{"id":22704,"date":"2018-08-15T11:43:10","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T15:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=22704"},"modified":"2018-08-15T11:43:10","modified_gmt":"2018-08-15T15:43:10","slug":"sedans-are-gateway-to-luxury-brands-for-some-carmakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2018\/08\/sedans-are-gateway-to-luxury-brands-for-some-carmakers","title":{"rendered":"Sedans are gateway to luxury brands for some carmakers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/08\/11\/PDTN\/d94034e5-d2cb-414d-8a0d-78e65b981b26-2018_Honda_Accord_Sport_2.jpg?crop=2667,2000,x85,y0&amp;width=534&amp;height=401&amp;fit=bounds\" alt=\"2018 Honda Accord Sport 2\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\"><em>Whistler, British Columbia\u00a0\u2014<\/em>\u00a0In the Age of Ute, the future of mainstream sedans is in flux:\u00a0Detroit automakers Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles\u00a0are largely exiting the passenger-car\u00a0market to concentrate on profit-rich SUVs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">But for foreign automakers, sedans are not only profitable, they&#8217;re seen as an opportunity. Sedans as well as SUVs are important foundation stones for their luxury brands \u2014 and\u00a0introductory\u00a0gateways to higher-priced models. As domestic automakers leave sedans, some auto insiders\u00a0wonder if they are ceding a competitive advantage to full-line\u00a0foreign automakers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Take Honda Motor Co.,\u00a0which depends on less-expensive\u00a0Honda-branded offerings\u00a0to feed\u00a0new customers to luxury-brand Acura.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;That\u2019s one of the reasons why Acura exists, in order to have a home for people looking for something more than a Honda,&#8221; Gary Robinson, Acura&#8217;s senior manager for product planning, said at the launch of the all-new RDX crossover\u00a0in Canada this summer.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ad-position-55\" class=\"partner-placement partner-spike partner-placement-visible\" data-monetization-id=\"native-article_link\" data-monetization-sizes=\"fluid,3,3\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-mi-detroit-C1561-native-article_link-money-autos-57\" class=\"ad-slot\" data-google-query-id=\"CJGS7t-z79wCFYrbwAodox8KFg\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/mi-detroit-C1561\/native-article_link\/money\/autos_0__container__\">\n<div class=\"tlod\">\n<div id=\"moatPxDiv895200\"><iframe id=\"MoatPxIOPT4_86420506\" width=\"13\" height=\"3.299999999999997\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"moatPxDiv430003\"><iframe id=\"MoatPxIOPT4_49862882\" width=\"13\" height=\"3.299999999999997\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"moatPxDiv244626\"><iframe id=\"MoatPxIOPT4_80197022\" width=\"13\" height=\"3.299999999999997\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"moatPxDiv147066\"><iframe id=\"MoatPxIOPT4_11032618\" width=\"13\" height=\"3.299999999999997\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"tltpvid_51846\" class=\"tl-unit-mid-article\">\n<div class=\"plr-rr__content\">\n<div class=\"plr-rr__above_title\">STORY FROM ASHLEY HOMESTORE<\/div>\n<div class=\"plr-rr__content__title plr-long tl-heading\">Hot looks for your home office<\/div>\n<div class=\"plr-rr__below_title plr-rr__sponsored-by\">See more \u2192<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"plr-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ggnoads\" src=\"https:\/\/img.3lift.com\/?width=93&amp;height=93&amp;url=%2F%2Fimages.3lift.com%2F4109398.jpg&amp;logo_exclude=&amp;v=22&amp;logo=%2F%2Fimages.3lift.com%2F3622446.png&amp;logo_x_pct=3&amp;logo_y_pct=3\" srcset=\"\/\/img.3lift.com\/?width=186&amp;height=186&amp;url=%2F%2Fimages.3lift.com%2F4109398.jpg&amp;logo_exclude=&amp;v=22&amp;logo=%2F%2Fimages.3lift.com%2F3622446.png&amp;logo_x_pct=3&amp;logo_y_pct=3 2x\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"moatPxDiv371192\"><iframe id=\"MoatPxIOPT3_30964373\" width=\"2.8599999999999994\" height=\"2.8599999999999994\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"moatPxDiv891718\"><iframe id=\"MoatPxIOPT3_45708106\" width=\"2.8599999999999994\" height=\"2.8599999999999994\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"moatPxDiv339239\"><iframe id=\"MoatPxIOPT3_7916105\" width=\"2.8599999999999994\" height=\"2.8599999999999994\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"moatPxDiv408159\"><iframe id=\"MoatPxIOPT3_20577741\" width=\"2.8599999999999994\" height=\"2.8599999999999994\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The RDX begins the reboot of an Acura brand that lost its way in the last decade. Yet, even as Acura struggled with its identity in a hotly contested luxury market, its Honda brand continued to bring hundreds of thousands of new customers a year to the Honda-Acura product portfolio.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;One of\u00a0the advantages that\u00a0a mainstream brand has is the full lineup of vehicles, and the ability to grow\u00a0with their\u00a0customer,&#8221; says IHS senior auto analyst Stephanie Brinly. &#8220;That\u2019s the best way to start brand loyalty.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Complementing strong SUV sales (HR-V, CR-V)\u00a0with a staggering 750,000\u00a0sales between its three entry-level sedans (Fit, Civic\u00a0and Accord) last year, Honda buoyed Acura despite the latter&#8217;s identity crisis. The aging RDX, for example, was the second-best selling luxury compact SUV.<\/p>\n<div class=\"partner-outstream\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;Our customers understand quite well what&#8217;s similar between Acura and Honda,&#8221; says Robinson.\u00a0&#8220;They understand the good resale value, and that there is a similar corporate approach between vehicles.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">While the RDX is aimed at the red-hot SUV market, Honda executives don&#8217;t see its customers as coming exclusively from Honda SUVs, which are booming. They say that the affordability of an entry-level Honda Fit subcompact sedan may bring a new customer to the Honda portfolio\u00a0\u2014\u00a0but when their life circumstances change, they might be interested in a luxury crossover.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;The inflow from Honda is critical to us,&#8221; continues Robinson.\u00a0&#8220;I\u2019ve never thought of the inflow in terms of sedan vs. SUV. With both Civic and Accord, it has to do with finances, with age, with lifestyle considerations, so it&#8217;s not just customers going from Civic (sedan) to ILX (compact Acura sedan), or Accord to TLX (mid-size Acura sedan).\u00a0It&#8217;s very much people changing segments depending on what they are interested in at the time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Korea&#8217;s Hyundai has followed the Honda model by introducing its Genesis premium brand to the U.S.\u00a0market with the G70\/G80\/G90 sedans after building customer loyalty for its\u00a0mainstream Hyundai brand with its popular Accent\/Elantra\/Sonata sedan lineup and SUVs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;Genesis will offer at least six\u00a0models including SUVs by 2021,&#8221; says Genesis&#8217; U.S. chief Erwin Raphael.\u00a0&#8220;Sedan customers are very important to Genesis at this stage of our existence, as we currently offer sedans in three\u00a0luxury segments.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Like Acura and Genesis, the premium\u00a0Lincoln brand is looking for a fresh start in the U.S.\u00a0market \u2014\u00a0but does so at a time when the mainstream Ford brand\u00a0is abandoning sedans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">However, auto analyst Rebecca Lindland of Kelley Blue Book\u00a0says that&#8217;s not a bad thing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;Import luxury brands have benefited because their sedans are still popular. It makes sense for them,&#8221; she says. &#8220;But Ford isn&#8217;t making profit on small cars. There is an opportunity here for both Ford and Lincoln to turn things around. With a new lineup of crossovers, Ford can attract younger buyers \u2014 because they are not doing it now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Ford sedan sales are half those of Honda, so with the market shift to crossovers comes a chance to start over.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;I think domestic Ford buyers will welcome the body style that Ford is talking about,&#8221; she says. &#8220;There is an opportunity here if they get the right product on the showrooms &#8211; and the Lincoln is not going to lose out.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Industry insiders agree that Ford risks alienating enthusiast buyers if it moves away from its Focus and Fiesta ST performance models. Such buyers are missionaries for the brand and likely would migrate to competitive alternatives like Honda&#8217;s Civic Si or Volkswagen&#8217;s GTI.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">IHS auto analyst Stephanie Brinley sees Fiat Chrysler Automobiles&#8217; premium brands like Alfa Romeo as vulnerable in the U.S. market\u00a0because Fiat Chrysler&#8217;s\u00a0entry-level brands are so weak.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Fiat Chrysler&#8217;s Jeep is a powerhouse. Not only is one of the fastest-growing brands in the industry, but it&#8217;s the rare mainstream brand that is cross-shopped against premium makes. Still, Jeep does not play in sedan markets. Dodge and Chrysler have\u00a0no entry-level offerings\u00a0\u2014 either sedan or SUV.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">And Alfa&#8217;s natural source of customers, Fiat, barely registers in the U.S. market in sales. Fiat sold a mere 26,492 cars in the U.S.\u00a0in 2017 \u2014\u00a0less than the Honda Civic\u00a0sells in an average month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;It\u2019s interesting about FCA. It\u2019s a full-line manufacturer \u2014 and it\u2019s not,&#8221; says Brinley.\u00a0&#8220;They have something in every segment, but it\u2019s all under different brands with different personalities. FCA does does not have as much\u00a0ability to grow with their customer (into the premium space) because it&#8217;s hard to see customers going\u00a0from a Fiat 500 to a Dodge Challenger to an\u00a0Alfa Romeo.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whistler, British Columbia\u00a0\u2014\u00a0In the Age of Ute, the future of mainstream sedans is in flux:\u00a0Detroit automakers Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles\u00a0are largely exiting the passenger-car\u00a0market to concentrate on profit-rich SUVs. But for foreign automakers, sedans are not only profitable, they&#8217;re seen as an opportunity. Sedans as well as SUVs are important foundation stones [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22704"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22704\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}