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Consumer said they wanted green cars last year gas topped $4 a gallon. Now they're less committed.
Used-trucks prices are up more than 50 percent on many models, according to Galves Auto Price List. Small cars, meanwhile, have swooned.
The recent Cash for Clunkers program boosted demand for fuel-efficient vehicles on the new side, but consumers showed little interest in most of these vehicles without a $4,500 incentive.
“We have such short memories,” said Juan Flores, director of vehicle valuations at Kelley Blue Book.
Conditions can change. The Obama administration still supports a shift toward fuel efficiency and could back that with higher fuel prices in the future.
Even without higher prices at the pump, about 12 percent of shoppers consider purchasing an alternative fuel vehicle. But it depends on that vehicle meeting their needs, said Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research.
That’s what holds back most hybrids, said Karl Brauer, editor-in-chief of Edmunds.com. Most are a compromise on some level. The exception is the Toyota Prius.
“That doesn’t make you suffer for your environmental activism,” Brauer said.
The Prius has been such a success that Toyota Motor Co. plans on building a whole line around it.
Other hybrids add little value from a marketing standpoint. Ricky Beggs, managing editor of wholesale guide Black Book, said he recently saw a Camry hybrid come through the lanes without a mention of its special powertrain.
A diesel vehicle is another matter, Beggs said.
“That’s an oddity,” he said. “It’ll bring a
premium.”
More hybrids and diesels are coming to market. Soon companies plan on bringing electric
vehicles, as well.
General Motors Co. is pinning a lot of its hopes on the Volt, which should go into production next year. Small companies, such as Tesla Motors,
already make electric cars, but they come with a very high price tag.
A diversity of powertrains will create new challenges for dealers. Finding technicians to service these cars will be chief among them.
The fickleness of consumers is another issue. They shift their interests from hybrids to electrics and their priorities from fuel efficiency to horsepower.
That will make it very hard for dealers to know what to stock on their lots, Brauer said. |
