WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — The latest report issued by the Power Information Network noted that owners of vehicles from several European nameplates often are trading their units for ones made by Asian nameplates.
Report officials said owners of five European nameplates — Saab, Mini, Volkswagen, Volvo and Audi — trade those vehicles for one made by an Asian OEM at a rate of 40 percent or higher. That rate came from sales figures compiled by the network from the first quarter of this year.
A similar rate of trading was noted for owners of vehicles made by Saturn.
"This implies that while Saturn may be attracting import intenders to the General Motors family; a substantial number of these buyers are then returning to an Asian product," report officials explained.
Other nameplates that the reported noted as having a high trade rate for a unit made by an Asian OEM included Pontiac, Mercury and Chrysler.
PIN officials delved deeper into the trading trend toward Asian nameplates by specifically examining the luxury vehicle category. They highlighted that Toyota was the top brand that BMW owners defect to, followed by Lexus and Honda. They also noted that a portion of Mercedes-Benz owners defect to Toyota and Lexus, as well.
"Porsche is the lone luxury brand whose owners usually stay in the luxury arena. The top four brands Porsche owners defect to are all luxury nameplates," report executives pointed out.
Among domestic luxury vehicles, PIN noted that Cadillac owners often defect only to one other luxury nameplate, while Lincoln owners often switch out to only two other luxury brands. Officials also said Pontiac owners' propensity to trade for another Pontiac is just slightly above the likelihood that they will switch to a Chevrolet.
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