Auto Remarketing Today reports that an analysis based on ComScore Media Metrix Search data found that nearly 700,000 Americans searched online for fuel-efficiency related terms in March. These consumers conducted more than 1.5 million searches for terms such as gas prices, hybrid cars, Toyota Prius and gas mileage. The number of consumers searching for fuel-efficiency terms grew by 112 percent from February to March. Although hybrids represent a small segment in the overall market (88,000 hybrids sold in 2004, according to J.D. Power and Associates), ComScore’s data found that 300,000 Americans submitted hybrid-related search terms in March.
Despite the increase in online searches for fuel-efficiency terms, consumer interest in sport-utility vehicles has remained steady. ComScore, discovered that more than 1 million Americans conducted 2.5 million SUV-related searches in March. “We’ve consistently found that online search activity describes the dynamics of consumer demand, especially for high consideration products such as automobiles,” said James Lamberti, vice president of ComScore Networks, a research firm in Reston, VA.
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