March31,2017AUTO1EXCERPTTHEFULLREPORTISAVAILABLETOL2MEMBERSONLY.INQUIREABOUTMEMBERSHIP.AUTO20172March31,2017EXCERPTAUTO2017INTRODUCTIONRANKINGBRANDSITEDIGITALMARKETINGSOCIALMEDIAMOBILEEXCERPTAuto:BiggestEnhancementstoBrandSiteExperiencen=41BrandsWithCompleteData■2016■2017DownshiftAsUScarbuyersdelivertheindustry’sseventhconsecutiveyearofsalesgrowthbyarazor-thinmargin(80thousandvehicles),automakersarenearingtheendofanunprecedentedwinningstreak.1Decliningresalevaluescoupledwithrisinginterestratessendaclearsignal:theeraofstrongorganicdemandandlowincentivesiscomingtoaclose.2Goingforward,winnersandloserswillbedeterminedbywhichbrandsbestconsolidatetheshoppingprocessonlineandenhancecustomersupportthrough“thirdwave”connectivityplatforms.1.“RecordorNotin2016,AutoSalesGrowthSeenDrawingtoEnd,”JamieButters,Bloomberg,December30,2016.2.“FordWarnsHigherRates,DeclinesinResaleValueWillHurtResults,”ChristinaRogers&JohnStoll,TheWallStreetJournal,March23,2017.Tune-UpSince2012,carshoppershaveprogressivelyreducedtheirinitialconsiderationsetandlimitedphysicaltripstothedealership.1While60percentofcarshoppersareinitiallyundecidedwhentheyenterthemarket,theaveragebuyereventuallyvisitsonlytwodealerships.2InOctober,ChaseannouncedapartnershipwithTrueCarthatallowsbuyerstocompleteevenmoreoftheprocessonline.3Startingin30states,carbuyerscannowapplyforfinancingandreceiveapprovaldirectlyonthethird-partyresearchportal,1.“PerceptionsofVehicleReliabilityIncreasinglyInfluenceNew-VehicleShoppingDecisions,”PressRelease,J.D.Power,January14,2016.2.“JPMorganCourtsMillennialsbyPuttingWholeCar-BuyingNightmareOnline,”SuzanneWoolley,Bloomberg,August26,2016.3.“ThirdWaveofConnectedCarstoLeverageOTA,NewServices,”KellyHill,RCRWirelessNews,April5,2016.Source:L2,Inc.,DigitalIQIndex®:Auto,2017.reducingpainfulinteractionsonthecarlottojustpaperworksignaturesandvehiclecollection.Whilebarredfromdirectsellingbyacomplicatednetworkofstatefranchiselaws,Autobrandsarenotsittingidle.Overthepastyear,L2foundthatover...
