ATLANTA, June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- If Ford shutters its Mercury brand this fall, as announced on Wednesday, Ford itself may have the opportunity to capture the largest share of new Mercury buyers left without their brand.  More than 28% of new Mercury shoppers on AutoTrader.com also looked at new Ford vehicles, and more than 7% of new Mercury shoppers on AutoTrader.com also looked at new Lincoln vehicles.

The top 10 new-car brands cross shopped by new Mercury shoppers on AutoTrader.com were:

1. Ford – 28.8%
2. Chevy – 11.3%
3. Hyundai – 8.2%
4. Honda – 7.8%
5. Toyota – 7.8%
6. Lincoln – 7.5%
7. Nissan – 7.3%
8. Mazda – 6.1%
9. GMC – 5.9 5.2%
10. Kia – 5.2%

"With the Ford-Lincoln combo, if the Mercury brand closes as planned, marketing and outreach to the new Mercury buyers who also looked at Fords and Lincolns could go a long way to keeping those buyers in the Ford family," said AutoTrader.com President and CEO Chip Perry.  "But with many other popular brands represented in our cross shopping list, a lot of these new-car buyers could be up for grabs from other brands that want to be creative and aggressive in marketing to and attracting these buyers."

For Mercury loyalists looking to purchase a new Mercury, AutoTrader.com currently has more than 9,100 new Mercury vehicles listed for sale on the site.

About AutoTrader.com

AutoTrader.com, created in 1997 and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is the Internet's leading automotive 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 sellers.  AutoTrader.com attracts more than 15 million unique monthly visitors who utilize the site to view vehicles for sale, research and compare vehicles, review pricing and specials, and read auto-related content like buying and selling tips, auto maintenance tips and coverage of major auto shows and automotive trends.  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 improve 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