain share. Ready? Brazil’s losers are …
It seems like only yesterday… New Ferraris were in such demand that it was possible to make six-figure money in some markets merely by taking delivery of a new F430 or F599 and selling it later that day. Meanwhile, that unspeakably crass reanimated Italian psuedo-luxury watch brand, Panerai, had waiting lists chock-full of suckers waiting to pay five, ten, or fifteen grand for a watch with the same amount of technology and craftsmanship as an $899 ORIS.
Three or so years ago, Ferrari ditched staid old Girard-Perregaux for sexy new Panerai. The not-so-special editions flowed like sweet nouveau glacial milk and the “punters” lined up in droves. This was the marriage of true brands, to which no man may admit an unprofitable impediment.
As of today, the party’s officially over. Welcome… to the bargain bin.
“”By partnering with Volkswagen on the Fender Premium Audio System, we are creating a unique partnership with a truly innovative company allowing us to deliver a product that is as unique, expressive and dynamic as the customers who use it,” said Mark Van Vleet, Senior Vice President, Business Affairs for Fender.
Well, that may be… but do Volkswagen and Fender really want to be associated with each other? I can think of one solid reason why the two brands should have mucho distancia, hombre…
Surf on over to dodge.co.uk, and you’ll find that the only vehicle being offered for sale is the Journey crossover. Look a little closer and you’ll find that Dodge has announced new electric vehicles, an online reminder of the embarrassingbailout-eraENVIproject which has since been expunged from Chrysler’s corporate history. Given this sorry state of affairs, is it any wonder that Dodge is getting the heck out of Dodge, er, Old Blighty? Read More >
Despite being introduced to the US back in 2006, sales of Nissan’s Versa are hardly slacking with age. Sales of the Versa have increased every year since its introduction except for last year, when volume dropped by about 2,000 units, and this year the subcompact sedan/hatch has already set a new annual sales record. Even the newer, arguably better-looking Kia Soul hasn’t been able to unseat the Versa from its perch as king of the subcompacts, having sold only about 60k units this year to the Versa’s 89,500. But despite this continued success, Nissan is replacing the slightly geeky-looking Versa with this, the 2012 Nissan Sunny, which has just been unveiled at the Guangzhou Auto Show in Southern China.
When BMW relaunched the Mini brand in 2001 with a modern interpretation of Alex Issigonis’s classic, it made a big splash by proving that high-end customers would pay top dollar for a well-branded subcompact car. The only problem was that not everyone could live with the Cooper’s size limitations, so BMW extended its wheelbase and added an third suicide door, creating the Clubman. The Clubman did not make the kind of impact that BMW hoped, as it turned out that four doors were as important as the Clubman’s extra space. Accordingly, BMW developed a four-door “SUV” for the MINI brand, giving it a potential brand boost in the size-obsessed US market. Now, for reasons that are difficult to fathom, MINI is previewing a two-door concept version of the Countryman known as the “Paceman.” Because customers have been clamoring for the (relative) inefficiency of the Countryman paired with the (relative) impracticality of the Clubman? Or because Land Rover just debuted its own “Sports Activity Coupe” and MINI can’t help but chase the pointless niche with its own me-too offering? No prizes for guessing…
Automotive News [sub] reports that Mitsubishi Motors North America has reached a deal with the workers of UAW Local 2488 to keep its assembly plant in Normal, Il open for the foreseeable future, building vehicles based on a new platform. Mitsubishi previously missed a deadline to assign new products to the Normal plant, forcing the firm to increase base wages there. With wages increasing and no new products in the offing, many have speculated that Mitsu would exit the US market, a move its CEO has strongly rejected. In fact, it now appears that Mitsubishi will cut back or abandon its European production rather than exit the US. But the new deal with its US labor force hasn’t shed any new light on how Mitsubishi will achieve its goal to quadruple sales… and until the firm announces new products for US production, this mystery will only deepen.
In a nod to the fact that growth lies elsewhere on the globe, GM created a new position rarely seen elsewhere: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Job description: Head and direct global marketing. Job filled by: Joel Ewanick.
The marketing maven joined GM in May, after a very short (and apparently not too happy) stint at Nissan. Ewanick became famous for his marketing work for Hyundai and for implementing gutsy marketing strategies. Ewanick is credited for a lot of Hyundai’s U.S. success. Read More >
Tata is doing everything possible to revive the shriveled sales of the Nano. Sales of the ultra-lowpriced Nano recently crashed to ultralow levels: In November, only 509 units changed hands, reluctantly. The success of the much hyped diminutive conveyance more and more looks like a flash in the pan, literally. The Nano became infamous for going up on flames. Then, Tata had to raise the ultralow price a few times. On top of that, Nano buyers were seen as bad credit risks by Indian banks and were hit with ultrahigh interest rates. Stir, simmer, and you have a recipe for disaster. Now, Tata has decided to fight back. However, the counter-offensive appears less inspired compared to the enthusiasm when the car was launched. Read More >
Recent Comments