U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Vehicle Technologies Office

Fact #483: August 20, 2007
Dealer Survey on Small Cars

In June 2007, Automotive News conducted a survey of U.S. car dealerships. In the survey, dealers were asked "In light of gasoline prices, are you selling more small cars?" The survey results were provided in the following two categories: Detroit 3 (Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors) and Japan 3 (Honda, Nissan, and Toyota). Nearly 80% of the Japan 3 reported selling more small cars, compared to just over 50% of the Detroit 3 dealers.

Dealer Survey on Small Cars, June 2007Graph showing small-car sales of Japan 3 dealerships (Honda, Nissan, and Toyota) versus Detroit 3 dealerships (Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors), broken down by which are selling more small cars (Japan 3), which are selling the same number of small cars (Detroit 3), and which are selling fewer small cars (Detroit 3). For more detailed information, see the table below.

Supporting Information

Question: In light of gasoline prices, are you selling more small cars?
Answer Honda, Nissan, and Toyota Dealerships Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors Dealerships
Selling more small cars 79.4% 51.5%
Selling the same number of small cars 19.6% 43.1%
Selling fewer small cars

1.0% 5.4%

Source: Crain Communications, Automotive News, July 9, 2007, p. 49. Dealership survey respondents, N=698 dealers. Survey conducted in June 2007.

 

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