Interest in Car Purchases Perks Up Late Month, Edmunds.com Reports

Interest in Car Purchases Perks Up Late Month, Edmunds.com Reports

October wound up being two months in one, with the latter part of the month showing a promising pickup in consumer interest in car buying.

In addition, the frenzied shopping for fuel-efficient small and midsize cars as well as hybrids that occurred through the spring and summer months, when gas was $3.50 a gallon, has abated. Shopping for large cars, sporty cars and trucks has rebounded somewhat.

In the first half of October, the Purchase Intent of visitors to Edmunds.com was down 4 percent compared with the first half of September. The second half of October (through Oct. 28) was up 11 percent from the second half of September.

The same disparity occurred in September, except in reverse. Purchase Intent the first-half September was down from the first half of August except in reverse; the later part of the month was down and the first half of the month was up.

Could it be that car sales have bottomed out?

Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl thinks so. "The data suggests that the market hit bottom between September 15th and October 15th," Anwyl observed.

"We can anticipate more fluctuations through the election and the holidays, but it is reasonable to assume there is some degree of pent-up demand building," he added. "Short of new shocks hitting an already battered consumer, we see overall sales trending modestly upward."

Added Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Dr. David Tompkins: "The swing is definitely large enough to indicate a real movement in the market. These results will be masked by the reporting of full-month sales for October, but hopefully it points to a brighter November."

November typically is one of the weakest months for sales.

What Did Consumers Shop for October

Edmunds.com's analysis of October shopping data shows what a difference lower gas prices. The shopping data suggests consumers have relaxed somewhat about gas prices, which now are averaging well below $3 a gallon.

Consideration for less fuel-efficient vehicles and pricier vehicles rebounded in October. These were the same segments that have shown the largest increase in shopper consideration since July. Conversely, consideration for small and midsize cars has plummeted since July and showed flat or decreased consideration in October compared with September.

Consideration for large cars and trucks is recovering as gasoline prices continue to fall. In fact, both segments have made gains since summer and even since last month.

Shopping consideration for sporty cars has also made a comeback.

Conversely, as gas prices have fallen, shopping consideration for small and midsize cars has plummeted from the highs of summer when gas averaged $3.50 a gallon.

Hybrids and Smart's Fortwo have seen shopping consideration fall far from their peak levels this summer. They were among the most shopped vehicles in summer.

Michelle Krebs:  is Editor-in-Chief of AutoObserver.com. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.