Nearly 50% of Car Buyers Say Gas Prices Are Affecting Purchase Decision.

The percentage of car buyers changing their mind about their next new car purchase has increased 10 points from nearly 40% to nearly 50% in the last 30 days, according to AutoVIBES, a monthly automotive study conducted by Harris Interactive and Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research.

A fifth (22%) of car buyers said they had already changed their mind about what their next vehicle purchase would be, and 26% said they are strongly considering vehicles they previously had not. The study also reveals that interest in hybrid vehicles doubled from 4% to 8% over the last month. The survey was first fielded in April, when the national average cost per gallon for gas was $1.83, and then repeated in May to track and trend changes in vehicle purchase intentions as the average cost per gallon increased 20 cents to $2.03.

“Last month’s study indicated – in addition to the 38% whose purchase decision had already been affected – that 15% of vehicle buyers would strongly consider more fuel efficient vehicles if gas prices increased by 25 cents a gallon,” said Rick Wainschel, director of marketing research at Kelley Blue Book. “After seeing that increase, it appears that a good number of shoppers who were on the fence last month, jumped over the fence and are now taking a second look at vehicles they wouldn’t normally consider.”

April sales of large SUV’s were relatively flat with only the domestic automakers feeling any backlash from rising gas prices. Auto sales in the last 30 days were relatively strong with the large SUV segment seeing slight increases in sales mostly fueled by heavy incentives and rebates added mid-month.

“The industry decided to get ahead of the curve in May by adding big incentives to many large SUVs offsetting potential losses due to high gas prices,” said Charlie Vogelheim, executive editor, Kelley Blue Book. “A combination of these large incentives and consumer lifestyles kept SUV sales quite stable in May.” Vogelheim and the editorial team at Kelley Blue Book will continue to monitor the situation throughout the summer. “If gas prices remain high throughout the summer and into the fall, it will be challenging for the manufacturers to keep up larger than normal incentives. And if conditions do remain stagnant, a decline in SUV sales could occur later in the year, but we are not writing the obituary for SUVs just yet.”

While April and May sales show little change in the sales of large SUVs, the AutoVIBES study taps into ‘future’ car buyer’s purchase intent. “Shoppers participating in the AutoVIBES study tell us about their future car buying plans, and based on today’s data, those who are 7-12 months out from buying a car say their purchase decision has been affected more than those purchasing a car in the next 7 days,” said Scott Upham, senior vice president of Automotive & Transportation Research for Harris Interactive.

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