Automotive News - June 23, 2008 - (Page 28)

28 • JUNE 23, 2008 Suzuki dealers test system to turn Web leads into sales Kathy Jackson kjackson@crain.com LOS ANGELES — Suzuki is testing a program to help dealers convert more Internet leads into sales. The Japanese automaker wants more brand visibility on the Internet. In May, Suzuki began putting all its dealership stock on AutoTrader.com. And this month the company is rolling out a test of a formula developed by R.L. Polk & Co. that ranks Internet leads based on readiness to buy. The 90-day test will involve 22 deal- erships, says David Harris, eBusiness and CRM manager at American Suzuki Motor Corp. Seven of the dealerships will test the Polk model, which ranks Internet leads on a scale of 1 to 10. A score of 10 reflects a consumer that most likely is ready to buy. The test will measure whether the seven stores using the Polk test can convert more leads into sales than 15 dealerships that will continue to contact leads randomly, without using the Polk data. “Leads are an important compo- nent in our mix,” Harris says. “Right now we just primarily give the dealers a name but don’t tell them anything about the consumer — their ownership history, if they’re ready to buy, et cetera.” R.L. Polk will train the test dealers to use its lead-scoring model, says Norman Marks, Polk’s vice president of global strategy. “We can generate a predictive model,” he says. For example, Marks says consumers who offer more information about themselves are generally ready to buy. He cites shoppers “who provide a pur- chase date, a full address vs. an e-mail address, that level of information.” “We’re looking for higher conversion rates,” Marks says. “We’re telling them to call all leads, but we know 8 to 10s (scores) buy more, so get to them first.” Roy Greenblatt, chairman of the Suzuki dealer council, says both the AutoTrader.com program and the Polk test will be helpful. “We don’t have a lot of recognition,” he says. Greenblatt says he gets about 50 leads a month among his three stores in New Jersey. He says the conversion rate is 5 to 10 percent. “Anything they can do to get us more leads and help us convert those leads is a positive thing,” he says. Polk launched its lead-scoring process last year. Suzuki is the first automotive brand client. Polk has been working with MileOne, a large dealership group in Baltimore, since last summer. David Metter, chief marketing officer for MileOne, said in a statement that the group’s Internet lead conversion rate rose 25 percent by the end of 2007 compared with the previous year. c Business Not Booming? You Need The Performance Partnership www.hatadv.com Mexico sales bounce back in April Stephen Downer autonews@crain.com Dealer Management System Survey 90% 2007 NADA ACS Highest Customer Satisfaction 79% R&R 78% ADP 74% Arkona www.ACSaccess.com 1-800-227-8187 Prompt 5 ACS ACCESS: The Complete DMS Automotive Computer Services, Inc. - Mobile AL Retail sales of new cars and light trucks in Mexico rose to 83,105 units in April, up 10.7 percent over April 2007 and reversing the trend in the first quarter. Through the first four months of the year, retail sales totaled 347,068, down 2.3 percent from the year-earlier period, according to the Mexican Automotive Manufacturers Association. April’s double-digit rise followed a 16.9 percent decline in March, when sales totaled 80,120 units. General Motors regained first place from Nissan Motor Co., which had outsold GM in March. GM retailed 18,257 vehicles, up 16.8 percent from April 2007. Nissan sold 16,421, up 16.3 percent. Ford Motor Co. edged out Volkswagen AG and Chrysler LLC for the third spot. Ford retailed 10,929 vehicles in April, down 8.5 percent from the same month last year. Volkswagen’s total of 9,948 was down 11.1 percent, and Chrysler was up 19.3 percent to 9,505. Chrysler’s improvement was largely because of a 23.3 percent increase in truck sales, to 6,175 units. Toyota Motor Corp. bounced back from a poor March, when sales fell 11.2 percent to 5,156. In April, Toyota retailed 5,689 vehicles, up 25.1 percent. Honda did even better, registering a 31.4 percent increase to 4,656. Mitsubishi’s sales rose 58.4 percent to 1,511; Mazda was up 41 percent to 1,627; and Renault increased 11 percent to 1,415. c Mexico vehicle sales, April & 4 months April 2008 April 2007 4 mos. 2008 4 mos. 2007 Car Import truck BMW Car Truck CHRYSLER LLC² Mercedes-Benz import car Mercedes-Benz import truck Smart import car DAIMLER AG² FERRARI import car* Fiat import car Fiat import truck FIAT AUTO S.p.A. Ford car Ford truck Jaguar import car Land Rover import truck Volvo import car Volvo import truck FORD Car Truck GENERAL MOTORS Car Truck HONDA ISUZU import truck Import car Import truck MAZDA Import car Import truck MITSUBISHI Car Truck NISSAN Import car Import truck PEUGEOT Import car Import truck PORSCHE Car Import truck RENAULT Import car Import truck SUBARU Import car Import truck SUZUKI Import car Import truck TOYOTA Audi import car Audi import truck Bentley import car Seat import car Seat import truck VW car VW import truck VOLKSWAGEN Domestic car Import car Total car Domestic truck Import truck Total truck Total domestic Total import TOTAL MEXICO SALES 537 183 720 3,330 6,175 9,505 378 177 46 601 2 161 86 247 2,607 8,012 33 72 165 40 10,929 11,212 7,045 18,257 2,447 2,209 4,656 110 779 848 1,627 645 866 1,511 10,283 6,138 16,421 520 127 647 27 33 60 1,123 292 1,415 67 15 82 371 307 678 2,832 2,857 5,689 376 60 3 944 – 7,847 718 9,948 20,065 26,670 46,735 12,031 24,339 36,370 32,096 51,009 83,105 471 144 615 2,957 5,010 7,967 310 158 7 475 1 169 30 199 3,683 7,953 25 90 119 71 11,941 9,080 6,556 15,636 1,867 1,676 3,543 – 604 550 1,154 516 438 954 9,121 4,994 14,115 882 129 1,011 27 38 65 993 282 1,275 22 12 34 141 188 329 1,999 2,550 4,549 290 63 1 1,299 2 8,589 941 11,185 20,188 22,985 43,173 7,216 24,659 31,875 27,404 47,644 75,048 2,344 723 3,067 15,139 25,490 40,629 1,569 773 275 2,617 8 839 376 1,215 10,820 31,406 91 289 530 131 43,267 45,105 28,831 73,936 9,950 8,061 18,011 263 3,254 3,402 6,656 2,116 3,730 5,846 45,776 27,829 73,605 2,956 553 3,509 145 120 265 4,408 1,045 5,453 216 79 295 1,220 1,032 2,252 10,390 11,312 21,702 1,380 219 7 4,134 1 35,311 3,420 44,472 86,924 111,059 197,983 42,437 106,648 149,085 129,361 217,707 347,068 2,221 782 3,003 15,504 22,711 38,215 1,253 921 67 2,241 4 817 140 957 16,965 37,884 69 234 659 286 56,097 46,243 29,965 76,208 7,202 8,600 15,802 – 2,643 2,133 4,776 2,451 2,794 5,245 46,212 23,548 69,760 4,043 671 4,714 130 108 238 4,871 972 5,843 106 57 163 563 1,019 1,582 9,248 9,628 18,876 1,342 193 8 5,669 13 40,005 4,282 51,512 98,795 109,500 208,295 33,247 113,694 146,941 132,042 223,194 355,236 †DaimlerChrysler sold the Chrysler group on Aug. 3, 2007; Chrysler LLC and Daimler AG totals through July 2007 are extracted from DaimlerChrysler. *Estimate Source: Automotive News Data Center and Mexican Automotive Manufacturers Association http://AutoTrader.com http://AutoTrader.com http://www.hatadv.com http://www.hatadv.com http://www.ACSaccess.com http://www.boomerangsystems.com http://www.boomerangsystems.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - June 23, 2008

TRW exec: We're in the 'sweet spot' for growth 'Like house of cards,' used trucks fall Detroit 3 a big drag in global supplier race Ford rethinks big-block V-8 plan Looters and broken levees Plastech's Brown stands to get $9.25 million Lawmakers: Redo roof rule Hunt takes job at Gallup Lawmakers urge roof rule rewrite Webinar offers tips on going green Lawmakers: Redo roof rule Webasto sees more demand for retractable hard tops Why small isn't always big To move metal, hire an Ironman Chevy limits ZR1 Corvette to top dealers Lithium ion battery is key to hybrid growth With Russia hot, Ford will boost Europe production BMW exec: We can grow in U.S. The man who put the wind in GM's sales GM's parts ordering comes down to Earth More Fits for U.S. in fall GM: Volt buyers deserve tax credit Mercedes exec seeks more exclusive technology from suppliers Bosch, Mahle execs to lead turbo venture Supplier personnel ZF moves steering operations in Ky. Slowing Volvo, Saab add to Sweden's industry woes Feds: Drivers don't have to hang up phones Magna eyes new growth strategy: Powertrain-driveline modules Alleged sales scam snares Ohio dealers GM center troubleshoots IT in plants around the world Senator: Plants have capacity for plug-ins Lots of talk but little to show Going green pays off The Detroit 3 are smart to cut sales to fleets Drop Mercury? No; Ford needs it Awareness isn't GM's problem Leno was off base in bashing U.S. cars Roofs, rollovers and reckless driving Big-truck sales fall 15.2% in May Serra deal reflects GM channel strategy No. 2 vehicle hauler to go out of business Chinese company's car looks a lot like a Mini Honda taps star power for fuel cell car Dealer wanted media attention — and got it Dealers European sales dip 7.8% in May Merger gives Hughes Telematics a cash boost Mexico sales bounce back in April Suzuki dealers test system to turn Web leads into sales Bosch-Samsung venture to make lithium batteries Hyundai plans Elantra hybrid for Korea in '09 RV sales drop 8.5% in April Japan’s best-kept secret Utilities join automakers for plug-in r&d Ford likely to build '11 Focus at 2 plants Glut of '08 Ford F-150s delays launch of '09s '09 Porsche SUV prices rise Ford calls off Ohio plant sale Ford idles Mich. truck plant CarMax net earnings decline Dodge Journeys recalled 2009 Chrysler hybrid SUVs start at $45,340 GOP: Climate bills would make $4 gas look cheap EVs on eBay: It's all the rage In terms of market value, the General is a buck private Sign of the times: Hummer store to be used-car lot Bob Stempel's legacy is the future Flying 1 series? It's BMW's joke Dealer hurt in sky-dive navigates the road to recovery Opel car recognizes signs; BMW plans similar system JCI, Magna unit buy main parts of Plastech The little engines that could Suppliers to the 2008 Dodge Viper

Automotive News - June 23, 2008

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