Car shopping now includes the eco-filter

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 05:22:55 +0000

Green is no longer just one of several hues in which a vehicle is available, but a lifestyle choice. All of the leading third-party consumer automotive research and shopping sites now have dedicated green or hybrid sections along with buyer’s guides devoted to helping consumers select vehicles that best match their needs for fuel efficiency, environmental impact, body style and budget. The number one automotive site, eBay Motors, added Alternative Fuel as a vehicle type when it rolled out its new site design last year.

Homepage search box on the new eBay Motors homepage

These sites are responding to consumer-initiated activity – not influencing it. Even as U.S. automotive sales declined in the first quarter of the year, sales of hybrid vehicles increased during the same time period. That behavior will no doubt continue for the near future, based on consumer search activity on third-party sites, such as Cars.com. Not coincidentally, consumer interest in hybrid and fuel-efficient vehicles appears to index closely to prices at the pump.

This means that traditional vehicle categories, price, make and model are no longer the primary ways that consumers are researching new vehicles online. Fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles now reside in a primary vehicle segment, not just an enthusiast subcategory.

Some automakers have already addressed this reality by adding Hybrid or Most Fuel Efficient as a vehicle type or category that resides at the same level as Cars, Trucks and SUVs. The Saturn, Lexus and Toyota new vehicle sites have Hybrid filters on their showroom pages while Honda gives consumers the option of isolating vehicles that are either Hybrids or Most Fuel Efficient within its new-vehicle lineup. Even automakers that are months away from having a hybrid on lots, such as Cadillac and Dodge, are promoting upcoming 2009 models on their respective brand sites.

At least one marque, GMC, has added Hybrid search filters to its vehicle showroom ahead of its ability to deliver results. The only hybrid in GMC’s 2008 lineup is the Yukon, which has limited availability. While the GM division’s enthusiasm is understandable, offering consumers a zero-results option is not the most effective way to showcase their green wares.

Still other automakers are offering hybrids, such as Ford, Mazda, Mercury and Nissan, but are not making this immediately apparent in the vehicle showroom sections of their sites. One reason may be that high demand/tight supply has caused some brands to limit the amount of promotion these vehicles get – when vehicles are backordered they may not want to frustrate consumers by promoting waitlisted models. However, an opportunity still exists to promote future hybrids – in Ford’s case, the 2009 Fusion Hybrid, and for Nissan the 2009 Altima – and start to gauge interest and, possibly, adjust planned production output accordingly.

What does this mean for automakers and automotive marketers?

1. If you got it, flaunt it

Even automakers with only a single hybrid in their lineups need to allow consumers to search for vehicles this way on their sites. They should be promoting both existing and future vehicles that use hybrid technology as well as those that deliver above-average fuel efficiency.

Those manufacturers with only a limited supply of current model year hybrid can still let consumers sign up online for a waitlist for next year’s model. They can also use their brand sites to educate consumers about other fuel-efficient vehicles in their lineup that are currently available.

2. How will consumers find it?
Think also of how consumers are searching for hybrid vehicles. Overall, English-speaking consumers are more likely to enter “hybrid car” as a search term than “green car,” “hybrid auto” or “fuel efficient car,” according to Google Trends data spanning January 2004 through March 2008. Automakers should keep in mind the reach of their sites and the relevant audience. In the U.S. and Canada, consumers are far more likely to search for “hybrid car” than “green car” while in Australia and the UK the reverse is true.

3. Greening your online brand presence
Offline, marketers aren’t just selling a car, they are selling a lifestyle. Online, OEM sites need to deliver more than pricing and photos, they need to deliver an experience.

Automakers who want to reach online consumers interested in buying green and/or fuel-efficient vehicles need to better align their brand with these consumer’s values and their expectations.

Automotive brand, or related sites, can be used to educate consumers about fuel-saving tips and related advice. Just as the Apple site has a set of free resources for educators and the Whole Foods site has weekly blogs about sustainability and natural body care and supplements, automakers can similarly educate their site visitors on green driving topics.

Headlight: The Digital Automotive Blog» ebay motors

Car shopping now includes the eco-filter

Homepage search box on the new eBay Motors homepage

What does this mean for automakers and automotive marketers?

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