World's First Predictive Sales Demand Indicator Says Toyota Demand in 28 Percent Freefall

NEW YORK, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Autometrics' Pulse™, the first predictive demand indicator for new vehicle sales, has forecasted that Toyota demand has declined 28 percent (seasonally adjusted) in the U.S. since Toyota announced sales suspension and a recall of many of its models.  Autometrics says that practically all Toyota models have seen demand decline, not only the eight models subject to accelerator pedal issue.

"The initial beneficiary of the decline in demand for Toyota vehicles are the General Motors brands following the launch of GM's $1000 incentive to Toyota owners to terminate their lease," said Stephen Shaw, Autometrics CEO.  "GM's boost has come off its initial peak since it first targeted Toyota owners on January 27 but is still quite dramatic."

As of February 3, GM brands had increased their share as follows: Chevrolet (+9 percent), Buick (+17 percent), Cadillac (+10 percent) and GMC (+19 percent).  In recent days, Ford Motor Company has become a new beneficiary, with an increase in demand of 10 percent.   Other brands showed little or no change after the data was seasonally adjusted. 

Toyota's luxury brand Lexus, which was not involved in the sales suspension but is recalling some models due to a separate floor mat issue, appears to have been more insulated from Toyota's decline.  Lexus demand was down 8 percent as of February 3, while Scion was off 6 percent. 

Only the Toyota 4-Runner SUV showed an increase in demand. Toyota models declined as follows: 

    
    
    RAV-4             -53%
    Avalon            -45%
    Corolla           -44%
    Camry             -42%
    Tundra            -39%
    Highlander        -34%
    Sequoia           -34%
    Matrix            -33%
    Sienna            -26%
    Yaris             -21%
    Venza             -21%
    Tacoma            -12%
    Land Cruiser       -9%
    Prius              -8%
    FJ Cruiser         -2%
    4Runner           +18%
    

How Autometrics' Pulse™ is Calculated

• Pulse™ is driven by more than 100 data sources including major automotive sites, the car buying sections of major portals, automotive enthusiast sites etc.
• Pulse™ is updated nightly, with yesterday's results released "real time" the very next day.
• Pulse™ is the largest demand data set available anywhere with over 300,000 data points tracked daily.
• Pulse™ captures demand for all makes and models down to the zip code level.
• Pulse™ has been proven by automotive manufacturers and academics to be highly predictive of new vehicles sales even at the local level.

Pulse data is updated on a regular basis at www.autometrics.com

About Autometrics

Autometrics was founded in the United Kingdom in 2000, is privately owned with offices in London, New York, Los Angeles and Detroit. It is focused on helping clients make "better decisions faster" through actionable data and analytics technology with a strong focus on the automotive industry.  Autometrics pioneered the concept of hosted business intelligence software in 2003 (according to Forrester) and manages client data for web analytics, ad spend, paid search, sales leads, sales transactions, customer records, order banks, surveys, stock levels, third party competitive analysis, call centers, etc.  

The Autometrics Platform offers an integrated hosted Business Intelligence application for advanced data quality profiling, business intelligence, query and analytics, dashboards and predictive modeling.  Autometrics has built up a strong track record and reputation in high client data quality standards and meeting delivery schedules.

SOURCE Autometrics