Autofacts Group Reports Blurring of Car-Truck Products
1 October 1997
Autofacts Group Reports Blurring of Car-Truck Products
DETROIT, Oct. 1 -- The North American light truck market is
about to undergo a fundamental shift in the next several years as the
proliferation of new vehicle types shatter conventional definitions of what
precisely is a truck, according to the just-released September issue of Early
Warning Report, a monthly newsletter of The Autofacts Group, a division of
Coopers & Lybrand Consulting.
Increasingly, the divide between the car and truck segments of the market
will become less of a partition and more of a spectrum as vehicles are
introduced that borrow, combine and reinvent characteristics from existing
vehicle types, according to the report.
"The implications are profound," said Bill Pochiluk, partner at Coopers &
Lybrand Consulting. "Not only are challenges being issued to existing
segments and sales leaders, but new categories have the potential to transform
manufacturing capabilities and scramble conventional ideas of capacity
allocations."
Starting with Chrysler's minivans and Jeep's Cherokee sports utility
vehicle (SUV) in the 1980s, and continuing with the SUV boom of the past five
years, the truck has become as desirable, if not more desirable, as the
traditional family sedan," said Pochiluk. Truck sales have risen from less
than 30 percent of light vehicle sales in 1985 to more than 47 percent in
1997.
Industry leaders have predicted that the market will undergo the same kind
of expansion of segments that occurred in the early 60s. "Whether all these
new variants will enjoy the same type of success as they did then is
uncertain. Nonetheless, manufacturers, afraid to miss the latest shift in
consumer preferences, are not hesitating to commit to market with segment-
bending vehicles," according to the Autofacts report.
For suppliers, the expansion offers significant opportunities. "OEMs are
demanding new solutions to help make their trucks more car-like and lend their
cars truck-like capabilities. This dovetails nicely with the trend toward
modular systems which are being innovated by the suppliers," said Pochiluk.
"Key to success in the shifting truck market will be flexibility in
production capability and products," according to the report. "The emergence
of car-based entries and new product niches underlines the importance of this
type of flexibility. Car-based products can make capacity commitments much
more fluid, with the possibility of quick, inexpensive and low-risk conversion
to truck capacity."
The Autofacts Group, a division of Coopers & Lybrand Consulting, is a
leading global automotive forecasting and planning company. It provides
automotive databases and reports, forecasts, competitive analyses, strategic
planning, market research, and systems and management consulting. Regional
coverage includes North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe
and Asia-Pacific.
One of the world's leading professional service firms, Coopers & Lybrand
L.L.P. provides globally integrated services for enterprises in a wide range
of industries. The firm offers its clients the expertise of more than 16,000
professionals and staff in offices in 100 U.S. cities, and through the member
firms of Coopers & Lybrand International, more than 74,000 people in 142
countries.
SOURCE Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.
