Industry Statistics - Automobile industry - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Automotive Industries,  May, 2000  by Ray Windecker

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TRUCKS CHALLENGE CARS IN THE PRESTIGE SEGMENT

The traditional large-luxury car market has shifted. No longer driven by vehicle size and high price, it is now driven by brand name and image. That shift has cost Cadillac and Lincoln their traditional positions as the top two sellers of luxury nameplates.

Buyers in this segment pay for prestige. Considerable luxury can now be bought for $25,000, yet it costs more to buy prestige. There is little true need for a $40,000 sedan, other than the desire for perceived image and pleasures gained through the driving or owning experience.

Prestige is as one sees it. The vehicles in this segment now range from the small dumpling-shaped Audi TT to the great honking truck-based Cadillac Escalade. Some of these vehicles may qualify as prestige to those who only know brand names, but would not rate a prestige tag from most readers of this magazine. For example, Volvo's 40-series would not make the cut, but the larger Volvos certainly would in most minds. Low-end BMW 3-Series barely qualify on price, but the distinctive grille gives them prestige.

As there are only 100 percentage points in any market, these additional brands squeezed the old names into a smaller share of the available 100 percent, but as the market expanded, not necessarily into lower volumes. Ultimately, after many years at the top, Cadillac was shortly passed by Lincoln, and both subsequently lost the volume count to Mercedes in calendar-year 1999.

Meanwhile, new 2000 model products were on their way. Sales returns from the first four months of the 2000 calendar year indicate that these new products created a modest directional change in the monies flowing out of prestige-buyers' pocketbooks. Within those basic price and image guidelines, the prestige market is vast and growing. At its current pace, more than 1,250,000 units will be sold in calendar 2000, again a yearly record.

It is also apparent that homegrown names have regained momentum. With four months of the year in the data books, Cadillac and Lincoln are in a tight race for first place in the prestige market and Chrysler is again a presence with their $30,000-and-up 300M and LHS models.

Additionally, Cadillac sales were up 28 percent and Lincoln's hit a 36 percent uptick, considerable stronger than the movements of the other high-volume purveyors of prestige brands. Lest any Jaguar aficionados feel hurt, yes, their sales were up sharply, but they are still working their way upwards in the truly high-volume category.

The accompanying graph both highlights and obscures points of interest. Cars, not SUVs, brought Cadillac and Lincoln back to life. The new Cadillac DeVille and Lincoln's LS are the upward pivot points for their respective family brands. The DeVille, at 40,600 units is, by substantial margin, the highest-volume unit, car or truck, in the prestige market. Lincoln's Town car, at 28,800, is second. The leading SUV, Lexus' RX300, is at 28,500.

The DeVille and Town Car are often underestimated by the import competition, usually outselling the multiple sedans and coupes offered by other prestige divisions. Another often overlooked statistic is that prestige brands controlled by Ford Motor Co. -- Lincoln, Jaguar, plus the appropriate Volvo and Mazda models -- racked up 116,500 sales, a very strong showing about to be augmented by Land Rover. General Motors, including Cadillac, Corvette and appropriate Saabs, checked in at 87,800. And DaimlerChrysler, combining Mercedes, prestige Chryslers, Vipers and Prowlers, moved 94,000 units.

The year is not yet at its half-way point, but there is strong indication that as manufacturers battle for prestige buyers, car types are the true volume. SUVs of one form or another remain an important minority and the traditionals, becoming less traditional, are again playing a stronger hand.

PRESTIGE BRAND SALES

January through April 2000

BRAND        CARS     TRUCKS   TOTAL    %CHANGE

Cadillac     57,400   9,300    66,700   +28%
Lincoln      53,400   13,200   66,600   +36%
Mercedes     48,400   17,300   65,700   +16%
Lexus        26,500   34,000   60,500   +7%
BMW          53,800   4,300    58,100   +16%
Acura        33,800   2,000    34,000   +21%
Volvo        30,900   --       30,900   +17%
Infiniti     15,000   6,700    21,700   +28%
Chrysler     27,000   --       27,000   +10%
Audi         26,500   --       26,500   +55%
Jaguar       14,700   --       4,700    +135%
Saab         10,100   --       10,100   -9%
Porsche      8,400    --       8,400    +9%
Mazda        4,500    --       4,500    -12%
Mitsubishi   3,000    --       3,000    -11%

COPYRIGHT 2000 Cahners Publishing Company
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group