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ReprintsMalibu, CTS boost conquests — barely
Jamie LaReau
Automotive News
February 4, 2008 - 12:01 am ET
DETROIT — General Motors is making headway with the new Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac CTS mid-sized sedans in winning consumers over from the imports. But the movement is minimal, with most sales of both vehicles still coming from GM brand loyalists. The new cars went on sale in the fourth quarter. When asked at the Automotive News World Congress in January whether the new Malibu was getting more "conquest" sales, GM product czar Bob Lutz said: "All of the recent introductions are getting a lot more non-GM and non-domestic conquests. All of the new vehicles are doing extremely well and are conquesting European and Japanese cars." True, but not by much. A conquest sale is when a brand sells a vehicle to an owner of another brand.
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According to Power Information Network, during the fourth quarter last year, 45.8 percent of Malibu customers who traded a vehicle traded in another Chevrolet product. That's up from the fourth quarter of 2005. But trade-ins from key Japanese competitors also rose as a percentage of the mix (see table). Similarly, for the CTS, trade-ins from Cadillac owners dominated. But the CTS drew a higher percentage of trade-ins from Mercedes-Benz and Lexus owners — although the percentage of BMW trade-ins fell. |
You can reach Jamie LaReau at jlareau@crain.com.
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