ATLANTA, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Chevy was a big winner in the new car space during 2009, with the Chevy Camaro capturing the No. 1 most-viewed new car spot in 2009 and Chevy ranking as the most-viewed new vehicle brand on AutoTrader.com in 2009, according to the Year-End AutoTrader.com Trend Engine Report. The Camaro grabbed the No. 1 most viewed spot from 2008's most-viewed vehicle, the new Honda Accord, which fell from No. 1 in 2008 to No. 4 in 2009. Rounding out the top five most-viewed new vehicles on AutoTrader.com in 2009 were the Ford F-150 at No. 2, the Ford Mustang at No. 3 and the Chevy Silverado at No. 5.
The biggest new-car jump on the AutoTrader.com top 20 new car list was the redesigned Nissan 370Z, which jumped from No. 96 in 2008 to No. 19 in 2009. Other year-over-year new-car jumps were made by the Dodge Challenger, up from No. 29 in 2008 to No. 10 in 2009 and the Volkswagen Jetta, up from No. 32 in 2008 to No. 18 in 2009.
In a tough year for new car sales and marketing, Hyundai and Kia made aggressive marketing moves that paid off in increased views of their brands on AutoTrader.com's new car top 20. Kia increased its placement on AutoTrader.com's new-car brand list from No. 20 in 2008 to No. 14 in 2009. Hyundai made a smaller move up on the new-car brand list, from No. 11 in 2008 to No. 9 in 2009.
In the used car space, the Ford F-150 pickup truck reclaimed the No. 1 most-viewed spot for the year and Ford was the No. 1 brand of used vehicles viewed on AutoTrader.com this year. Rounding out the top five used cars viewed on the site in 2009 are the BMW 3 Series at No. 2 (down from No. 1 in 2008), the Chevy Silverado 1500 at No. 3, the Ford Mustang at No. 4 and the Honda Accord at No. 5.
Larger Vehicles Regained Popularity in 2009
And in a variety of criteria - including models, engine size and body styles - new and used vehicle shopping activity on AutoTrader.com showed a move back to larger vehicles in 2009, following gas price spikes in 2008 that resulted in dramatic increases in shopping activity for smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles.
"Comparing 2009 to 2008, we see increases in shopping activity for trucks and SUVs, larger engines and specific models that have lower miles per gallon," said AutoTrader.com President and CEO Chip Perry. "There's definitely a correlation between gas prices and the kinds of cars Americans shop for. However, as more Americans recognize that gas prices likely will continue to rise for years to come and manufacturers start making smaller, fuel-efficient cars that appeal to more buyers and meet their lifestyle needs, we may see continued embrace of smaller models going forward."
In the used car space specifically, many larger vehicles that saw drops in activity in 2008 as many shoppers shunned larger vehicles increased their position on AutoTrader.com's used car list in 2009. These include the used Jeep Wrangler, up from No. 15 in 2008 to No. 11 in 2009; the used Dodge Ram 2500, up from No. 25 in 2008 to No. 18 in 2009; and the Ford F-250, up from No. 12 in 2008 to No. 8 in 2009.
"For many vehicle shoppers, a larger car is a necessity because their family size or job requires a larger vehicle," said Perry. "In 2008, these buyers held onto their vehicles and sat out the market. They look to have returned in 2009, pushing these larger vehicles back up in popularity."
AutoTrader.com Traffic Outpaces Industry
While 2009 was a challenging year in both new and used car sales, AutoTrader.com continued to grow its site traffic. In 10 out of 12 months during 2009, AutoTrader.com's site traffic surpassed its traffic in the same months in 2008. The company also recorded record site traffic of 16.1 million unique monthly visitors in June month and for most of 2009, surpassed 15 million unique monthly visitors.
According to Perry, AutoTrader.com's increased traffic during 2009 can be attributed to several factors. Those include continued migration of auto shoppers from traditional media to on-line auto shopping; pent up demand as buyers hold back on purchases but continue to shop while awaiting better economic news; and AutoTrader.com's own marketing efforts, which include advertising, key sponsorships and auto show appearances.
"I do believe that we'll see many people who are currently shopping on our site begin to visit showrooms ready to buy in 2010," said Perry.
Top 20 Most Viewed New Vehicles on AutoTrader.com
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Make Model 2009 Rank 2008 Rank
---- ----- --------- ---------
Chevy Camaro 1 N/A
----- ------ --- ---
Ford F-150 2 5
---- ----- --- ---
Ford Mustang 3 7
---- ------- --- ---
Honda Accord 4 1
----- ------ --- ---
Chevy Silverado 5 3
----- --------- --- ---
BMW 3 Series 6 12
--- -------- --- ---
Honda Civic 7 4
----- ----- --- ---
Toyota Camry 8 2
------ ----- --- ---
Dodge Ram 1500 9 8
----- -------- --- ---
Dodge Challenger 10 29
----- ---------- --- ---
Jeep Wrangler 11 11
---- -------- --- ---
Nissan Altima 12 6
------ ------ --- ---
Chevy Corvette 13 21
----- -------- --- ---
Toyota Corolla 14 9
------ ------- --- ---
Ford F-250 15 39
---- ----- --- ---
Toyota Tacoma 16 10
------ ------ --- ---
Ford Fusion 17 26
---- ------ --- ---
Volkswagen Jetta 18 32
---------- ----- --- ---
Nissan 350/370 Z 19 96
------ --------- --- ---
Chevy Malibu 20 16
----- ------ --- ---
Top 20 Most Viewed Used Vehicles on AutoTrader.com
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Make Model 2009 Rank 2008 Rank
---- ----- --------- ---------
Ford F-150 1 2
---- ----- --- ---
BMW 3 Series 2 1
--- -------- --- ---
Chevy Silverado 1500 3 4
----- -------------- --- ---
Ford Mustang 4 3
---- ------- --- ---
Honda Accord 5 6
----- ------ --- ---
Honda Civic 6 5
----- ----- --- ---
Dodge Ram 1500 7 8
----- -------- --- ---
Ford F-250 8 12
---- ----- --- ---
Infiniti G35/37 9 7
-------- ------ --- ---
Chevy Tahoe 10 14
----- ----- --- ---
Jeep Wrangler 11 15
---- -------- --- ---
Nissan Altima 12 9
------ ------ --- ---
BMW 5 Series 13 10
--- -------- --- ---
Jeep Grand Cherokee 14 11
---- -------------- --- ---
Chevy Silverado 2500 15 22
----- -------------- --- ---
Toyota Tacoma 16 13
------ ------ --- ---
Audi A4 17 17
---- --- --- ---
Dodge Ram 2500 18 25
----- -------- --- ---
Ford Explorer 19 19
---- -------- --- ---
Volkswagen Jetta 20 16
---------- ----- --- ---
Top Viewed New Vehicle Brands on AutoTrader.com
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Brand Rank in 2009 Rank in 2008
----- ------------ ------------
Chevy 1 1
----- --- ---
Ford 2 3
---- --- ---
Toyota 3 2
------ --- ---
Nissan 4 6
------ --- ---
Honda 5 4
----- --- ---
Dodge 6 5
----- --- ---
Mercedes-Benz 7 8
------------- --- ---
BMW 8 10
--- --- ---
Hyundai 9 11
------- --- ---
GMC 10 9
--- --- ---
Volkswagen 11 14
---------- --- ---
Jeep 12 7
---- --- ---
Audi 13 16
---- --- ---
Kia 14 20
--- --- ---
Mazda 15 12
----- --- ---
Pontiac 16 15
------- --- ---
Subaru 17 18
------ --- ---
Cadillac 18 17
-------- --- ---
Chrysler 19 13
-------- --- ---
Lexus 20 22
----- --- ---
Top Most Viewed Used Vehicle Brands on
AutoTrader.com
--------------------------------------
Brand Rank in 2009 Rank in 2008
----- ------------ ------------
Ford 1 1
---- --- ---
Chevy 2 2
----- --- ---
Toyota 3 3
------ --- ---
BMW 4 5
--- --- ---
Honda 5 4
----- --- ---
Dodge 6 6
----- --- ---
Nissan 7 7
------ --- ---
Mercedes-Benz 8 8
------------- --- ---
Jeep 9 9
---- --- ---
Volkswagen 10 10
---------- --- ---
GMC 11 15
--- --- ---
Cadillac 12 14
-------- --- ---
Lexus 13 13
----- --- ---
Acura 14 11
----- --- ---
Audi 15 17
---- --- ---
Pontiac 16 12
------- --- ---
Mazda 17 16
----- --- ---
Infiniti 18 20
-------- --- ---
Chrysler 19 18
-------- --- ---
Porsche 20 21
------- --- ---
Search Activity Percentages by Body Styles, 2009 Compared to
2008
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Type Rank % 2009 % 2008
---- ---- ------ ------
Sedan 1 31.2 33.3
----- --- ---- ----
SUV 2 22.8 21.6
--- --- ---- ----
Truck 3 17.3 15.7
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Coupe 4 12.3 12.5
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Convertible 5 6.2 5.9
----------- --- --- ---
Hatchback 6 5.0 5.6
--------- --- --- ---
Van 7 3.1 3.2
--- --- --- ---
Wagon 8 2.0 2.1
----- --- --- ---
Search Activity Percentages by Engine Size, 2009 Compared to 2008
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Engine Size New/Used % 2009 % 2008
----------- -------- ------ ------
4 cylinder Used 27.9 31.0
---------- ---- ---- ----
6 cylinder Used 45.8 45.2
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8 cylinder Used 26.3 23.8
---------- ---- ---- ----
4 cylinder New 35.3 38.6
---------- --- ---- ----
6 cylinder New 41.4 42.1
---------- --- ---- ----
8 cylinder New 23.3 19.3
---------- --- ---- ----
About AutoTrader.com
AutoTrader.com, created in 1997 and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is the Internet's leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location millions of new cars, used cars and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of auto dealers and private owners. The site attracts about 15 million unique monthly visitors. Through innovative merchandising functionality such as multiple photos, videos, detailed descriptions and comprehensive research and compare tools, AutoTrader.com unites new and used car buyers and sellers online to improving the way people research, locate and advertise vehicles. AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. The venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor. For more information, please visit www.autotrader.com.
SOURCE: AutoTrader.com
Web site: http://www.autotrader.com/
|
Director, Public Relations |
Sr. Public Relations Manager Brenna Buehler 949.473.6595 brenna.buehler@coxautoinc.com |
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