Whatisthecustomers’experiencewithgasmileageonnewvehicles?
IntheDetroitFreePressonSunday,July3,2016autoreporterBrentSnavely
(http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2016/07/02/automakers-regulatory-changes/86435808/)
indicatesthatautomanufacturerswillneedabreakontheupcomingfederalMPGstandards;fuel
targetsgetincreasinglymorestringentaswemoveclosertoa2025goalof54.5MPGfleetwideaverage.
Whilethispiecefocusesonthecorporateperspective,itwouldbeinterestingtoknowhowconsumers
evaluatetheirexperiencewithnewvehicles.MaritzCXhasaNewVehicleCustomerStudy(NVCS)that
asksconsumerstoevaluatethegasmileageexperienceinearlyuseofthenewvehicle.
AstheFreePressarticlepointsout,developmentandsalesofalternativefuelvehicleshaveslowedas
gaspriceshavefallenwithnewtechnologiesandtheabilitytoextractoilfromshaleintheU.S.and
Canada.Havingsaidthis,NVCSdatashowsthatfueleconomy(MPG)isstillatop5purchase
considerationitem,alongwithOverallQuality,Price/Deal,Value,&ExteriorStylingin2016.Theseare
thetop5itemsoverallpurchasereasons,buttheirrankingvariesbyvehiclesegmentpurchased,age,
andgenderofbuyer.SufficeittosayMPGisstillveryimportantinnewvehiclepurchasedecisionseven
asgaspricesremainlow.Sohowdorecentbuyersevaluatetheirgasmileage?NVCStellsus.
NVCStracksbothhighwayandcity/suburbanmileageevaluations.Overall,ratingsforcity/suburban
drivingdifferfromhighwayratingswithslightlymore(2%)sayingtheygetmileage‘aboutasexpected’
andfewer(2%)reportingtheyget‘morethanexpected.’Thefollowingchartpresentstheresultsfor
highwayevaluationswhichshows,intotal,61%getmileage‘aboutasexpected’and17%get‘morethan
expected’inhighwaydriving.Differencesexistacrossvehiclesegments,withthetopsellingSmallSUV
andMid-sizecarsegmentsaroundtheindustrytotal;withone-third(35%)ofretailsalesinthesetwo
segmentsalone.Intotal,nearly80%ofretailbuyersinthefirstquarterofthe2016ModelYeargetthe
gasmileagetheyexpected,whentheypurchased,orbetter.Notethedatareportedhereincludesgas
modelsonly.
MPG vs. Expectations - 2016 Highway Driving
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
About As Expected
More Than Expected
About as Expected Total
Expectation Total
Justtobeclear,thegovernmentmandatestheteststhatmanufacturersneedtoruntoacquiretheMPG
numbersonthewindowstickerofanewvehicle.Theautomanufacturersarejustreportingtheir
findings.Currentnewvehicleconsumerexperiencealignswith,orexceeds,theirpurchaseexpectations
fornearly80%ofowners.Anddespitelowfuelprices,MPGisstillamongthemostimportantpurchase
reasonsfornewvehiclebuyers.AllthesefactsshouldhelptheOEMsintheirdiscussionswiththe
governmentaboutfuturefueltargets.Manufacturerscantellregulatorsthatconsumersaregettingfuel
economythatmeets,orexceeds,theirexpectations,andthatconsumersarestillextremelycognizantof
fueleconomyintheirpurchasedecisionmaking.Overall,thereisprogressonimprovedfueleconomy
butthelongtermgoalsmayneedtobeadjustedgivenmarketconditions.
Source: 2016 NVCS October – December 2015 buyers
MaritzCXNVCStracksnewretailvehiclesalesandpurchasereasonscoveringthelast30years.NVCS
monitorsmanyfacetsoftheretailhouseholdlightvehiclemarketincludingpurchasereasons,
satisfaction,shoppingbehavior,vehicleimage,andusage.
MaritzCXisasoftwareservicesandresearchcompanyheadquarteredinUtahwithofficesaroundthe
world.FormoreinformationontheNewVehicleCustomerStudy(NVCS),pleasecontacttheNVCS
ServicesManager. .