Posted on May 29, 2013, at 2:00 am
 Tim Dunne With sales of new light vehicles in the United States continuing to rebound from the great recession years (light-vehicle sales are up 7% in the first trimester of 2013, after having increased 13% in 2012), one question that automotive marketers might be asking themselves is: How important is the Internet to attracting new-vehicle shoppers?
Based on J.D Power’s 2012 Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study, four out of five new-vehicle buyers are Automotive Internet Users (AIUs)—people who use the Internet to shop for their new vehicle. By far, the most frequently accessed automotive content on websites and mobile apps are vehicle pricing information (64% of shoppers say they search for this information), and model information such as vehicle options, features and technical specifications (63% search for this information). Other popular uses in the online shopping experience include vehicle comparisons (48%), build-a-vehicle, and photo galleries (each 46%). Continue reading ›
Posted on March 11, 2013, at 2:00 am
 John Humphrey Significant changes in population and other demographics in the United States will affect the automotive industry in the years to come, according to John Humphrey, senior vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power and Associates, in remarks to participants at the recent J.D. Power 2013 International Automotive Roundtable in Orlando, FL, that was co-sponsored with NADA. Humphrey summarized a few of the major changes:
Between 2012 and 2020, the U.S. population will grow nearly 10%—from 313 million to 341 million. Most of this growth will occur in already large markets, with much movement from rural to urban areas. Currently, the most populous U.S. states are California, Texas, New York and Florida, and most of these will experience the most growth in the next decade. This growth trend will have a significant impact on what products OEMs offer in specific markets—in terms of utility, fuel economy, weather conditions—and the retailing strategies needed to attract and retain customers in these markets. Continue reading ›
Posted on March 5, 2013, at 2:00 am
 John Humphrey On balance, J.D. Power is optimistic about the auto market in the United States, John Humphrey, senior vice president, global automotive, told participants at the recent J.D. Power 2013 International Automotive Roundtable in Orlando, FL, that was co-sponsored with NADA. The industry is benefitting right now from an older fleet and pent-up demand that will continue to bolster the market for the next 3-4 years.
The rebound in the U.S. market is also being aided by a recovery in the housing sector, although this is still in its nascent state. Some risks to the U.S. recovery include the spread of fear due to the Euro debt crisis—whether real or psychological—and whether the United States has truly resolved its own fiscal crisis, or merely delayed it. In addition, geo-political risks in the Middle East, East Asia and North Africa need to be monitored. Continue reading ›
Posted on January 10, 2013, at 2:00 am
 Auto industry panelists discuss mobility with Joe White, senior editor, The Wall Street Journal (right) at the NADA/J.D. Power Western Automotive conference. Mobility is a term that has been gaining attention in the auto industry. The current focus is on the viability of alternative vehicles—especially electric vehicles (EVs)—and the future focus explores mobility technology including smarter, semi-self-driving vehicles. Joe White, senior editor at The all Street Journal, led a panel discussion with auto executives and a California dealer principal at the NADA/J.D. Power Western Automotive Conference with an objective to look at mobility and to separate reality from fantasy.
Moderator: Joe White, senior editor, The Wall Street Journal
Panel members:
Al Castignetti, vice president and general manager, Nissan Division, Nissan North America, Inc.
Mark Del Rosso, COO, Audi of America Inc.
John Mendel, Executive Vice President, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Peter Hoffman, Dealer Principal, Sierra Autocars, Inc.*
*Sierra Autocars, Inc. is s a family-owned dealer group based in California’s San Gabriel Valley, and includes seven stores and 10 franchises: Acura, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Honda, Jeep, Mazda, Ram and Subaru.
Panelists’ comments on the need to have a balanced portfolio that includes fuel-efficient vehicles, including those with alternative powertrains, and their ideas about consumer interest in EVs, alternative powertrains and semi-self-driving cars are excerpted.
Joe: Let’s start with the here and now. By 2025 the auto industry’s fleets have to average 54.5 mpg—you are not waiting until 2024 to start this process. How are customers receiving the technology and the engineering ideas that you are putting into the marketplace to move toward that goal?
Al: No car manufacturer is going to get to 54.5 mpg without alternative fuel vehicles—whether it’s electric, fuel cell, or whether it’s natural gas. Nissan is heavily involved in the electric vehicle (EV) and that is one of the platforms moving forward that is going to have a big presence in the auto industry. I would say that from an electric perspective for us, our customers love it. The one limit right now is the range. As the technology expands, and you get greater range from the same power packs, I think it will open up a tremendous audience that isn’t there today. Continue reading ›
Posted on December 26, 2012, at 2:00 am
 Tim Dunne J.D. Power Asia expert Tim Dunne provides a perspective for members of the auto industry, especially automakers in Japan, on the U.S. market and offers a glimpse at issues and concerns and changes that are likely to impact the world’s manufacturers in the future. Excerpts from an article published recently in Japan’s Automotive Daily Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun are featured in this post.
As 2012 draws to a close, light-vehicle sales in the United States are expected to finish the year strongly. Vehicle manufacturers estimate total sales will top 14.4 million units for the year, which translates to a healthy 14% increase vs. 2011’s total of 12.7 million units. The 14.4 million-unit total would be the highest annual sales in the United States since the industry reached 16.1 million units in 2007, and represents nearly a 40% increase over 2008, when industry sales tumbled to an anemic 10.4 million units at the lowest point of the recent “Great Recession” (December 2007–June 2009, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research).
For many Japanese brands operating in the United States, 2012’s final results will be even better than the industry average. Sales of Toyota Group vehicles (Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands) are currently up a combined 29%, and are on track to reach 2.05 million vehicles for the year; Honda Group sales (Honda and Acura brands) are currently up 24%, and are expected to top 1.4 million units for the year; Subaru sales are up 29%, and are expected to top 330,000 units for the year. Continue reading ›
Posted on December 4, 2012, at 8:00 am
 The outlook for the auto industry—and the U.S. economy—appears to be much healthier, though the industry is still recovering from the downturn that began in 2008, according to Paul Sheard, chief global economist at Standard & Poor’s in New York and John Humphrey, executive vice president, who heads the global automotive division at J.D. Power and Associates.
Both of these experts, in addition to Jim Lentz, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A, and other auto company executives, Internet and social media marketers, and dealers, presented their observations and perspectives about change in the industry, both now and in the future, at last week’s NADA/J.D. Power Western Automotive Conference held in Los Angeles.
Humphrey also offered a West Coast or California perspective. He and other speakers and panels spoke about the differences in consumer demographics and new ways to understand and engage the customer through social media—especially with the objective of how to appeal to 80 million+ millennial consumers. The conference began with welcoming remarks from Bill Underriner, chairman of NADA, and ended with a panel discussion dealing with the idea of “mobility” in the future that was led by Joe White, senior editor from The Wall Street Journal. Continue reading ›
Posted on October 10, 2012, at 2:00 am
Editor’s Note: Deirdre Borrego, vice president and general manager of J.D. Power’s global automotive operations and Power Information Network® (PIN), presented her thoughts on how dealerships can navigate the future in an article, “U.S. Dealers: Preparing for the Future,” that was published in the October issue of AutoRetailNet, an online magazine.
Excerpts on approaching Gen Y consumers are featured in the first of two posts.
Keep Your Eye on Generation Y
 Deirdre Borrego Generation Y isn’t simply a buzzword. Gen Y consumers (born between 1977 and 1994, and who are generally the children of Baby Boomers born 1946-1964) are currently estimated to number 80 million. That is a huge retail automotive growth opportunity, surpassing both their parents’ generation and Generation X (whose members were born between 1965-1976 and number only 55 million).
Generation Y, also known as Millennials, are already starting to create a massive change in the way retail business is conducted. These consumers are the first generation to be exposed to electronic communications technology from a young age—including wireless phones at home; 500-channel cable and satellite television; cell phones; the Internet; email; social media; websites; and, most recently, smartphones—and they are completely comfortable with the hardware and technologies. Continue reading ›
Posted on September 28, 2012, at 7:21 am
 Lubo Li Customer satisfaction with Canadian auto insurance companies improves this year in each of the three geographic regions evaluated, mainly due to fewer premium increases in addition to higher satisfaction with policy offerings, according to results in our 2012 Canadian Auto Insurance Study. This year’s study is based on responses from 11,620 auto insurance policyholders. Some findings from each of the regions are highlighted below:
Quebec Region
Satisfaction in the Quebec region increases by 17 points (based on a 1,000-point scale), which is the largest increase in score among all three regions from 2011. Satisfaction increases significantly in two of the five factors* that make up the overall customer satisfaction index: billing and payment (+21 points) and price (+19 points). In addition, only 11% of customers in the Quebec region say they experienced an insurer-initiated rate hike—the lowest percentage in all three regions.
La Capitale ranks highest in customer satisfaction among Quebec’s auto insurance companies with a score of 850 (on a 1,000-point scale). In fact, La Capitale receives the highest index score among carriers in all three regions this year. Continue reading ›
Posted on June 8, 2012, at 2:00 am
 Chris Sutton The J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Customer Service Index (CSI) StudySM finds that dealership service advisors are not providing basic service processes to younger customers as frequently as they are to older, more established customers. While younger customers may have a tendency to “rate lower,” customer feedback suggests that younger customers have solid reasons for these lower customer satisfaction ratings.
When working with Gen Y customers (age 35 and younger), service advisors are less likely to perform a walk-around; review a technician-performed inspection; or to review the work done on the vehicle. In addition, service advisors are less likely to notify Gen Y customers when their vehicle will be ready or to keep them informed of the status of their vehicle service. Continue reading ›
Posted on February 3, 2012, at 3:57 pm
 Leslie Cocco The global automotive industry, including North America, is better able to keep production in line with demand than in the past, according to John Humphrey, senior vice president and general manager of J.D. Power’s global auto operations. John told participants at our 2012 International Automotive Roundtable today that J.D. Power is largely bullish about the auto market in the near future, projecting global sales of 79.2 million light vehicles in 2012, and rising to 99 million unit sales in 2015.
Humphrey stated that more than half (55%) of global auto sales in 2015 are projected to be in emerging markets, and he pointed out that drivers of this growth include the return of sub-prime-credit customers to the market, decreasing credit restrictions, and increasing demand.
 John Humphrey Humphrey also said there are risks to this growth: geopolitical tensions in the Mideast Gulf region; the negative impact of the Euro debt crisis; unemployment; the economic slowdown in China; and the lack of infrastructure in emerging markets.
Humphrey also discussed the inevitable change in the market in relation to Gen Y consumers. Changes that he mentioned are technology-driven, and relate to the way that young shoppers expect to do their shopping—online, via mobile, and Apps—and the expectations they have for technology in vehicles. A majority, or 79%, of shoppers are going to third-party sites, rather than OEM or dealer sites, which makes brand management and messaging a challenge, he said. Continue reading ›
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