Polk Research Reveals SUV Owners Very Committed to Trucks
11 January 1999
Just How Loyal Are Sport Utility Vehicle Buyers? Polk Research Reveals SUV Owners Very Committed to Trucks
DETROIT, Jan. 11 -- The Polk Company announced today that
nearly half of all sport utility vehicle-owning households stayed within the
SUV segment when purchasing a new vehicle during the 1998 model year. In
addition, up to three-quarters of SUV owners in various categories stayed
within the truck segment for their latest purchase. These findings support
the strategies of manufacturers who are investing a large percentage of their
development costs in new offerings within the SUV category.
"Our research showed that purchasers of the Extended Full-Size SUV were
most likely of all SUV owners to stay within the truck category, with nearly
three-fourths remaining loyal for their next vehicle purchase," said Karen
Piurkowski, Polk's director of loyalty. "On the other end of the spectrum, we
found that Mini SUV owners were most likely to move up to a Mid-Size SUV or to
purchase or lease a Pickup truck than to buy another like vehicle," she added.
Polk's data also revealed that approximately one-third of SUV owners
returned to cars for their next purchase and that Mini and Mid-Size SUV owners
were more likely to move to a Mid-Size if they bought a car. Full-Size and
Extended Full-Size SUV owners were most likely to purchase or lease a Luxury
car.
"We continue to see growing enthusiasm in the truck market, especially
when it comes to SUVs," said Glenn Forbes, Polk's vice president of
transportation business development.
Polk asked consumers purchasing SUVs within the 1998 model year why they
stayed loyal to their vehicle type. Their responses included: "Have always
driven a full-size SUV; Longevity of the SUV -- can drive 150,000 miles
repair-free; We've owned seven (SUVs) over 12 years; Prefer SUV performance,
price and reputation."
When SUV owners entered the market in the 1998 model year, they purchased
a vehicle from the following segments:
PREVIOUS VEHICLE OWNED/LEASED
NEW VEHICLE
PURCHASED/ Extended
LEASED: Mini SUV Mid-Size SUV Full-Size SUV Full-Size SUV
SUVs:
Mini SUV 13.92% 3.01% 2.24% 2.04%
Mid-Size SUV 18.44% 32.68% 10.76% 8.75%
Full-Size SUV 5.04% 9.60% 25.55% 11.25%
Extended
Full-Size SUV 0.93% 1.35% 3.88% 29.14%
Total SUVs 38.33% 46.64% 42.43% 51.18%
Other Trucks:
Minivan 4.96% 5.07% 3.02% 2.60%
Pickup Truck 16.32% 14.62% 20.52% 17.86%
Full-Size Van 0.81% 0.71% 1.06% 1.02%
Total Other
Trucks 22.09% 20.40% 24.60% 21.48%
Total Trucks 60.42% 67.04% 67.03% 72.66%
Cars:
Small Car 12.13% 6.69% 5.28% 4.38%
Midsize Car 14.03% 12.44% 9.88% 7.95%
Large Car 0.55% 0.97% 0.94% 1.21%
Sporty Car 6.49% 4.56% 6.44% 4.70%
Luxury Car 6.38% 8.29% 10.42% 9.11%
Total Cars 39.58% 32.96% 32.97% 27.34%
Furthermore, Polk's research showed that SUV owners are more likely to
purchase another SUV because they are looking for a functional, reliable
vehicle. They are less likely to say they are looking for advanced styling or
a prestigious, luxurious vehicle. In fact, 95 percent of all SUV owners rated
the importance of reliability for their previous vehicle purchase as "very
important" or "of critical importance" -- the most highly rated product
feature when it came to importance. When asked to evaluate the experience
with reliability over the entire ownership period for their SUV, 87 percent
said the experience met or exceeded their expectations.
"Not only are these owners returning to purchase another SUV, but many are
providing positive recommendations to others," said Forbes. "We found that 86
percent of the SUV owners purchasing again in the truck category said they
provided at least one positive recommendation to a friend or relative. More
than half (52.86 percent) said they provided five or more positive
recommendations to friends or relatives," Forbes added.
Research results are based on data from Polk's Manufacturer Loyalty
Excelerator(TM) (MLEX), which summarizes results based on all consumer new-
vehicle buying and leasing activity during the model year.
Polk's MLEX(TM) product provides the latest insight into this type of
consumer behavior. This study was introduced to the automotive industry in
1995 and was created to provide household loyalty information to manufacturers
at many different levels. This report is being used to determine the awards;
to provide loyalty percentages for the entire automotive industry; to allow
for cross-industry comparisons of loyalty behavior; and to examine loyalty at
various levels -- e.g. from the industry level down to the vehicle line level.
The study measures loyalty throughout the entire model year so manufacturers
may keep abreast of loyalty trends as they occur in the industry.
Polk has served the automotive industry for 77 years and is the longest
standing curator of automobile records in the United States. Founded in 1870,
Polk launched its motor statistical operations in 1922 when the first car
registration reports were published. It provides multi-dimensional
intelligence information solutions to companies as a statistician for the
motor vehicle industry; as a direct-marketing resource; as a supplier of
demographic and lifestyle data and database-marketing services; as a publisher
of city directories; and as a data enabler for geographic information systems.
Based in Southfield, Mich., Polk is a privately held firm that is expanding
globally, currently operating in: the United States, Canada, England, France,
Germany, Australia, Spain, Holland and Costa Rica.