33 Percent of SUV Intenders are Discouraged by Gas
Prices and 18 Percent No Longer Interested

Clarkston, Mich. - Continually rising gas prices are likely to  cause a decrease in consumer demand for sport utility vehicles. This is according to a national study recently conducted by Clarkston, MI-based market research firm Intellitrends, LLC.

Fifty-one percent of those who own or are currently considering the purchase of an SUV said that the hikes in fuel prices would make them “less likely to” (33 percent) or “no longer” (18 percent) consider the purchase of an SUV.

“The surge in popularity that the SUV segment has experienced since the early 1990s could be greatly curtailed if our gas prices continue to hover about or above $2.00 a gallon,” said Keith Stone, executive vice president of Intellitrends. “It’s possible that the manufacturers might partially offset some of the decreased demand with more incentives, but even that could be negated if we see fuel costs continue to spike.”

The research, which was conducted in the last week of September, polled a nationally representative sample of 1036 American drivers. It’s margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent and confidence level is 97 percent.

Intellitrends, LLC is a full-service market and consumer research firm headquartered in Clarkston, Michigan.