Survey: Car buyers look to buy American, sound off on concerns

American consumers are favoring U.S. automakers, with 79 percent in a recent nationwide survey reporting that they are very likely or somewhat likely to buy from a domestic company. Just half were likely to consider an Asian make and 37 percent said European. However, purchase consideration varied widely among Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors, revealing significant changes in interest from a year ago. These results are from the latest Auto Pulse survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. (Read "Car buyers are thinking American, with Ford, GM up; Chrysler down.")

Ten percent of all survey respondents are more likely to purchase Ford products now, compared with consumers’ views a year ago. General Motors purchase intent has remained relatively static, with just a one percent increase. Chrysler, on the other hand, saw a dramatic 28-percent decrease in reported likelihood to purchase. Interestingly, more respondents were willing to consider a used Chrysler product than a new one despite the reliability risks. Propensity to purchase from automaker versus a year ago:

New-car buyers

Ford	+17 percentage points
General Motors	-6
Chrysler	-25
Used-car buyers
Ford	+15 percentage points
General Motors	+7
Chrysler	-17

Among those respondents who are somewhat less or much less likely to consider buying from a U.S. automaker than a year ago, including buyers and non-buyers, the chief complaint for both Chrysler and Ford was that their product offerings aren’t appealing. However, the leading General Motors complaint was concern for the company’s future and its economic condition. Looking specifically at the responses from new-car buyers reveals true differences in brand perception.

	Chrysler	Ford	GM
Product offerings don't appeal	57%	67%	49%
Company’s economic condition	43	42	58
Concern about company’s future	44	30	46
Product quality	43	25	47

The strong doubt about General Motors’ corporate health stands out, as the company emerged from bankruptcy weeks prior to the survey being conducted by telephone from July 30th to August 3rd. Also, consumers are drawn to Ford for its corporate health and product quality, despite more than two-thirds finding the vehicles unappealing.

The domestic automakers will need to prove their viability to consumers to regain their interest. Ford, in particular, must freshen its portfolio to fully capitalize on its potential, before either the competitors shape up or consumer patriotism wanes. (See how these automakers compare in our tests and reliability data in the “Detroit report cards.”)

For more insights into car-buying today and American consumer behavior, read the full Auto Pulse report.

—Jeff Bartlett with the Consumer Reports National Research Center

Comments

[Brian]

"Ford must freshen its portfolio?"

They've revamped their entire line from top to bottom. Fiesta will replace Focus, the Fusion is all-new. So is the Taurus and F150. They're introducing a new compact truck to replace the Ranger.

That strikes me as a completely "freshened" portfolio -- and I think Ford's sales results this past month attest to the fact that they're building appealing, high-quality cars.

GM has some compelling new models as well, and I expect the refreshed compacts and full-sized models from Chrysler will also garner a lot of attention.

[Brady Holt]

How can only half of new car buyers be considering an Asian vehicle when more than half bought one last month?

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/1002315/1/.html

[Jeff Bartlett - Consumer Reports]

Brady - I have received that question from others, as well. Last month was an anomaly fueled by the cash for clunkers program. Generally, the Asian automakers had a greater percentage of vehicles in their fleets that met the requirements. With consumers making nearly a 10-mpg improvement from clunker to new car, they were looking at highly efficient cars... and clearly Asian-branded cars. However, Ford and GM both saw strong sales among their thriftier vehicles.

The survey asked about consideration (i.e., intent). Only in hindsight will be know how that consideration translated into sales.

The key finding is that there is very strong interest in buying American. The Detroit 3 have an eager audience; the challenge is to deliver the products that excel in the desired virtues.

Notably, this is much less a challenge than if the public wasn't interested in buying American!

[Brady Holt]

Asian market share is always pretty high, even if it went up a bit more than usual under Clunkers. If the survey is accurate that only half of new car buyers even consider buying an Asian vehicle, then it would seem that almost everyone who has even considered buying one -- including those who also considered an American or European car -- went ahead and did it.