American Consumers Rate German Cars Highest Among All Car Brands

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 4, 2002; German car brands have high recognition and acceptance in the USA, particularly Mercedes and BMW. Japanese brands like Lexus and Toyota in particular also enjoy high levels of popularity. Conversely, Americans give a comparatively less favorable ratings to cars produced in their own country. This is one of the results of the survey carried out in the U.S. in June this year by GfK and Greenfield Online.

In 2001, almost 8.7 million passenger cars and around 8.5 million light trucks, such as pick-ups, SUVs (sport utility vehicles) and MPVs (multi purpose vehicles) were registered in the USA, the world's largest car market. In recent years, German car manufacturers have been able to continually increase share in this highly competitive marketplace.

One in two recall Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes unaided.

The results of the survey carried out by GfK Marktforschung, Nuremberg, and U.S. firms, GfK Custom Research and Greenfield Online, show that the brands which are best known in the U.S. are Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes. These are the brands mentioned unaided by one in two respondents when asked about German cars. Audi and Porsche are named less often: only one in three recalls Audi when asked about German cars and for Porsche, the figure is just around one in seven.

However, when respondents were aided with the names of car brands, awareness increased to between 77 and 88 per cent for Audi, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW and VW. Only 6 percent of the respondents were aware of DaimlerChrysler's Smart brand, a car that has yet to be introduced in the U.S. The Mini, which was launched into the market by BMW this year achieved an aided recall of 21 per cent.

The leaders of quality, safety, design and prestige

When questioned about overall impressions, German and Japanese car brands both reflected a positive image, which was clearly above that of the U.S. brands. However, what is interesting is that German-made passenger cars distinguish themselves from their Japanese and American counterparts, particularly in terms of qualitative and emotional image, with Mercedes, BMW and Porsche achieving above average results. Cars produced by these car manufacturers are especially highly valued for their quality, design and prestige. Innovation and the quality of dealer service offered by German car manufacturers were also rated more highly than those of their American and Japanese competitors.

                               German      American      Japanese

    Overall Impression          3.84         3.31          3.61
    Quality of the Car          3.98         3.30          3.71
    Safety Reputation           3.67         3.23          3.48
    Innovation                  3.69         3.17          3.46
    Dealer Service              3.60         3.17          3.37
    Value for the Money         3.21         3.19          3.44
    Design/Styling              3.83         3.34          3.52
    Prestigious Reputation      4.04         3.24          3.46

Japanese ahead on price/performance comparison

The only Japanese brand to achieve similarly high results for image as Mercedes and BMW was Lexus, Toyota's premium brand. However, overall, Toyota and Honda products were also given an above average rating. In general, Japanese manufacturers are ahead of their competitors on value for money -- a feature for which German brands do not particularly stand for, according to American opinion.

Overall, the survey showed that in terms of image, German car manufacturers have competitive advantages. Coupled with the general consumer trend in the automotive sector towards premium brands, this means that the U.S. market offers German car manufacturers good opportunities.

The survey

These are some of the results of a study carried out in June 2002 by GfK Marktforschung, Nuremberg, GfK Custom Research, Minneapolis, MN and Greenfield Online, Wilton, CT. Just under 1,000 drivers were surveyed in Greenfield Online's online Weekly Omnibus. The main focus of the survey was to ascertain brand awareness and image of German cars in the American competitive environment. The complete report is obtainable from Michael Schmid, GfK Marktforschung, Automotive Research division, contact: +49-911-395-2258, michael.schmid@gfk.de, or Beth Rounds, GfK Custom Research, contact: +1-952-542-0800, brounds@customresearch.com.

The GfK Group

The GfK Group, a leading international market research organization, achieved total revenue of EUR 265.1 million in the first half of 2002 (previous year: EUR 225.3 million) in its four business divisions, Consumer Tracking, Non-Food Tracking, Media and Ad Hoc Research. In addition to 16 German subsidiaries, the company has over 110 subsidiaries and affiliates located in 50 countries. Of a total of 4,677 employees, 1,403 are based in Germany. For further information, visit our website: http://www.gfk.com.