Former GM, Ford Small-Car Owners More Often Moving to Other Brands Rather than SUVs

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY 419]

https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2019/11/former-gm-ford-small-car-owners-more-often-moving-to-other-brands-rather-than-suvs/

[Robert Hall 5,418 4 Vehicles]

No surprise...their incompetent, short-sighted CUV only strategy will backfire on them...not every car buyer wants a frickin' CUV... 

[balthazar 7,581 3 Vehicles]

3 hours ago, NINETY EIGHT REGENCY said:

https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2019/11/former-gm-ford-small-car-owners-more-often-moving-to-other-brands-rather-than-suvs/

Link says 42% of Cruze & Focus buyers are staying in sedans. That means 58% ARE MOVING TO CUVs.
Also says 23% of Cruze buyers that bought another car went with another brand. That means 77% ARE BUYING ANOTHER CHEVY.
How is 23% "more often"???

Numbers.

Edited November 14 by balthazar

[USA-1 209 2 Vehicles]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

Link says 42% of Cruze & Focus buyers are staying in sedans. That means 58% ARE MOVING TO CUVs.
Also says 23% of Cruze buyers that bought another car went with another brand. That means 77% ARE BUYING ANOTHER CHEVY.
How is 23% "more often"???

Numbers.

Yep, comes down to the Cruze wasn't selling well enough to keep Lordstown open and GM wanted to get the money pit off the books too.

[USA-1 209 2 Vehicles]

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

Link says 42% of Cruze & Focus buyers are staying in sedans. That means 58% ARE MOVING TO CUVs.
Also says 23% of Cruze buyers that bought another car went with another brand. That means 77% ARE BUYING ANOTHER CHEVY.
How is 23% "more often"???

Numbers.

And pretty good proof that buyer brand loyalty still goes a long way!

[surreal1272 1,758]

On 11/14/2019 at 1:58 PM, balthazar said:

Link says 42% of Cruze & Focus buyers are staying in sedans. That means 58% ARE MOVING TO CUVs.
Also says 23% of Cruze buyers that bought another car went with another brand. That means 77% ARE BUYING ANOTHER CHEVY.
How is 23% "more often"???

Numbers.

Perhaps this is the more relevant number here.

 

"Overall, though, the drop in brand loyalty is more pronounced with General Motors customers who own a Chevrolet Cruze. Fully 45% of Cruze owners elected to trade in their vehicle for another Chevrolet vehicle so far this year, compared to 57% in 2016."

 

In other words, there has been a decline in brand loyalty. That 77% doesn't mean they bought a CUV or SUV (the article does not state). What percentage of 77% is actually buying a Chevy CUV and not the competitors CUV? Thats the more pertinent question here. 

[dfelt 4,974 5 Vehicles]

6 hours ago, surreal1272 said:

Perhaps this is the more relevant number here.

 

"Overall, though, the drop in brand loyalty is more pronounced with General Motors customers who own a Chevrolet Cruze. Fully 45% of Cruze owners elected to trade in their vehicle for another Chevrolet vehicle so far this year, compared to 57% in 2016."

 

In other words, there has been a decline in brand loyalty. That 77% doesn't mean they bought a CUV or SUV (the article does not state). What percentage of 77% is actually buying a Chevy CUV and not the competitors CUV? Thats the more pertinent question here. 

I will say that Chevrolet has nothing except the Corvette that I cannot fit into comfy for me to buy as the design language of Chevrolet sucks. GMC has some stuff, but for my next auto, I want a full size EV. Right now, I do not see GM really delivering that so Rivian is my first choice and Ford F150 / SUV what ever they call it might be a second choice.

[balthazar 7,581 3 Vehicles]

6 hours ago, surreal1272 said:

"Overall, though, the drop in brand loyalty is more pronounced with General Motors customers who own a Chevrolet Cruze. Fully 45% of Cruze owners elected to trade in their vehicle for another Chevrolet vehicle so far this year, compared to 57% in 2016."

In other words, there has been a decline in brand loyalty. That 77% doesn't mean they bought a CUV or SUV (the article does not state). What percentage of 77% is actually buying a Chevy CUV and not the competitors CUV? Thats the more pertinent question here. 

Numbers aren't exactly consistent.
It's possible that some of the Cruze owners who bought in '16 bought another Cruze. That option no longer exists, thusly a downturn.
The 23% / 77% stat is huge, if it's accurate.

[ocnblu 2,460 6 Vehicles]

I am not surprised.  Ford, Chevy and Dodge are all missing a very good point, in that some people, regardless of age or economic status, prefer a compact car, for a multitude of reasons. 

Fact that the Trax and Ecosport are enjoying healthy sales increases at this stage of market freshness shows the extent of brand loyalty both brands still enjoy.  The Trailblazer and Puma cannot come to market soon enough, however, and Ford will need to follow Trailblazer's pricing structure too, with the Puma, if they want to maintain or regain some low-end brand loyalty.  Trailblazer is cheaper than Trax and Ecosport... a great selling point for a brand-new product.

Still, a good compact/subcompact CAR remains a worthy entry level starting point.  The Fiesta and Spark are late survivors of "the great cull", and they are good little cars, but I think something Sonic-sized would sell just a bit better in the USA.

Where is Dodge's subcompact CUV?  It could be along the lines of a rebodied Renegade (or whatever Peugeot has in the segment) with FWD-only to differentiate it from the Jeep.  That's a whole 'nother tale of woe, however.

[balthazar 7,581 3 Vehicles]

With any segment you care to mention / ever was, there’s a segment of consumers who would like it. Manufacturers follow trends. Accord sales fell 42% in just 5 years.

It is entirely possible we may be witnessing the market consolidation of the sedan & CUV here.

[ocnblu 2,460 6 Vehicles]

4 hours ago, balthazar said:

With any segment you care to mention / ever was, there’s a segment of consumers who would like it. Manufacturers follow trends. Accord sales fell 42% in just 5 years.

It is entirely possible we may be witnessing the market consolidation of the sedan & CUV here.

Could be, but there's a brand-new Nissan Sentra just hitting the market, and... when are Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Kia killing their compact sedans?

[Robert Hall 5,418 4 Vehicles]

2 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Could be, but there's a brand-new Nissan Sentra just hitting the market, and... when are Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Kia killing their compact sedans?

Those are all broadly international companies, though. They have plenty of markets to sell sedans in beyond the US.   

Edited November 24 by Robert Hall

[balthazar 7,581 3 Vehicles]

sedan sales in Europe are 4% of the market. They're pretty much collapsing globally.

[ocnblu 2,460 6 Vehicles]

13 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Those are all international companies, though. They have plenty of markets to sell sedans in beyond the US.  

?  Uh... Ford?  Chevrolet?  Both are unintentional.

[Robert Hall 5,418 4 Vehicles]

1 hour ago, ocnblu said:

?  Uh... Ford?  Chevrolet?  Both are unintentional.

Maybe it's perception...but Nissan, M-B, Toyota etc seem way more global in their products than Ford and GM... My impression is GM has retracted from most international markets.  Is Chevy even sold outside of North and South America anymore?  Except for Buick in China and Chevywoo in SK, does GM do much anywhere else anymore?  Seems like they have really narrowed their reach in recent years...

The Ford US lineup is partially international products (Ecosport, Escape, Ranger, Transit/Transit Connect and to a smaller degree Mustang and Edge) since they got rid of the 3 Fs.     Ford seems to still have a viable presence in Europe and Asia.
 

I still think that getting out of the mainstream sedan segments is a bad move for Ford and GM.   I know that CUVs are the hot shit right now, but is that for long term?  Will mainstream sedans come back? 

Edited November 24 by Robert Hall

[balthazar 7,581 3 Vehicles]

Look at how long CUVs have here & rising. It’s already been ‘long term’.

[riviera74 1,146]

Ford and GM should sell small cars for one reason: the next gas price spike.  Nothing against a Trax or Escape, but small cars do park and maneuver much more easily than, say, my Buick Lucerne (or a Cadillac XT5).  In large cities with limited parking, small cars do have an advantage over even subcompact CUVs.  I understand why Ford and GM are ditching sedans in general, but having NO presence in sedans is an easy way to lose long-term sales to the competition.

[balthazar 7,581 3 Vehicles]

Competition is losing long-term sedan sales to it's own customers buying CUVs.

I actually agree that a lil puddlejumper hatch should stay on at GM. Bolt is one, Sonic should stay also.
But a lot of other sedans are going to see the axe, from the full range of OEMs.

[USA-1 209 2 Vehicles]

47 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Competition is losing long-term sedan sales to it's own customers buying CUVs.

I actually agree that a lil puddlejumper hatch should stay on at GM. Bolt is one, Sonic should stay also.
But a lot of other sedans are going to see the axe, from the full range of OEMs.

I agree, all other manufacturers will follow as the market dictates with sales and they all build what they know is selling.

Malibu is staying  of course and agree so should Sonic, if even just in limited production that can jump in on the assembly line with the CUV siblings.

Read GM had a change of heart and Impala now staying through 2020.

[USA-1 209 2 Vehicles]

3 hours ago, riviera74 said:

Ford and GM should sell small cars for one reason: the next gas price spike.  Nothing against a Trax or Escape, but small cars do park and maneuver much more easily than, say, my Buick Lucerne (or a Cadillac XT5).  In large cities with limited parking, small cars do have an advantage over even subcompact CUVs.  I understand why Ford and GM are ditching sedans in general, but having NO presence in sedans is an easy way to lose long-term sales to the competition.

Malibu is staying and Impala now staying through at least 2020. Malibu is easy to park, just had one from National recently. They should keep Sonic if even at a lower volume.

[balthazar 7,581 3 Vehicles]

There's a '16 Malibu here at Rancho Balthy- it's totally & easily maneuverable & park-able in urban settings. Any idea that it's 'too big' is baseless.

[USA-1 209 2 Vehicles]

18 minutes ago, balthazar said:

There's a '16 Malibu here at Rancho Balthy- it's totally & easily maneuverable & park-able in urban settings. Any idea that it's 'too big' is baseless.

We're used to driving and parking crew cab Silverado's so pretty much any other ride is no problem to park for us haha.

Malibu is small enough, but also big enough and great for parking garages or city streets.

[ccap41 3,516 3 Vehicles]

For the global talk.. 

[ocnblu 2,460 6 Vehicles]

I still say something like this could work.  I am sure profit is built into this.  And the 1.0L 3 sounds entertaining!  If the 1.3t 3 sounds this good in the Trailblazer, it should be a barrel of monkeys to drive!

 

 

 

[oldshurst442 2,703]

10 hours ago, ocnblu said:

I still say something like this could work.  I am sure profit is built into this.  And the 1.0L 3 sounds entertaining!  If the 1.3t 3 sounds this good in the Trailblazer, it should be a barrel of monkeys to drive!

Yeah. 1 liter.  3 cylinders.  Barrel of monkeys.

Smells like jolly good fun...

 

I would like to say though, that I had a girlfriend back in the day who owned a Pontiac Firefly Turbo.

That too, was a turbo 1 liter 3 cylinder engine and it was a hoot to drive.  So...

Edited Saturday at 10:43 PM by oldshurst442