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Customer LoginsMarket shift to flexible gasoline and ethanol vehicles
Flexible (gasoline/ethanol) vehicles, commonly referred to as "E85" or "Flex Fuel," represent one of every 10 personal new vehicle purchases year-to-date through November 2010. This represents a market share increase of nearly 6 percentage points since 2006. As a consumer who lived through the gas price crisis, I expected the new wave of fuel efficient vehicles to push Americans into small minicar like transportation. On the other hand, as a member of the Polk analytic community, I was keenly aware of the love affair between the American consumer and their trucks.
As in any relationship, when you're committed to something, you're willing to accept change. The data shows Americans did just that by remaining loyal to their favorite pickups while opting to fill-up with E85 instead of traditional regular or unleaded gas. Nevertheless, the data shows different adoption rates based on ethnicity, with African Americans aligning with the industry since approximately 10% of their new vehicle purchases were powered by E85. Hispanics are next with 8% of their vehicle purchases coming from this category and Asians appear to be the least accepting of ethanol with a 2% share. Nevertheless, Americans of all race, culture, community and gender agree on four things when it comes to ethanol powered vehicles:
- Chevrolet Silverado is the consensus 1st choice based on volume.
- Ford F-150 is the consensus 2nd choice.
- The top car choices are the Chevy Impala and Ford Fusion, respectively.
Overall, it appears that OEMs and their respective agencies have done a good job of sharing the benefits of the E85 Flex units with the entire market. The reasons why the Asian community have not adopted these vehicles at the double-digit rate of the industry or African American community is to be determined. Perhaps a different type of alternate fuel vehicle appeals more to this community? I don't have the answers today, but my next blog will be about the hybrid (gas/electric) units, which could prove insightful.
The above are my thoughts on the Flexible (gasoline/ethanol) market. I welcome your feedback on this topic.
Posted by Marc Bland, Product Strategist and Multicultural Marketing Lead, Polk (02.17.2011)