REPORT: Generation Y will "redefine" automotive market, trends green and big
Were you born somewhere between 1976 and the early 1990s? Are you the child of a so-called Baby Boomer? If so, you, like me, are a member of Generation Y. So, what does that mean? Well, nothing really, but it's a convenient way to classify a large chunk of the American population... and we should all get used to hearing how marketers are targeting us as their current and future consumers.
Such is the case with a recent study from AutoPacific, which finds that Generation Y will "redefine" the automotive market. It seems our generation is "willing to embrace new brands, new technology and alternative powertrains." That means electric cars, hybrids and clean diesels. We're also likely to want lots of electronic gadgetry in our cars and we expect that all that computing power will improve fuel mileage and environmental friendliness. Oh, and we don't necessarily want small cars.
So, to recap, we want large cars with good fuel economy, lots of technology and without too big a price increase... No problem, right? Click past the break for the official press release.
[Source: AutoPacific]
PRESS RELEASE:
Generation Y More Likely To Buy a Hybrid
Survey Shows Generation Y Frequently Multitasking While Driving
TUSTIN, Calif. (October 21, 2009) – Willing to embrace new brands, new technology and alternative powertrains, Generation Y will redefine the automotive market. A just released study on Generation Y new vehicle buyers in the United States shows Generation Y consumers are more likely than the generations before them to consider purchasing a Chinese or Indian branded vehicle, more willing to accept hybrid powertrains, and more likely to want the latest entertainment technology in their vehicle. As the largest generation since the Baby Boomers continues to gain spending power and enter the new car market, which automakers will win their confidence? AutoPacific's study underscores the opportunities for automakers to reach Generation Y consumers as they move through their Teen, Young Adult and Young Family life-stages.
"Growing up with continuously evolving technology and electronics has given Generation Y a unique ability to adapt easily to change, a willingness to accept new brands, and an expectation that their vehicle provide the best of what is available," said George Peterson, president of AutoPacific, the research firm that conducted the study. Though many Generation Y consumers would choose a trip around the world over a luxury vehicle, Generation Y does expect that the vehicle they buy will be more than just basic transportation. "Generation Y is more likely than older generations to own portable electronics, more likely to research their vehicle options on the Internet, and an astonishing 29% more likely to frequently multi-task while driving. They know what's out there, they know the economical and environmental problems we face, and their vehicle expectations reflect that knowledge."
AutoPacific's study – "The Generation Y Opportunity" – is based on the results of AutoPacific's annual survey of over 32,000 new car and light truck buyers in the United States. The study looks closely at Generation Y recent buyers of new vehicles and how they compare to older generations. In many ways, Generation Y is following in the footsteps of their Baby Boomer parents, but more extreme. The study details current Generation Y new car buyers and the future market.
Despite popular belief, Generation Y is not a Compact Car generation. Over half of Generation Y is considering purchasing a mid-size car, mid-size crossover SUVs are high on their list as well. They expect that technology will improve fuel economy and environmental friendliness and allow them to purchase a vehicle that is sized to meet their personal needs. "Don't be fooled by the growth of certain segments over the years," says Peterson. "The Compact Car segment shows sales growth, yet a new Toyota Corolla is similar in size to an older Toyota Camry. Vehicles have gotten larger over time but segments have not been redefined. Ultimately, Generation Y consumers are purchasing vehicles that are sized appropriately to their needs and lifestyle,"
The AutoPacific Generation Y Opportunity is conducted annually to determine who Generation Y buyers are and what they want from their future cars, including size, engine, transmission and attributes like entertainment features, luxury features, in-vehicle communications and comfort and convenience features.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
mcclanahoochie 8:26PM (10/27/2009)
I am a member (1985) of Generation Y, and I agree with most of their "study", as I am up on technology and I did build my own MPG calculator circuit (mpguino), and I also wish I could afford a hybrid or EV, but I definitely do *not* want large or even mid-size car... I love small cars!
Also, studying buying habits only doesn't fully account for someone that buys a particular car, simply because what they really wanted wasn't available or affordable at the time (namely EVs or Plug-In-Hybrids)...
~ But that's just me ;)
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Chibi Chaingun - blackhivemedia.com 11:35AM (10/28/2009)
All of my fellow Y'ers also do not want huge cars (unless its a truck). They ALL want everything else mentioned though. I personally want a truck that works with the Volt tech. Either that or a hybrid diesel truck of some kind.
Style is important too. Growing up as a kid in the 80s, I want my cars to look like they are from the future that I saw in so many movies. I want my truck to look like it was proudly Built on the Moon. :)
downtoearth 8:29PM (10/27/2009)
Who sponsors this blunt diesel propaganda? Why are you cheating American customers by painting diesels as "green"?
For 15.000 miles:
- Toyota Prius III needs 6,9 barrels of crude oil
- VW Jetta TDI needs 11,6 barrels of crude oil
- Honda Civic 1.8 ordinary gasser needs 11,8 barrels of crude
- Lexus RX450h needs 11,8 barrels of crude oil
- Toyota Highlander Hybrid needs 13,2 barrels of crude oil
- Toyota Highlander 3,5 gasser needs 18,0 barrels of crude
- Mercedes ML 320 diesel needs 18,8 barrels of crude oil
All data from EPA, measured in a repeatable scientific test, with original fuel/energy calculated.
Clearly, diesels are the choice for dumb people. Not only hybrids are miles ahead in terms of efficiency, the diesels also cannot even beat modern, efficient gasoline engines.
Please stop this lame scam of painting diesels as "green" then. These expensive to run cars (complexity of injection, exhaust treatment and charging) are an epic failure.
To make matters worse, high market share of diesel passenger vehicles in Europe requires energy and cash expensive conversion of gasoline into diesel fuel, after original refining. All this to burn it inefficiently then in non-hybrid cars. Nonsense squared.
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Matt234 9:33AM (10/28/2009)
I am having a hard time following your calculations. Are you saying that after they refine diesel, they throw out the other products that came from the crude oil? Could you provide some references?
tarmacblog 10:58AM (10/28/2009)
You again? Seriously, downtoearth - change the record. You bring up the same, tired, irrelevant statistics EVERY SINGLE TIME that ABG has an article about diesel. You clearly have absolutely no experience with modern diesels whatsoever so have to grasp at whatever statistics you can dig up from the internet to support your biased opinions.
Not to mention incorrect statements - diesel isn't even remotely a "conversion of gasoline". It's simply a fraction of crude oil that contains heavier molecules that separates at a lower level when being cracked. Petrol for use in cars is lighter and is removed from the distillation towers at a later stage. They're both created through the SAME PROCESS.
Finally, a well-maintained diesel should cost no more to run than a well maintained petrol car, and unlike most current hybrids it'll have used lower energy to produce the car itself, not to mention it won't have required ores to be mined for the batteries, nor will it require those batteries to be replaced at some stage.
Bill 2:26PM (10/28/2009)
The diesel cycle is always more efficient than any spark-cycle.
Which is why everyone wants to see HCCI make it into a production gasoline-fueled ICE.
You can get better than diesel efficiency by designing a gasoline-electric hybrid, but you'll pay at least 2x the cost of a turbodiesel.
Andy 8:36PM (10/27/2009)
I'd be surprised if anyone from generation Y has a long enough attention span to read this ;)
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Glenn Mercer 8:51PM (10/27/2009)
I'm from Generation Y and I... uh, I.... hmmm.
Look! Balloon Boy!
Stew 10:18PM (10/27/2009)
Lol, indeed!
Chibi Chaingun - blackhivemedia.com 11:40AM (10/28/2009)
Why? A generation Y'er wrote it...
!!D 8:45PM (10/27/2009)
It's complete bunk to think that all of one chronological bucket of people are going to have the same likes. The rest of the press release is filled with veiled truths. For example, statements like, "Generation Y consumers are more likely than the generations before them to consider purchasing a Chinese or Indian branded vehicle," is true ONLY because there were no vehicles from China or India available for purchase to previous generations.
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minicoopers99 9:00PM (10/27/2009)
@downtoearth Clean diesels offer very low amounts of emissions, which is what green lovers are primarily concerned with. Also if running on B99 (Very accessible in Seattle and other cities), you use very little crude.
also
A 1998 biodiesel lifecycle study, jointly sponsored by the US Department of Energy and the US Department of Agriculture, concluded biodiesel reduces net CO² emissions by *******78 percent compared to petroleum diesel.********** This is due to biodiesel’s closed carbon cycle. The CO² released into the atmosphere when biodiesel is burned is recycled by growing plants, which are later processed into fuel..Is biodiesel safer than petroleum diesel? Scientific research confirms that biodiesel exhaust has a less harmful impact on human health than petroleum diesel fuel. Biodiesel emissions have decreased levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and nitrited PAH compounds that have been identified as potential cancer causing compounds. Test results indicate PAH compounds were reduced by 75 to 85 percent, with the exception of benzo(a)anthracene, which was reduced by roughly 50 percent. Targeted nPAH compounds were also reduced dramatically with biodiesel fuel, with 2-nitrofluorene and 1-nitropyrene reduced by 90 percent, and the rest of the nPAH compounds reduced to only trace levels.
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minicoopers99 9:03PM (10/27/2009)
I will also add that, my preferred power source for green cars is electric, hydrogen is rubbish.
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velocecrat 10:33PM (10/27/2009)
I was born in '78. I just wish cars were light again.
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IwantAnElectric 11:45PM (10/27/2009)
I agree with the basic premise of the article, but for goodness sake please do not call us generation Y. We are Millennials because we are defined more by the changing of the millennium than we are by the previous generation.
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Murc 12:43AM (10/28/2009)
I guess I'm a "Y", born in 83'. They hit the nail on the head with me. I do want alot of electronics in my future car, and have it be bigger then my current one, but I dont care about fuel mileage because my future car will be electric. *I hope*.
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EC2 5:10AM (10/28/2009)
Well, I think I'm a full "Y", even if I born in 1975, a year before their time-frame... I'm an IT professional, was the first (or among the firsts) in Italy to own a Prius my2004 and I've recently bought the third generation. Moreover I'm building a new house with solar panels, geothermal system and so on to produce energy for my family needs while having the little impact possible over the envirnonment... and... I would buy a F-cell car in an instant if they were available in a Prius-like form. So my guess is that AutoPacific study is vastly correct.
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Mark Kiernan 7:49AM (10/28/2009)
Is clean diesel an oxymoron? I guess it if is bio-diesel that is sourced from sustainable crop plantations.
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Joeviocoe 9:11AM (10/28/2009)
I don't think the size of the car has anything to do with the generation. It has to do with the age and marital status of the owner/driver.
Previous generations just didn't have access to many small cars. And the small cars that were available (pinto style) were not cool or fast or trendy in any way.
Now, japanese imports are competing with muscle cars in youth culture. So the young now have a choice that fits into the low budget of younger drivers.
When generation Y starts getting older and getting into family lifestyle, of course they want the larger car.
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Chibi Chaingun - blackhivemedia.com 11:48AM (10/28/2009)
I agree. I'm part of this group and do not want a larger car. I'm married, but no kids. There's no reason for a large car for me. We live on land though and use our (single cab 4 cyl) truck from anything to commuting to work, hauling trailers/yard equip/animals/ATVs/jet skis... whatever.. so a very efficient truck with all the high-tech-ery would be the ultimate vehicle for us as we care about the environment and love our gadgets but need a truck more than a car. (We have a ZX3 Focus too that we barely use in comparison)