Courtesy of Jumpstart Automotive Media's shopper insights team, below are some highlights of automotive brands that are capturing the attention of automotive shoppers this summer. "Everybody in America knows that trucks and utilities are hot currently, but the following brands and vehicles can help answer specifically what the American shopper wants to drive next," said Colin Thomas, senior analyst, strategic insights at Jumpstart. "Jeep has captivated many shoppers with its rugged off-road capabilities and exterior styling, while Ford and Acura continue to build versatile trucks and utilities, and performance-driven cars that are desirable to many shoppers today."

Jeep share of interest on Jumpstart sites increased +15% from June 2017 to June 2018. In the past year, Jeep has leapfrogged Nissan and BMW and now is the 5^th most-shopped brand (from 7^th in June 2017). Additionally, the first half of 2018 was Jeep’s best sales half year ever with 495K in sales, according to Automotive News.

Ford has seen the most growth in shopper interest year-over-year among the top 10 brands (+20%) and has been the most-shopped brand for 11 of the past 13 months. The following models are key contributors to Ford’s growth:

• Ranger (the most anticipated launch) was the #1 most-researched model on Jumpstart sites for three of the past five months, despite the fact that it won’t arrive at dealerships until Q1 2019
  • Ranger interest is up almost 200% in the first half of 2018 compared to the prior six months when news of the comeback was starting to build up
• EcoSport share of Subcompact SUV/CUV segment is up 1,508% year-over-year
• Mustang Shelby GT 500 share of the Performance segment is up 1,965% year-over-year

Acura share of interest increased +14% from last month, mainly due to the launch of its new RDX. Within the Compact Luxury SUV/CUV segment, RDX gained 35% share of segment compared to May, and increased 70% from June 2017. Gaining two spots on the ranking, RDX surpassed Lexus NX and BMW X1 to become the share of segment leader.

Jumpstart’s Path to Purchase Reports

Jumpstart analyzes share of shopper interest regularly to gain insight into what consumers are considering when researching their next vehicle purchase, as well as how long it takes them to make a decision and how media influences their shopping process. These insights are based on the shopping patterns of more than 20 million in-market auto shoppers who are researching vehicles across the company’s portfolio of automotive publishers. Click here to see the latest Insights Book.

About Jumpstart

Jumpstart Automotive Media, a division of Hearst Autos, offers high-impact and performance-driven marketing and advertising solutions that achieve optimum results. An industry thought-leader known for its in-depth shopping reports, Jumpstart connects automotive marketers with the largest, high-performing audience of car shoppers and enthusiasts through partnerships with: Car and Driver, U.S. News Best Cars, J.D. Power Cars, NADAguides, Autoweek.com, Autobytel, Autolist.com, Daily News Autos, LeftLaneNews.com, CarSoup, CarBuzz, CarStory, and VehicleHistory.com.

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