Internet Research Pro

Bankruptcy Talks Appear to Stall Sales for Big 3 Brand

BANDON, Ore. — As talks of bankruptcy have swirled throughout the industry lately, it appears that the domestic automaker impacted most heavily by these discussion has been General Motors, according to the latest analysis from CNW Research.

More specifically, CNW's latest Purchase Path study indicated that 32.3 percent of new-vehicle intenders who decided not to buy a GM unit claimed that the bankruptcy discussion was the primary reason for doing so.

Meanwhile, though it was also the top reason why shoppers avoided Chrysler, only 19.7 percent of those who steered clear of its brands cited bankruptcy as the primary reason. Moreover, just 17.7 percent said they didn't buy a Ford because of bankruptcy talk.

"GM's October sales led us to adding some additional questions to our monthly survey of new-vehicle intenders," indicated CNW president Art Spinella. "Put simply: Bankruptcy talk hit GM harder than Chrysler or Ford."

However, he added: "Remember that this was during a time of a bankruptcy discussion only, not an actual filing."

Moving on, the top reason consumers gave for not purchasing a Ford was "liked a competitive product more" (25.3 percent). Styling was also a big concern (15.6 percent).

In addition to bankruptcy issues, Chrysler avoiders mentioned "not a legacy brand" (18.1 percent) and "liked a competitive brand more" (17.2 percent) as top reasons for not buying from the automaker.

CNW also included the following chart illustrating why consumers avoided particular brands:


Reason for Avoidance GM Chrysler Ford
Bankruptcy Discussion/Possibility 32.3 percent 19.7 percent 17.7 percent
Dealership-related issues 10.6 percent 12.6 percent 8.9 percent
Friends/relatives dissuaded 7.4 percent 8.8 percent 4.8 percent
Not a legacy brand 13.7 percent 18.1 percent 11.6 percent
Like a competitive product more 15.1 percent 17.2 percent 25.3 percent
Product not suitable 6.1 percent 5.3 percent 7.8 percent
Styling 9.2 percent 12.9 percent 15.6 percent
Other 5.6 percent 5.4 percent 8.3 percent

For more information, visit www.cnwmr.com.

---