NADAguides' Quarter One Brand Share Report Reveals Shift in Consumer Attention

COSTA MESA, Calif., April 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

News Highlights

NADAguides, the most comprehensive online vehicle information provider today, announces its Brand Share Report for quarter one of 2011, revealing domestic brands continue to be the favorite, representing more than 45 percent of all consumer research on NADAguides.com, with Korean brands gaining momentum by representing nearly 11 percent of the overall brand share.

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• Consumer research analysis showed consistent patterns from 2010 Q4 to 2011 Q1, with Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda and Nissan remaining the top five most researched brands and owning nearly 52 percent of NADAguides brand share.  The analysts at NADAguides attribute a portion of this success to the expansion of model lineups containing more fuel efficient, feature-rich smaller vehicles.  
• Ford still remains on top receiving nearly 17 percent of all brand share.  Chevrolet and Toyota followed Ford as the second and third most researched brands making up nearly 12 percent and just over 10 percent of all research, respectively.  Rounding out the top five most researched brands on NADAguides.com were Honda and Nissan, which just barely passed Hyundai by less than one percent for fourth and fifth place.
• Domestic brands made up roughly 45 percent of the overall automotive industry sales and consumer interest queries on NADAguides.com during the first quarter of 2011.  Although the domestics led in consumer interest researched on NADAguides.com, this figure actually represents a decrease of approximately four percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010.  Decreases in interest on NADAguides.com were seen in nearly all domestic brands other than Ford, which saw a slight increase of nearly a percent.  NADAguides' analysts expect Ford's growth to continue – supported by three new models achieving 40 or more mpg.  
• The slight decrease in research for domestic nameplates was picked up by Korean brands, Hyundai and Kia, which each saw a two percent increase from Q4 2010 to Q1 2011 and a combined consumer interest of nearly 11 percent.  This interest has translated to sales as both brands have recently seen large sales increases over the first quarter of 2011, per sales reporting by both brands. The analysts at NADAguides attribute some of this increased consumer interest to strategic sales incentives from Hyundai and the all-new, extremely fuel efficient 40 mpg highway Elantra, which hit showrooms late last year.  The re-launch of the Kia Sorento, which had not been updated since 2009 and was the third most researched vehicle on NADAguides.com during the first quarter of 2011, lead to Kia's over two percent increase from 2010 Q4.
• Even with Korean brands jumping four percent in the first quarter, Japanese brands such as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, were able to hold on as the second most researched, behind domestics, representing nearly 30 percent of consumer research on NADAguides.com.

Key Quotes

• Troy Snyder, Director of Product Development, NADAguides: "With the auto industry and consumer car shopping seeing the level of adversity we have in recent months, it has been interesting to say the least to see how consumers are reacting and deciding to shop for new cars.  Korean brand interest has risen which may be a signal that their overall continuous brand messaging, reliability, unparalleled warranty and incentive offerings are taking a foothold.  The Korean brands are earning and taking their piece of the pie from many of the domestics."
• Michael Sprague, vice president, marketing and communications, Kia Motors America:  "Kia Motors' design-led transformation has delivered seven stylish, fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive new products that have significantly increased awareness, perception and consideration of the Kia brand and led to unprecedented growth and momentum for the company in the U.S.  As evidenced by the latest NADAguides Brand Share Report data, more and more consumers are turning to Kia for head-turning, technology-laden vehicles that offer outstanding fuel economy at a tremendous value, and our diverse lineup will continue to surprise and impress consumers who turn to Kia while shopping for a new vehicle."

About the NADAguides Brand Share Report

The quarterly NADAguides Brand Share Report is a collection of data points from hundreds of thousands of research behaviors and actions of in-market, new-car shoppers on NADAguides.com.  NADAguides' Brand Share Report is an ongoing study, tracking and trending consumer research patterns, purchase intents and market and data interests within automotive brands.

About NADAguides

NADAguides (http://www.nadaguides.com) is the largest publisher of vehicle pricing and information for new and used cars, classic cars, motorcycles, boats, RVs, and manufactured homes. NADAguides offers in-depth shopping and research tools in addition to the most market-reflective pricing available. The company also produces software, raw data, web services, web-syndicated products and print guidebooks.

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