Situation
| 1. PIN says owners of large/midsize trucks trading to smaller vehicles as gas prices rise |
| 2. Owner loyalty up for small vehicles, segment expected to continue to strengthen |
| 3. Midsize crossover segment seeing only moderate impact from rising prices |
| 4. Owner loyalty relatively stable for large/midsize cars, small crossovers, small SUVs |
| 5. Small-vehicle demand boosting 4-cylinder engine share of powertrain market |
| 6. Hybrid vehicle sales showing strong correlation w/ gas prices |
Significant Points
| 1. Gas prices up over 20 cents to national average of $3.10 per gallon |
| 2. Surpasses previous record of $3.07 per gallon set in Sept 2005 |
| 3. Small vehicles as percentage of total new-vehicle retail sales up 5.5% from 1st Q 2004 |
| 4. Newly introduced midsize crossovers cited for softening impact of gas prices on segment |
| 5. All trends consistent w/ patterns observed last time gas prices rose |
Says
| "We're seeing a broad, long-term--but gradual--movement to smaller vehicles. For example, during periods of high gas prices over the past two years, we've seen movement from larger to smaller SUVs. However, the total SUV pie remains largely intact." -- Tom Libby, senior director, industry analysis, Power Information Network
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| "The recent strength of the small vehicle segments--pricing, styling and an increasing number of new models--is receiving an additional boost from high gas prices. We're expecting the small vehicle segments to continue to grow, regardless of gas prices, but higher gas prices certainly will help these segments relative to others." -- Bob Schnorbus, chief economist, J.D. Power and Associates |
