Jump to content
Create New...
  • William Maley
    William Maley

    Younger Buyers Heading Towards American and Korean Automakers

    By William Maley

    Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

    March 25, 2013

    For a time, young buyers that wanted a vehicle ventured towards the Japanese brand since they offered the features and content they were looking for. Now the tide is changing with younger buyers going towards American and Korean brands.

    Bloomberg gathered data from Edmunds and R.L. Polk which showed American automakers increased their share of retail registrations by 1.9% with 18 to 24 year olds and 1.5% with 25 to 34 year olds since 2008. Korean automakers saw the largest jump in retail registrations with a 6.8% increase in 18 to 24 year olds and 5.1% increase in 25 to 34 year olds.

    Japanese automakers have been taking brunt of the loss with a drop of 9.8% in 18 to 24 year old group and a 7.7% drop in the 25 to 34 year old group. Japanese automakers still dominate the 35 and under crowd with 43% percent of sales going to them.

    So what are the American and Korean automaker doing to claw some of these sales? Building vehicles that appeal to young buyers.

    "U.S. automakers have burst onto the scene in recent years with small, fuel-efficient and affordable cars that really appeal to a young set of buyers," said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst with Edmunds.

    Source: Bloomberg

    William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    Makes sense, both the US and the Korean automakers are offering stylish, tech-laden small cars that don't feel like penalty boxes. I mean look at the Corolla. Can you even get Navigation that thing? Not to mention it couldn't possibly be more boring to look at. Then there's the Civic which is better now after its emergency refresh, but it's still no style or tech leader. The Sentra is ugly and has no tech features, and the Mazda3, while fun to drive and efficient, isn't pretty by any stretch of the imagination and also has a Spartan interior.

    Then you compare that with the Focus, Dart, Cruze, Elantra and new Forte and its easy to see why. Let's not even get started with the subcompacts.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Usually you get a decent bead on where shoppers are at at the auto show each year. Toyota and even Honda, and the other Japanese brands really are seeing a graying clientele.

    It's almost chicken or egg. Are the cars the duds, or the customers?

    Japan auto industry is still sort of stuck on itself in many ways.

    The current Corolla is an embarrassment.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Makes sense, both the US and the Korean automakers are offering stylish, tech-laden small cars that don't feel like penalty boxes. I mean look at the Corolla.

    I'd add that the preconceived notions held against Detroit and Korea have faded, too. People our age typically have no memory of the Hyundai Pony or the Excel. Nor is there an absolute bias against American products, which is unlike the attitude of their parents.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Interesting since I like both....

    Wife really likes the Soul....and I've noticed they are holding up much better here up north than they used to....salt used to eat them alive up here.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Japan has an aging population with a minority of youth and this is truly affecting their ability to build exciting dynamic auto's compared to the youth, tech heavy future of Korea and the revitalization of the US market. I see the Japan brands having a few more years of stagnation before they wake up or have to merge. I still do not see Mazda or Mitsubishi as stand alone car companies in 5 yrs or even here. We have not see the finish of the consolidation yet.

    With Europe at the start of what will be a long recession, we will see more companies disappear.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites



    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • google-news-icon.png



  • google-news-icon.png

  • Subscribe to Cheers & Gears

    Cheers and Gears Logo

    Since 2001 we've brought you real content and honest opinions, not AI-generated stuff with no feeling or opinions influenced by the manufacturers.

    Please consider subscribing. Subscriptions can be as little as $1.75 a month, and a paid subscription drops most ads.*
     

    You can view subscription options here.

    *a very limited number of ads contain special coupon deals for our members and will show

  • Similar Content

  • Posts

    • Those that cannot accept a multi-cultural world and immigration deserve to lose everything. I will stay professional, but believe that our North American Economy is about to get far worse over the long term than it is now. It is amazing how people do not seem to realize that the first two years of a new president is dealing with the ramifications of the last president. The high inflation was due to the failed policies of those before. We now have low unemployment and a strong economy. Will be interesting to see how it ends.
    • I say, let it get worse.  The people have spoken and this is what the MAJORITY voted for.  He even got the popular vote.  Therefore the people of America have spoken.   This is what they want.  This is what they feel comfortable with.   But I dont want to hear ANY whining from ANYBODY about what possibly may happen with him Him in power.  Fool me once,  shame on you!  Fool me twice, shame on me?   Technically this is how that saying goes.  But you never know. Maybe it really IS the lefty libtards that are the problem.   Hopefully it IS the lefty libtards that are the problem and the Messiah Trump will BE the solution to ALL of our problems.   I will be the first one to apologize if He actually does fix America's and Canada's problems.  And unite ALL of the world and the world gets to sing Kumbaya ALL in unison. Hopefully He is the next coming of Christ.   Keeping my fingers crossed but I aint holding my breath if you know what I mean.   
    • @oldshurst442 This pretty much sums up just how bad it is going to get. Trump's economic plans would worsen inflation, experts say | AP News
    • Not just iPhones... He tariffed Canadian wood the first time around as Pres and the prices of wood skyrocketed so American home builders bought American wood which was and is more expensive than Canadian wood.  I guess that is good for American wood producers. But for the fact that house prices also skyrocketed.  And considering that Canada and US have a more or less good trading thing going on...so not that good.  Not for the US and not good for Canada.  But Donald thinks otherwise. And all the folk that voted for him this time around think that the economy will get better?  I hope so for their sake. But Elon and Jeff B's billions rose quite a bit upon the announcement of his re-election.  I wonder if those  people that voted for him, I wonder if their wealth also rose instantly?    You poor bastards... You have no idea what is coming to you... (those that voted for him.  With the excemption of the rich of course)     Donnie Rides Again
  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search