I missed this article when it first appeared in the NY Times in July. It makes amusing reading and also has some interesting stats about the average age of car buyers.
The main theme of the article seems to be that the car industry has not been very good in the way it has targeted the young age groups. Try and sell to the kids and end up with their parents as customers.
For instance, the original anticipated median age of the Toyota Matrix driver was 28.8, but it's actually 42.7. Honda Element drivers have an average age of at 44.7 instead of the anticipated 28.6. The median age of those driving the Pontiac Vibe, a small wagon similar to the Matrix, is 48.2 whilst the anticipated age had been 30.2. The median of actual Dodge Neon drivers is 39.2, compared with the expected 22.7.
The company that comes up with these numbers is CNW. The anticipated age of drivers based on manufacturers' demographic projections, analysis of prices and market segments and other information. Data on drivers is considered more relevant than that on purchasers, because parents often buy children the cars they demand, skewing the demographic profiles.
Call me a sceptic but I would love to see how these numbers are really calculated. Fingers and air would come into the sentence I would use. Still, it makes interesting reading.
One thing that is not disputed that in the US the 50-plus group is responsible for 50 percent of sales – expected to grow to 54 percent in 2010. In that same period, it is said, the 15-29 age group will never account for more than 9 percent of sales.
If you combine the low percentage (9%) with the increasing financial pressure that this age group is under then trying to target new cars to them is going to be a demanding business. Perhaps it’s not surprising that the car companies seem to make such a hash of it. Dick Stroud
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