It should provide some encouragement to the troubled Detroit automakers that results of one recent survey indicate a predisposition among U.S. car shoppers to buy American-made vehicles.
One-third of respondents to the survey conducted by Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research said they would only buy cars produced in America, while 12% indicated interest in buying Japanese-made cars and 5% expressed a preference for German vehicles.
More than 90% said they would consider buying a vehicle from a domestic manufacturer, with 74% indicating interest in Japanese-made cars, 57% for German vehicles and 38% for cars from Korea.
More than half of those surveyed said they planned to purchase vehicles in the next three months, and could be induced to accelerate their timetable if good financing terms are available. Cash rebates and incentive offers were the most popular inducements cited, followed by financing offers.
“Seeing the domestic automakers’ recent struggle has ignited a heightened sense of patriotism among some American car shoppers,” said Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com.
More than half of the respondents (51%) said they try to buy American-made goods if they are readily available and competitively priced, while 14% said they go out of their way to buy American products and 6% exclusively buy products produced domestically.
Nearly all respondents (97%) indicated a preference to buy rather than lease their next vehicle, with nearly 70% reporting they would rather buy a new car than a used one.
The survey was conducted on Kelley Blue Book’s site among 537 qualified respondents from Dec. 8 to Dec. 14.
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