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Welcome to the Era of Expensive, Luxury Trucks
William Maley posted an article in Automotive Industry
The State Fair of Texas began last week and truck manufacturers were out in force with new models to tempt consumers in the largest truck market in the U.S. Both Ford and Ram Trucks rolled out new luxury trims of their pickups - Ford with the Limited and Ram with the Longhorn Southfork. Both trims can easily reach $100,000 which to some is pushing it. But marketers at the truck manufacturers tell Automotive News they don't know where the ceiling is on how much consumers are willing to spend. "It's hard to guess how big the market is. I don't think trucks have found a ceiling yet. You get customers who want every bell and whistle," said Todd Eckert, Ford's truck group marketing manager. "For us, it is not about the dollar amount. It's about meeting the needs of the customers. We see an opportunity in the marketplace to bring the Limited trim to Super Duty. We know customers will demand it." Luxury models are in demand and truck manufacturers are having a difficult time keeping them in stock. For example, more than half of Ford's F-Series Super Duty trucks sold are the high-end models - Lariat, King Ranch, and Limited. As there is no ceiling yet, manufacturers are considering going even further. Sandor Piszar, Chevrolet truck marketing director said they have found a group of customers that are willing to pay "for a bigger, more luxurious and more capable truck." Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) -
The State Fair of Texas began last week and truck manufacturers were out in force with new models to tempt consumers in the largest truck market in the U.S. Both Ford and Ram Trucks rolled out new luxury trims of their pickups - Ford with the Limited and Ram with the Longhorn Southfork. Both trims can easily reach $100,000 which to some is pushing it. But marketers at the truck manufacturers tell Automotive News they don't know where the ceiling is on how much consumers are willing to spend. "It's hard to guess how big the market is. I don't think trucks have found a ceiling yet. You get customers who want every bell and whistle," said Todd Eckert, Ford's truck group marketing manager. "For us, it is not about the dollar amount. It's about meeting the needs of the customers. We see an opportunity in the marketplace to bring the Limited trim to Super Duty. We know customers will demand it." Luxury models are in demand and truck manufacturers are having a difficult time keeping them in stock. For example, more than half of Ford's F-Series Super Duty trucks sold are the high-end models - Lariat, King Ranch, and Limited. As there is no ceiling yet, manufacturers are considering going even further. Sandor Piszar, Chevrolet truck marketing director said they have found a group of customers that are willing to pay "for a bigger, more luxurious and more capable truck." Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article
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While car sales are down, the number of people opting for loan lengths from 73 to 84 months is going up. Karl Kruppa, senior automotive solutions consultant for Experian said at a conference last week that the share of 73 to 84 months car loans has been rising over the past eight years. Through February of this year, 33.8 percent of loans were for terms longer than 73 months. Other numbers to take into consideration, In the fourth quarter of 2010, three-fourths of new-car loans were between 73 to 75 months. Only 17.1 percent of loans were 84 months. Fast forward to the fourth quarter of 2016 and 28.7 percent of new car loans reached 84 months. Why the sudden increase? It might be due to buyers seeing the small payments on an expensive vehicle, without taking into consideration fully about the length of the loan. More worrying however is the growing popularity of long-term loans on used vehicles. Most of these loans are being used on late-model vehicles - about 30 percent of 2016 model year vehicles are being financed with 73 to 84-month terms. But long-term loans are being used on vehicles that are five years or older. "You know what's kind of startling? There's actually 10 percent of [2010 model-year] used vehicles being financed at a term between 73 and 84 months. Longer terms are here, and more and more lenders are willing to do that," said Kruppa. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) -
While car sales are down, the number of people opting for loan lengths from 73 to 84 months is going up. Karl Kruppa, senior automotive solutions consultant for Experian said at a conference last week that the share of 73 to 84 months car loans has been rising over the past eight years. Through February of this year, 33.8 percent of loans were for terms longer than 73 months. Other numbers to take into consideration, In the fourth quarter of 2010, three-fourths of new-car loans were between 73 to 75 months. Only 17.1 percent of loans were 84 months. Fast forward to the fourth quarter of 2016 and 28.7 percent of new car loans reached 84 months. Why the sudden increase? It might be due to buyers seeing the small payments on an expensive vehicle, without taking into consideration fully about the length of the loan. More worrying however is the growing popularity of long-term loans on used vehicles. Most of these loans are being used on late-model vehicles - about 30 percent of 2016 model year vehicles are being financed with 73 to 84-month terms. But long-term loans are being used on vehicles that are five years or older. "You know what's kind of startling? There's actually 10 percent of [2010 model-year] used vehicles being financed at a term between 73 and 84 months. Longer terms are here, and more and more lenders are willing to do that," said Kruppa. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article
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Volkswagen Believes Engine Downsize Trend Is Coming To A Close
William Maley posted an article in Volkswagen
Automakers have been downsizing their engines and adding turbochargers to improve fuel economy while retaining power from larger displacement engines. But is there a point where this trend doesn't make sense anymore? Volkswagen believes that time is coming very soon. "The trend of downsizing is over," said Herbert Diess, Volkswagen's chairman. "Emissions tend to go up as engines get smaller." This is due to smaller engines needing to work much harder to produce the power figures of higher displacement engines, which in turns causes more fuel to be used. Currently, small displacement engines do very well in the European fuel economy and emission tests. But the test results have come under intense scrutiny as they don't match up to real-world tests. In a few years, the European Union will introduce new procedures that include tests in the lab and real-world. The new tests could put this trend at a standstill. Diess said they would continue to offer the turbocharged 1.0L three-cylinder and 1.6L turbodiesel, but wouldn't go any smaller in the future. Source: The Telegraph -
Automakers have been downsizing their engines and adding turbochargers to improve fuel economy while retaining power from larger displacement engines. But is there a point where this trend doesn't make sense anymore? Volkswagen believes that time is coming very soon. "The trend of downsizing is over," said Herbert Diess, Volkswagen's chairman. "Emissions tend to go up as engines get smaller." This is due to smaller engines needing to work much harder to produce the power figures of higher displacement engines, which in turns causes more fuel to be used. Currently, small displacement engines do very well in the European fuel economy and emission tests. But the test results have come under intense scrutiny as they don't match up to real-world tests. In a few years, the European Union will introduce new procedures that include tests in the lab and real-world. The new tests could put this trend at a standstill. Diess said they would continue to offer the turbocharged 1.0L three-cylinder and 1.6L turbodiesel, but wouldn't go any smaller in the future. Source: The Telegraph View full article
