IRVINE, Calif., April 4, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The editors at Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq:ABTL), pioneer of the automotive Internet and the company dedicated to connecting automotive consumers with dealers, recently released truck shopping and buying highlights, and commentary regarding the road ahead for the popular pickup truck segment.
Consider the following statistics:
"Full-size pickup trucks are critically important to the overall health of each of the manufacturers," said Michelle Naranjo, Editor-in-Chief of Autobytel Inc. "Right now, we're seeing plenty of movement within the pickup truck segment which is setting the stage for innovation and upheaval in this popular category of vehicles."
Autobytel Truck Shopping Data
In January 2014, across Autobytel's popular consumer website, Autobytel.com, the number of unique users researching the truck category (as a percentage of site traffic) increased approximately 75% compared to the same timeframe a year prior.
The top five makes researched and ranked by percentage of category traffic were:
1) Toyota
2) Chevrolet
3) Ford
4) GMC
5) RAM
Autobytel Truck Buying Data
As we head into the second quarter of 2014, Autobytel evaluated historical truck buying data in Q2 2013 for perspective, based on vehicle registration data from R.L. Polk. Following are highlights.
- Defections from Ford most commonly purchased Toyota and Chevrolet.
- Defections from Nissan most commonly purchased Toyota.
- Defections from Toyota most commonly purchased Nissan and Ford.
- Defections from Chevrolet most commonly purchased Ford, GMC, and Toyota
- Defections from GMC most commonly purchased Chevrolet.
- Defections from RAM most commonly purchased Dodge, Ford, and Chevrolet.
Autobytel's Noteworthy Truck News:
To read the full article, including commentary about the midsize truck segment, luxury-oriented trim levels, fuel economy information, and truck market perspective for the years ahead, visit http://www.autobytel.com/trucks/car-buying-guides/pickup-truck-trends-reflect-innovation-upheaval-in-competitive-segment-123233/.
To view the infographic, visit http://www.autobytel.com/car-blog/infographic-2014-autobytel-data-reveals-trucks-in-competitive-segment-123333/.
To build, shop for, buy, or own one of the trucks on this list, visit Autobytel.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube to stay connected to our latest news.
An infographic accompanying this release is available at http://media.globenewswire.com/cache/29813/file/25665.jpg.
About Autobytel Inc.
Autobytel Inc. provides high quality consumer leads and associated marketing services to automotive dealers and manufacturers throughout the United States and offers consumers robust and original online automotive content to help them make informed car-buying decisions. The company pioneered the automotive internet in 1995 with its flagship website www.autobytel.com and has since helped tens of millions of automotive consumers research vehicles; connected thousands of dealers nationwide with motivated car buyers; and helped every major automaker market its brand online.
Investors and other interested parties can receive Autobytel news releases and invitations to special events by accessing the online registration form at investor.autobytel.com/alerts.cfm.