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2019 Car Buyer Journey Study 06/04/2019 CONSUMERS INCREASINGLY FEEL THAT OWNING A CAR IS TOO EXPENSIVE Nearly half of consumers feel like owning or leasing a vehicle is becoming too expensive (see Diagram A).1 The percentage of vehicles costing more than $50K has, in fact, grown from 6% in 2012 to 23% in 2018. This increase in new car prices, coupled with rising interest rates, has created a bigger gap between new… Read Article

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10 Key Market Trends – 2019 Spring Update 05/23/2019 Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at Cox Automotive, provides an update on the Key Trends that, earlier in the year, were predicted to have the greatest impact on the automotive industry in 2019. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS The Economy – Economic growth has been revised slightly downward from 2.6% to 2.4% GDP due to a softer than expected year-end 2018, plus a slow start in first quarter 2019. Despite the decelerating… Read Article

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Optimizing Rebates & Incentives for Digital Retail 02/04/2019 The Source of Disconnect Between Dealers and Consumers The automotive retail industry has historically provided consumer incentives for use directly to dealers. Once the information was passed along, dealers chose how to share (or not to share) these offers with consumers. Incentives have been used within desking tools and advertising campaigns with little to no method for consumers to select the incentives that fit their transaction… Read Article

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Top Insights Shaping the Automotive Industry in 2019 01/24/2019 Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at Cox Automotive discusses the economic outlook for the automotive industry into 2019. Isabelle Helms, Vice President of Research & Market Intelligence, shares findings from the Cox Automotive Service Industry study to help dealers understand how to take advantage of these trends and differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Benefit of Strong Economic Tailwinds from 2018 – 2018 saw a robust economy… Read Article

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A Fresh Focus on Fixed Ops Is Paying Off 01/16/2019 Vehicle sales are now contributing less to dealership profit and fixed ops is contributing more. Today, fixed ops comprises 49% of dealership gross profit.1 The service department is also critical to retention and repeat sales. In fact, 74% of car buyers who had their vehicle serviced by the dealership of purchase said they were likely to return there to purchase their next vehicle, while only 35%… Read Article

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8 Key Market Trends – 2018 Fall Update 12/10/2018 Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at Cox Automotive, provides an update on the 8 Key Trends that, earlier in the year, he predicted would have the greatest impact on how the automotive industry performs in 2018. Now that we are close to wrapping up the year, we are revisiting those trends to see how things have shaped up and are also looking at an additional 9th key… Read Article

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Data Reveals New Car Merchandising Best Practices 08/15/2018 Strong new car merchandising can differentiate your dealership from the competition and drive consumer preference for your inventory. In fact, data shows that shoppers are more likely to engage with well-merchandised vehicles.1 The good news? Autotrader’s search results are now not only based on shopper search criteria, previous shopping behavior, price and distance of vehicle to the shopper, but also on how well your inventory listings… Read Article

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2018 Vehicle Tech Features Study 08/10/2018 In-vehicle technology has significantly increased in importance to vehicle shoppers over the last four years. In fact, vehicle tech now ranks ahead of exterior styling when it comes to deciding which car to buy.1 The Vehicle Tech Features Study can help OEMs and dealers more effectively target in-market shoppers, close more sales and upsell tech features to new and existing customers. This study surveyed 2,554 geographically dispersed… Read Article

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Cox Automotive Incentives Study 07/17/2018 New vehicle incentives have increased dramatically since 2014, yet over 50% of consumers have little to no familiarity with them. However, 60% of shoppers are most likely to research incentives at least weekly during their purchase process, and over two-thirds look for this information on third-party sites. This infographic shows the types of incentives that resonate best with consumers. It also provides ways that OEMs and dealers… Read Article

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Cox Automotive Leasing Study 07/17/2018 New vehicle leasing peaked in 2016. Since then, the cost advantage of leasing over the average auto loan has decreased, causing the leasing rate to drop and then plateau ever since. This challenge is compounded by the nearly 3.9 million off-lease vehicles expected to re-enter the market in 2018, potentially putting more downward pressure on residual values and causing new vehicle lease payments to rise. This… Read Article

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