AutoTrader.com sees big jump from ‘clunkers’

The Chevrolet Camaro claimed the No. 1 spot on AutoTrader.com’s most viewed new vehicles list for the third month in a row, topping off what has become one of the first positive months for new car sales in over a year.

Cash-for-Clunkers brought consumers on-line and into showrooms in July to look for cars, reflected in AutoTrader.com site traffic of 15.3 million unique visitors to the site during the month of July. July marked the seventh month in a row that AutoTrader.com has seen its unique monthly visitor count top 15 million, the company said.”We have been waiting for the pent-up demand for new vehicles to uncork all year, and Cash-for-Clunkers has provided the jolt the industry needed,” said AutoTrader.com President and CEO Chip Perry. “Consumers have been turning primarily to the Internet to research information about cars and prices, and that research is finally being put into action as these shoppers turn into buyers at dealerships across the country.”

Among new vehicles, the all-new Chevrolet Equinox saw an impressive 197% increase in views, moving it from 99th to 18th year-over-year. Similarly, the recently redesigned Ford Fusion saw an increase in views of 28%, enough to move the midsize sedan from 35th to 16th overall. Ford also saw an increase in asking prices for the new Fusion of 12%, with the average price of vehicles listed on AutoTrader.com being $24,798. This compares well the Fusion’s chief competitors, the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, which had average listing prices of $25,217 and $24,487, respectively.

Continuing to look at Ford vehicles, the new F-250 full-size pick-up, which saw a severe drop in sales last July due to record-high $4 per gallon gas, also saw a significant year-over-year increase in consumer activity, with views increasing 87%. Finally, Kia saw one of the largest increases in views among brands as a whole, as consumer activity around vehicles such as the newly-introduced Soul crossover and the new Forte compact sedan helped move the brand to its first-ever appearance on the top 10 Most Viewed Manufacturers list.

“With demand for many cars high now, supplies of vehicles at many dealerships have run short,” said Perry. “For consumers looking to now take advantage of the CARS legislation by purchasing a popular model such as one of these, turning to AutoTrader.com to locate a dealer with the exact new vehicle of their choice is certainly the smart way to go.”

Used & CPO Car Activity

Among used and CPO vehicles, the Ford F-150 saw a 31% gain to become the most viewed used vehicle, while the BMW 3-series once again topped the list of most viewed among CPO vehicles. More notably, prices for used vehicles across a variety of segments rose, with trucks seeing the largest jumps from last year’s lows. The biggest gainer was the Chevrolet Tahoe, which saw an increase in average asking price of 20% compared to July of 2008.

“Excepting last summer’s unusual selling situation brought about by record high gas prices, the consumer demand for larger vehicles such as SUVs has generally continued unabated,” said Perry. “Though we are beginning to see a gradual shift in consumer tastes to smaller vehicles, it will be a while before we see many Americans ready to abandon their bigger vehicles entirely.”

For more information visit: www.Autotrader.com