Jumpstart Automotive Media, a leading media, insights, and marketing solutions company, today released its monthly share of shopper interest data. The report reveals that shoppers are showing more interest in vehicle segments such as Full-Size Luxury Sedans, and soon-to-be-released models are generating excitement among shoppers.

During September, shopper interest in Full-Size Luxury Sedans grew 15%. The Alternative Fuel segment continues to lead all other categories in shopper interest growth since January at +38%, particularly led by interest in Tesla, which is second in overall brand shopper interest at +141% on the year (behind Genesis at +146%).

A handful of new and refreshed models have ignited shopper interest in select segments. With the all-new Lexus LS entering the market for 2018, year-over-year share is up 255% and shopper interest nearly doubled (+89%) in September with more people researching the vehicle. Dating back to January 2016, this past September is only the second time that the LS cracked the top-five within its segment (finishing behind only the Model S, and S-Class). The new model is expected to breathe new life into sales, which are currently down 24% for the existing model.

While year-over-year interest in Midsize Pickups are down 11%, with interest declining four straight months from May through August, the category increased 8% in September from anticipation of the new Nissan Frontier, which hasn’t seen a significant upgrade since 2005. Even with little information released on the new vehicle, share of interest for the vehicle jumped 40% in September.

Additional share of shopper interest news from September includes Midsize Luxury SUVs/CUVs, where interest has grown in each of the last five months. Interest also continues to rise for Full-Size Pickups, the segment was up another 6% in September after a 3% increase in August. This interest may be considered seasonal, however, as Full-Size Pickups have historically seen shopper interest rise in the months leading up to October (i.e., truck month) when there tends to be an influx of television ads during the busy sports calendar (e.g., World Series, football, and the start of basketball and hockey, etc.).

“Despite a continued stable gas price environment, interest in alternate fuel vehicles continues to rise, which is a testament to the sincere interest and quality of vehicles produced by Tesla, as well as continued interest in the new Chevrolet Bolt and Toyota Prius Prime,” said Brian Miller, senior analyst of strategic insights for Jumpstart. “In addition, it’s interesting to see the Nissan Frontier have such an impact on Midsize Pickups, which recently has seen share of interest erode due to shoppers being pulled into similarly sized crossovers and SUV segments.”

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 17 million in-market auto shoppers who are researching vehicles across the company’s portfolio of automotive publishers.

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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