Kbb.com Reports: New-Car Shoppers Show Increased Interest in Audi, Ford, Hyundai

IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com Market Intelligence Brand Watch study and Market Watch report, over the past year in-market new-car shoppers have shown increased interest in the Audi, Ford and Hyundai brands. According to the Q3 2009 Brand Watch study, significant year-over-year brand consideration gains were made by Audi in the luxury SUV/CUV segment, Ford in the non-luxury SUV/CUV and truck segments and Hyundai in the luxury sedan/coupe/hatchback segment. Kelley Blue Book Market Watch report data also reveals significant increased year-over-year traffic to new-car information on kbb.com for all three brands.

According to the latest Kelley Blue Book Market Watch report, all three of the aforementioned brands have seen traffic gains to their new-car pages on Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com when comparing October 2009 to October 2008. Audi saw a very significant year-over-year increase of 39 percent, while Ford climbed 30 percent and Hyundai climbed six percent.

When comparing Q3 2008 to Q3 2009 in the Brand Watch study, Audi consideration has more than doubled in the luxury SUV/CUV segment (from seven percent to 15 percent). Ford has made similar significant year-over-year consideration gains in the non-luxury SUV/CUV segment (from 28 to 40 percent), as well as the truck segment (from 53 percent to 62 percent). Hyundai also has shown a year-over-year brand consideration improvement in the luxury sedan/coupe/hatchback segment (from 13 percent to 18 percent).

"The latest Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence data shows the tangible results that can be attained when a brand comes to market with products people like and back it up with strong marketing support," said James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com. "Audi has seen great success in the past year with its Q5 and Q7 utility vehicles. Ford has a strong line-up with its popular utility vehicles like the Edge, Escape, Flex and F-Series trucks, not to mention its new Taurus and Fusion sedans. At the same time, Hyundai has made significant gains in changing consumer perception of its brand, especially with its entry into the luxury market with the Genesis sedan and coupe."

Ford and Audi also were among the top five upward-moving brands in terms of share of market on Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com for the month of October 2009 when compared to October 2008. Ford's gains were led by significant interest in the Taurus, Fusion and F-150 SuperCrew Cab, and Audi's gains were driven by significant interest in the Q5.

The Q3 Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence Brand Watch study was fielded to 3,018 in-market new-car shoppers on Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com from July 1 - September 28, 2009. Kelley Blue Book's Brand Watch is an ongoing study tracking and trending consumer perceptions, detailing strengths and weaknesses of makes within each segment. Kelley Blue Book's Market Watch is a comprehensive business intelligence tool that acts as a leading sales indicator by tracking and trending shopping behavior on Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com. For Market Intelligence sales inquiries on any vehicle, segment or brand, please contact Kelly Kim, director of market intelligence services for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com, at 949-268-2756 or kkim@kbb.com.

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)

Since 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, has provided vehicle buyers and sellers with the new and used vehicle information they need to accomplish their goals with confidence. The company's top-rated Web site, www.kbb.com, provides the most up-to-date pricing and values, including the New Car Blue Book® Value, which reveals what people actually are paying for new cars. The company also reports vehicle pricing and values via products and services, including software products and the famous Blue Book® Official Guide. According to the C.A. Walker Research Solutions, Inc. - 2009 Spring Automotive Web Site Usefulness Study, kbb.com is the most useful automotive information Web site among new and used vehicle shoppers, and half of online vehicle shoppers visit kbb.com. Kbb.com is a leading provider of new car prices, car reviews and news, used car blue book values, auto classifieds and car dealer locations. No other medium reaches more in-market vehicle shoppers than kbb.com.

SOURCE: Kelley Blue Book

Web site: http://www.kbb.com/