Online video a hit with car buyers

With sales of new cars slowing down across the U.S. there is still a glimmer of hope for the automobile sector in the form of online video.

by Helen Leggatt

Despite 2007 witnessing a 16% drop in new car sales in the U.S., and a forecast that sales of new cars will drop by around 1 million units this year, consumers continue to search out car brands online.

Clickz recently reported on a survey by Google and Compete which found that almost a quarter of a million searches for car brand names coupled with “video” were executed in March 2008. That’s a massive rise of 237% over the same period 12 months ago. Consumers are still searching for their preferred car brands online and, as has been noted in the past, continue to seek out multimedia demonstrations such as online video to satisfy their thirst for information about how a car looks, sounds and operates.

“It's the new portable TV and offers the sight, sound and motion automotive marketers crave to differentiate their product and to evoke consumer emotion,” said Bonita Stewart, Google’s automotive director, in an interview earlier this year. “In November 2007, U.S. consumers viewed more than 225 million auto/vehicle videos on YouTube. And several auto marketers have used online video to successfully launch new vehicles during the LA and Detroit auto shows, achieving views between 400,000 and 950,000 in a single day.”