Total US sales of new, used and CPO (certified preowned) light vehicles reached more than 57 million in 2013, an increase of 4.6% from 2012. This is the fourth consecutive year of growth in total US vehicle sales. While the market is forecast to continue to see incremental growth in 2014 and 2015, sales growth will eventually slow, halt, and stagnate, as the market returns to its mature baseline of approximately 58 million light new and used vehicles per annum. This report explores how auto manufacturers, car dealers, and affiliated media, such as car research and vehicle inventory websites, can compete in a growingly competitive space, particularly for players looking to pick up incremental sales or those looking to defend their current share of the marketplace. The report covers topics including why and when car shoppers decide to purchase another vehicle, what types of cross-shopping research consumers expect to do, which specific car research destinations do consumers plan to visit, such as Consumer Reports or Kelley Blue Book, and whether or not consumers plan to utilize their smartphones and tablets while car shopping.

This report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s Car Buying – US, February 2013.

For the purposes of this report, the car purchasing process is defined as the act, or the intended act, of the consumer to purchase a new, pre-owned, or CPO car.

• A new car will mean any new vehicle which has never been titled or registered and that has been driven less than 7,500 miles before first-title.

• A pre-owned car is any vehicle that has been previously owned and titled by at least one prior owner; the car must be operational, any car sold as scrap or for its parts and not as an operating vehicle is not considered pre-owned.

• A certified pre-owned car is any well maintained, late-model, pre-owned vehicle which has been inspected and refurbished by its original manufacturer, or another manufacturer or car dealer.

• CPO vehicles typically include warranties and other additional benefits typically bestowed only to new cars, but aren’t necessarily required.

• Market Size and Forecast: Morgan and Company Inc., West Olive, Mich. and CNW Research

• Segment Performance: Wards Auto; Morgan and Company Inc., West Olive, Mich.; CNW Research; National Automobile Dealers Association; Autodata Corporation; Automotive News

• Retail Channels: Morgan and Company Inc., West Olive, Mich.; Experian Automotive

For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through GMI to explore consumer consumption of attitudes and behaviors toward the car purchasing process. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in November 2013 among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.

Mintel selects survey respondents so that they are proportionally balanced to the entire US adult population based on the key demographics of gender, age, household income, and region. Mintel also slightly oversamples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in the survey results. Please note that Mintel surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in the survey results.

The following is a list of abbreviations used in this report.

Generations, if discussed within this report, are defined as: