Women Drivers:Research

It's important that the design shouldn't alienate women, although Elite say 90% of their target audience is male, research shows that women could also be a potentially considerable customer base, maybe Elite needs to think about including them more to increase sales and R.O.I from the website.

WOMEN DRIVERS:

According to Marc Graham, president of Jiffy Lube International, anything done to attract female consumers is readily accepted by male customers. (Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, 2001)
http://www.aftermarket.org/Information/Aftermarket_Insider/women.asp

The overall percentage of female drivers is rising, while overall percentage of male drivers is decreasing.
- (VMR International, 2001)

- 52.2 percent of all new vehicle purchases are made by women -- up from 20% in 1984 and 40% in 1989.
-(Woman Motorist, 2000)
- 53% of used car sales can be attributed to women.
-(VMR International, 2001)

Women are more inclined to purchase cars that they consider fun-to-drive and that are well made. In contrast, men prefer vehicles that are a good value for the money, comfortable, have nice exterior styling, good fuel economy and display a certain image.
-(Edmunds, 2002)

Women and minorities typically pay 2% more for vehicles than do white men for the same cars at a dealership.
- (American Woman Road & Travel, 1997)
- http://www.roadandtravel.com/businessandcareer/careers/dyk_minoritycarbuy.htm

More than 65% of customers who take their vehicles to a repair shop for service and repair are women. Some repair industry experts estimate that the average may actually be closer to 80%. (VMR International, 2001)

As the trend toward more female customers in the repair shop continues, women will represent the majority of customers with whom technicians and service managers must communicate. (Automotive Service Councils of California, 1999)

-For the first time ever, sport utility vehicles have captured the overall market share lead among female new vehicle buyers. Women shopping for a new car or truck now favor SUVs over any other type of vehicle. Traditionally, women have preferred the popular midsize car. Comparatively, SUVs have led among male new vehicle buyers since 2000.-(R.L. Polk & Co., 2002)
http://www.polk.com/news/releases/2002_0106a.asp

-With regard to vehicle maintenance, 74% of women state they are responsible for making the maintenance decisions concerning their vehicles. 18% reported the decisions were shared and only 8% said they were responsible for none of the maintenance decisions. (Automotive Service Councils of California, 1999)

-Female customers tend to be more inquisitive and detail-oriented than their male peers. While most men tend to offer a diagnosis of the vehicle's problems, women, on the other hand, describe the symptoms. In addition, many male auto service & repair customers discuss major decisions with their wives before giving technicians the go-ahead. (Automotive Service Councils of California, 1999)

LINKS:

http://4wheeldrive.about.com/od/forwomenonly/

http://www.dohring.com/studies/96auto/s96afem.html

Female car enthusiast website:
http://www.greasergrrls.com/

http://www.greasergrrls.com/hall/

Survey: Women Buying More Luxury Cars and Pickup Trucks:
http://www.aiada.org/article.asp?id=23028

http://4wheeldrive.about.com/cs/forwomenonly/a/aa092202b_5.htm

http://www.womanmotorist.com/index.php/welcome