Electric vehicles, and cars in particular, were at the forefront of auto shoppers lists, according to a new survey by Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch. High gas prices, transaction prices and supply issues strongly affected the choices of considerers “intending to purchase within 12 months.” BMW and Toyota maintained their spots as America’s most-shopped vehicle brands in their respective segments, according to the reports.
“The record-high gas prices Americans experienced in the second quarter of this year undoubtedly affected their vehicle purchase considerations,” said Vanessa Ton, senior research and market intelligence manager at Cox Automotive. “When you couple that with ongoing new-vehicle supply shortages and resulting sky-high transaction prices, it’s no wonder people are viewing their car shopping more through the lens of affordability and giving increased consideration to the fuel efficiency benefits of traditional cars and electrified vehicles.”
Of non-luxury shoppers, “a notable 40 per cent considered cars in the second quarter, up from 37 per cent in Q1 2022 when gas prices started to take off, and up significantly from 33 per cent one year ago in Q2 2021,” said the report. “Even on the luxury side, fuel efficiency increased in importance, climbing quarter-over-quarter to No. 6 in the factors most important to shoppers.” BMW kept its spot as the most-shopped luxury brand in the second quarter of 2022, a position it occupied for three years until the end of 2021 when Lexus briefly overtook the top spot. BMW’s strength in Q2 came from increased shopping for its cars.
Since last quarter, Cadillac overtook Lexus for the second most-shopped luxury brand, and the Cadillac Escalade was the most-shopped luxury vehicle for the second consecutive quarter, benefitting from a positive supply of vehicles.
Toyota retained the top spot as the most-shopped non-luxury brand, with 35 per cent of all non-luxury shoppers considering a Toyota in Q2 2022.
