Polk Asian Auto Survey Reveals Buying Trends.

Southern California is arguably the most important market for automotive businesses, and even more so if you’re a luxury brand according to KSCI-TV’s recent analysis of the 2003 Polk Asian Automotive Survey. The survey of new car registrations shows that Asian Americans represent over 14% of Toyota’s business and 16% of Mercedes Benz’ business in Southern California.

Nationwide, Asian Americans purchased or leased approximately 352,000 vehicles in 2003 (that’s without counting the very common Asian surnames, “Lee” and “Park,” due to Polk’s methodology). One out of every four cars sold to Asian Americans is sold in Southern California.

The most popular manufacturers in 2003 for Southern California Asians include, in order, Toyota, Honda, Mercedes Benz, Lexus, BMW, Ford, Nissan, Acura, Chevrolet, and Infiniti. Infiniti is new to the top 10 list, fueled by popularity of its G35 model among Asians. Volkswagen, who ranked #10 among Asians in 2001 and 2002, dropped out of the top 10 in 2003.

Although Southern California’s overall auto purchasing market declined in 2003 (3.1% drop among total market vs. 0.6% drop among Asians perhaps due to California’s temporary registration fee hike in 2003), some brands demonstrated remarkable resilience and even growth. Those brands include Toyota and Volvo. These manufacturers demonstrated growth despite the adverse market condition. Some of the other notable growth brands among Asians include: Hummer, Mini, Saab, Infiniti, Cadillac, and Porsche. Also, overall sales of “luxury” brands actually grew from last year, 7.3% in general and 9.8% among Asians.

On the whole, Asians purchase or lease 13% of all luxury brands sold in Southern California. Some of the most popular luxury brands among Southern California Asians include Mercedes Benz (index 188 against the total market), Lexus (index 215), and BMW (index 150). For example, nearly one in every five (19%) Lexus LS 430 and Mercedes S-Class is purchased or leased by an Asian.

Interestingly, the penchant for luxury imports is uniquely “Southern California Asian.” Although Asian Americans nationwide show a higher propensity in purchasing luxury cars than the general population, when compared to Southern California Asians, they index much lower. One-third of all luxury cars sold to Asian Americans are sold here in Southern California.