Although sales of new fullsize pickup trucks declined 39% for the first five months of this year compared to last, opportunity to acquire new business from existing pickups on the road awaits those willing to target this market. Giving credence to this idea is that automotive enthusiasts, the core of the specialty-equipment industry, are purchasing more used pickup trucks compared to new.
Around 64% of enthusiasts surveyed in 2008 who own pickup trucks said that they purchased their vehicle used, an increase from 57% in 2007, according to SEMA’s annual Automotive Lifestyle study of automotive enthusiast magazine subscribers and automotive forum visitors. Each survey collected over three thousand complete responses.
For both years, pickup owners surveyed noted that they spent, on average, more than $2,000 each on performance parts and accessories within the previous year. Knowing the composition of existing pickups on the road today would help any specialty-equipment company better target these enthusiasts.
Experian Automotive registration data shows that of the 19.5 million 2000-2010 model-year fullsize pickup trucks registered as of the end of last year, around 75% pack a V8 engine and 11% have a V6. Around 14% run on diesel and 50% are four-wheel drive. And a total of 1,891,149 fullsize pickups of 2000-2010 model years are currently registered in California—about 11.5% of all vehicles registered in the state for those model years.
While this is only a snapshot of just a few of the pickup trucks on the road today, SEMA members can now take advantage of the complete vehicle registration data set available to them as part of their overall SEMA benefit package.
For questions, contact the SEMA market research department at research@sema.org. — SEMA Research & Information Center