Chrysler Purchase Intent Up 15 Percent Since Bankruptcy Filing, Reports Edmunds.com
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Chrysler Purchase Intent Up 15 Percent Since Bankruptcy Filing, Reports Edmunds.com
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — May 5, 2009 — On Thursday, Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in bankruptcy court. Since then, the visitors on the Edmunds.com Web site who are shopping for Chrysler models shot up 15 percent. By comparison, GM's shopping consideration dropped 6 percent since Thursday and Ford's was up 7 percent.
"I'd call this 'the Obama bounce,'" remarked Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl, referring to the President's recent speech that discussed Chrysler's situation and urged consumers to consider buying an American car.
"Maybe the Chrysler bankruptcy announcement attracted the bargain shoppers, who may think a bankruptcy is the same as liquidation with price-busting clearance sales," reported Edmunds' AutoObserver.com Editor Michelle Krebs.
Dealers say customers are coming into the showroom making outrageously low offers for Chrysler vehicles, expecting dealers to take any price just to sell a car. Edmunds.com's most recent data indicates that Chryslers sell for an average of 18.1 percent below sticker while the industry average discount is 15.6 percent.
Throughout the recession, Edmunds.com has seen a trend of bargain shopping, with customers going after value brands like Hyundai and Kia and ordering smaller engines and lower trim levels.
Krebs later suggested, "Perhaps Chrysler loyalists, though dwindling in ranks, are coming to the aid of their brand — or seeing this as the last hurrah to buy their favorite brand."
Edmunds.com spokespeople are available for interviews in Edmunds.com's television studio in its Santa Monica, Calif. headquarters and in its Detroit-area satellite office.
About Edmunds (http://www.edmunds.com/about/)
Edmunds.com publishes four Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers and enthusiasts. Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Its most popular feature, the Edmunds.com True Market Value® , is relied upon by millions of people seeking current transaction prices for new and used vehicles. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site" by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site" according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study(SM), was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal and was rated "#1" in Keynote's study of third-party automotive Web sites. Inside Line launched in January 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace launched in February 2006 and is an automotive social networking Web site and home to the oldest and most established automotive community. Edmunds is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.
