Posts Tagged ‘Luxury Cars’
Freddic asked:
Just as the auto industry struggles to remain afloat, so do the segments it’s made up of. And luxury car sales are no exception. Since, luxury automobiles are faced with a double whammy of being high priced and being gas-guzzling, are we to see their sales go from bad to worse?
Automobile and auto part sales have generally been affected negatively, owing to high gas prices and economic downturn, with auto stocks showing spikes only sporadically, as crude prices lower a bit. Now, when it comes to the sales of Luxury cars and trucks they’ve taken a hit of 11% year-to-date (YTD), while the auto sales throughout the US have been down by 18%.
Based on the figures above, it appears that luxury sales are much better than the rest of the industry and since they only account for for just about 10% of the industry’s sales, they won’t have much of an impact. The margins however, on all products within the segment are large, and which is what makes it valuable.
At the same time, given the shift from gas-guzzling automobiles towards smaller ones, it appears that no one would go for them, but the recent announcement by the General Motors Corp of an SUV, Cadillac Escalade Hybrid indicates that auto makers have different expectations. And it seems that they might be right because the high-end products are directed towards a different target audience altogether. The target segment for luxury vehicles shouldn’t have problems with affordability per se, including paying for high gas prices, while the need to acquire high-end products persists.
The factor, aside from the gas-guzzling ability that could affect the purchase of bigger automobiles is the perception that these vehicles are less environment friendly. Now while demand might exist, whether the big autos sell well or not seems to depend on a lot more than their uniqueness. But auto makers seem to have an answer to even this conundrum by producing hybrids, which have a better standing when it comes to eco-friendliness. The Cadillac Escalade hybrid seems to be proof enough, and perhaps other car makers like Toyota or Ford would follow suit if the experiment goes off well.
On the whole some rough weather does loom large over the luxury car segment, but given the efforts auto industry is ready to put in, luxury sales could sail through the storm, quite well.
Just as the auto industry struggles to remain afloat, so do the segments it’s made up of. And luxury car sales are no exception. Since, luxury automobiles are faced with a double whammy of being high priced and being gas-guzzling, are we to see their sales go from bad to worse?
Automobile and auto part sales have generally been affected negatively, owing to high gas prices and economic downturn, with auto stocks showing spikes only sporadically, as crude prices lower a bit. Now, when it comes to the sales of Luxury cars and trucks they’ve taken a hit of 11% year-to-date (YTD), while the auto sales throughout the US have been down by 18%.
Based on the figures above, it appears that luxury sales are much better than the rest of the industry and since they only account for for just about 10% of the industry’s sales, they won’t have much of an impact. The margins however, on all products within the segment are large, and which is what makes it valuable.
At the same time, given the shift from gas-guzzling automobiles towards smaller ones, it appears that no one would go for them, but the recent announcement by the General Motors Corp of an SUV, Cadillac Escalade Hybrid indicates that auto makers have different expectations. And it seems that they might be right because the high-end products are directed towards a different target audience altogether. The target segment for luxury vehicles shouldn’t have problems with affordability per se, including paying for high gas prices, while the need to acquire high-end products persists.
The factor, aside from the gas-guzzling ability that could affect the purchase of bigger automobiles is the perception that these vehicles are less environment friendly. Now while demand might exist, whether the big autos sell well or not seems to depend on a lot more than their uniqueness. But auto makers seem to have an answer to even this conundrum by producing hybrids, which have a better standing when it comes to eco-friendliness. The Cadillac Escalade hybrid seems to be proof enough, and perhaps other car makers like Toyota or Ford would follow suit if the experiment goes off well.
On the whole some rough weather does loom large over the luxury car segment, but given the efforts auto industry is ready to put in, luxury sales could sail through the storm, quite well.
Car Guru asked:
As we await the results of the biggest US Presidential Election we have ever seen, I have found an interesting article on how car choice reflects how Americans vote.
Kelley Blue Book Market Research surveyed almost 12,000 US car owners and how they planned to vote in the election. They found that owners of larger trucks and traditional luxury cars are more likely to vote for John McCain, while owners of hybrids and station wagons are more likely to vote for Barack Obama.
Backers of Arizona senator McCain typically own American brands – GMC (61%), Chevrolet (60%), Buick and Dodge (58%). McCain voters are also more likely to drive luxury brands like Lexus and BMW.
Barack Obama followers prefer imported vehicles, with the most popular being the Mini with 70%, Subaru (61%) and Saab (59%).
McCain supporters are most likely to drive full size trucks and SUVs, while Obama voters drive station wagons, hatchbacks and hybrids.
Rick Wainschel from Kelley Blue Book said “Car ownership says a lot about a person, and can even be an indicator who they are likely to vote for”. I do agree with this to an extent. While all this data may seem like a sweeping generalisation, some of it does make sense.
Sales of domestic and large trucks (McCain) are higher in traditionally Republican ‘red’ states whilst import and hybrid owners are predominantly located in Democratic ‘blue’ states.
Wired Blog claims all American brands like GMC and Chevrolet, as favoured by McCain followers, represent a blue collar ethic and fit with McCain’s image as a war hero with years of experience.
Throughout the campaign, Obama has stressed the importance of renewable energy, so it’s not surprising that eco-conscious hybrid car owners would vote for him.
So while some of it makes sense, I’m sure there are a lot of exceptions to the rule. I imagine a lot of American car choices reflect personal budgets and need for space rather than their voting preference.
As we await the results of the biggest US Presidential Election we have ever seen, I have found an interesting article on how car choice reflects how Americans vote.
Kelley Blue Book Market Research surveyed almost 12,000 US car owners and how they planned to vote in the election. They found that owners of larger trucks and traditional luxury cars are more likely to vote for John McCain, while owners of hybrids and station wagons are more likely to vote for Barack Obama.
Backers of Arizona senator McCain typically own American brands – GMC (61%), Chevrolet (60%), Buick and Dodge (58%). McCain voters are also more likely to drive luxury brands like Lexus and BMW.
Barack Obama followers prefer imported vehicles, with the most popular being the Mini with 70%, Subaru (61%) and Saab (59%).
McCain supporters are most likely to drive full size trucks and SUVs, while Obama voters drive station wagons, hatchbacks and hybrids.
Rick Wainschel from Kelley Blue Book said “Car ownership says a lot about a person, and can even be an indicator who they are likely to vote for”. I do agree with this to an extent. While all this data may seem like a sweeping generalisation, some of it does make sense.
Sales of domestic and large trucks (McCain) are higher in traditionally Republican ‘red’ states whilst import and hybrid owners are predominantly located in Democratic ‘blue’ states.
Wired Blog claims all American brands like GMC and Chevrolet, as favoured by McCain followers, represent a blue collar ethic and fit with McCain’s image as a war hero with years of experience.
Throughout the campaign, Obama has stressed the importance of renewable energy, so it’s not surprising that eco-conscious hybrid car owners would vote for him.
So while some of it makes sense, I’m sure there are a lot of exceptions to the rule. I imagine a lot of American car choices reflect personal budgets and need for space rather than their voting preference.
Jack B asked:
For a piece of research I’m doing, I need to find out regional (eg. UK, Europe, Asia, North america) and global recent sales numbers for performance and luxury cars. Is there any way which I can find this out without having to physically call the manufacturers and beg for the numbers?
For a piece of research I’m doing, I need to find out regional (eg. UK, Europe, Asia, North america) and global recent sales numbers for performance and luxury cars. Is there any way which I can find this out without having to physically call the manufacturers and beg for the numbers?
Any suggestions would be helpful