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Customer LoginsSport Utilities and Pickups are not the only categories gaining share
US new vehicle registration data, as well as the mix of global reveals at the 2017 North American International Auto Show held in Detroit earlier this month, both confirm the shift in consumer demand from sedans to sport utilities. What has gotten lost among all the focus on this shift is the fact that at least one body style, passenger vans, is not only holding its own amid this massive shift, but is actually gaining strength.
Three data sets all suggest passenger vans offer a unique set of features and benefits that continue to resonate with the US consumer. First, as shown below, passenger vans' market share through eleven months of 2016 is up 0.4 percentage points from a year ago to 3.8 %, its highest level since 2013. Model-level registration data indicate this rise has been driven by the introduction of the Chrysler Pacifica, the re-launch of the Kia Sedona, and the increasing strength of smaller vans such as the Transit Connect and City Express.
Second, the mix of households with a passenger van in the garage that return to market and acquire another passenger van has risen almost 12 percentage points in the past five years to 44.5% (these data are based on Q2 from 2011-2016); this rise is the second highest among all body types and just slightly behind the leader, sport utilities.
Lastly, households with a passenger van in the garage are now less likely to trade for a sport utility than they were five years ago, one of only two household types (the other has a pickup in the garage) for which this is the case (based on a view of second quarter data for the years shown, the most recent available). All other major household categories, including those with a sport utility, sedan, convertible, hatchback or coupe in the garage, now are more likely to move to an SUV than they were five years ago.
In summary, though the passenger van body type accounts for a much smaller slice of the US market that sport utilities or sedans, IHS Markit registration and loyalty data indicate this segment has stabilized and promises to be a part of the industry landscape for the foreseeable future.
Tom Libby is Manager, Loyalty Practice and Industry Analysis, IHS Markit
Posted 30 January 2017