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Midwest Consumers Ready to Buy or Lease Vehicles
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- One consumer in five in the Midwest plans to buy or lease a vehicle this year, Huntington Bank’s new Midwest Economic Index has found.
In its first survey of consumers in the Midwest, Huntington Bank’s economics department learned that more than one in five, or 21%, are considering the purchase or lease of a car, truck or motorcycle this year.
Echo Research conducted 2,133 online interviews with adult consumers between Nov. 12 and 20, 2012, in the markets Huntington Bank serves. The margin of error was +/- 2.1% with a 95% confidence level. Echo, a member of the Ebequity Group, has a 23-year track record in communications research.
Results of the survey, conducted last November, were released Tuesday. All respondents live in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, West Virginia or western Pennsylvania. The Midwestern economy has outpaced the national economy since the recovery began in 2009 and Huntington economists continue to describe consumers’ mood as one of “cautious optimism about the U.S. economy.”
Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed, 66%, said they will not buy or lease another vehicle this year and 14% were undecided. The likelihood of higher car sales is based not only on increased confidence in the economy but the aging fleet of cars and trucks Americans drive. As of June 2011, the average passenger car on the road was 11.1 years old and the average light truck 10.4 years.
These statistics suggest many Americans have found, or are finding, it makes more sense to buy a new car or truck than try to keep them going. “With so many drivers needing to replace their aging vehicles, [according to an automotive research firm that] has forecast the sale of 15.3 million light vehicles in 2013, which is a 5.6% increase over sales in 2012.”
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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