Hyundai ranks highest in Total Value Awards with Equus leading all cars

Sat, 16 Nov 2013

Hyundai has taken the cake in Strategic Vision's 18th Total Value Index. The study, which looked at 45,952 new car buyers for 2013 models between September 2012 and March 2013, looks at the ownership experience along with the customer's views on the economic impact of the purchase in both the near and long term.

For the first time, Hyundai was ranked as the leading brand for Total Value, while its Equus luxury sedan scored both the highest overall score and took the crown in the luxury segment. Other Hyundai winners included the Sonata (tied with Fusion), Genesis Coupe and Elantra.

Ford scored quite well, too, taking the segment titles with the Fiesta Sedan (which tied with Elantra), Fusion, Focus Hatchback, Taurus (tied with Dodge Charger), Explorer and Lincoln Navigator. General Motors' cars and trucks managed to capture eight segments, while Toyota topped six areas.

Finally, Strategic Vision awarded a "Special Alternative Powertrain" award to the Tesla Model S. "The future of Total Value also plays heavily into the selling of more Alternative Powertrain fuel vehicles. The right product attributes, vehicle imagery and, of course, the customer's personal values will make the difference," said Alexander Edwards, the president of Strategic Vision.

Volkswagen has dominated the past few years of the Total Value Index, while last year's individual winner was the BMW Z4.

Best Value Cars Not Cheapest. That's Why Tesla Ranked 'Incredible,' Hyundai and Domestics Lead," says Strategic Vision

San Diego – Strategic Vision has released the results of its 18th annual and comprehensive Total Value IndexTM (TVI) study. "Value is absolutely not cheap; that's why you have incredibly performing models like Tesla Model S and its owners ranking it as one of the best Valued cars in America," explains Darrel Edwards, Ph.D. Executive Chairman and Founder of Strategic Vision. Strategic Vision's study of over 45,952 new car buyers examined the quality of the buyer's complete ownership experience and adds the customer's assessment of economic consequences from two perspectives: (1) Immediate – or what is influential today (e.g. total down payment including drive-off costs, warranty costs, special incentive programs, etc.), and (2) Expected – what they believe the costs that emerge over time will be (e.g. expected Reliability, expected Durability, Resale Value, Durability, Fuel Economy, etc.).

Hyundai Motor Corporation was for the first time in the study's 18-year history the Total Value leader among US industry automotive corporations. Hyundai Equus is both the Luxury Car leader and had the highest TVI score in the industry. Hyundai also produced segment winners with Sonata, Genesis Coupe and Elantra. Domestic manufacturers had the most models as Total Value segment leaders such as: Chevrolet Spark, Cruze, Volt and Traverse, and with Ford's Fiesta Sedan, Fusion, Focus Hatchback, Taurus, Explorer and Lincoln Navigator, as well as others. But still, imports such as Toyota had Value leaders like Prius c, Scion FR-S, FJ Cruiser and Tacoma.

"The future of Total Value also plays heavily into the selling of more Alternative Powertrain (APT) fuel vehicles. The right product attributes, vehicle imagery and, of course, the customer's personal values will make the difference," says Alexander Edwards, President of Strategic Vision. "Manufacturers have to merge the 'wind-tunnel results' and what's in the customer's hearts and minds, in order to motivate them into spending significantly more, because a vehicle has the right balance of styling, innovation, performance and environmental friendliness. Total Value captures this from a Value perspective and even becomes foretelling. Without Love, sales of APT fuel vehicles and others, will have to rely on incentives, subsidies and leasing options that make them more affordable, even for those buyers who earn over $150,000 annually," continues Edwards.

No individual brand had more Total Value leaders than Chevrolet and Ford with five each. The Total Value segment with the greatest opportunity of improving sales is among the Standard Pickups. Strategic Vision's other data indicates that there is substantial opportunity to sell a lot of trucks from this segment if manufacturers can merge the core value factors of Durability, Resale Value and Reliability with great motivating styling, the right Standard Equipment and "meaningful" Innovation, all with about 26 MPG or better (ideally speaking). This would launch a "sales-revival" to the likes of Full-Size Pickup sales.

Strategic Vision has presented Total ValueTM annually since 1995. Based on Strategic Vision's quantitative "ValueCentered®" NVES study, the Total Value Index was calculated from buyers who purchased 2013 models during September 2012 to March 2013. The following list contains the number one ranked vehicles in Total Value in their segments as rated by new vehicle buyers:

Micro Car Small Car
Small Multi-Function Car Small APT Car Mid-Size Car Mid-Size Multi-Function Car Mid-Size APT Car Life-Size Car Near-Luxury Car Luxury Car Luxury Multi-Function Car Specialty Coupe Premium Coupe Standard Convertible Premium Convertible/Roadster Standard Pickup Full-Size Pickup Heavy Duty Pickup Entry SUV Entry CUV Mid-Size SUV Mid-Size CUV Full-Size Utility Near-Luxury Utility Luxury SUV Luxury CUV Minivan Best Model
Chevrolet Spark 667
Fiesta Sedan/Cruze/Elantra Sedan (tie) 653/651/651
Ford Focus Hatchback 716 Toyota Prius C 630 Hyundai Sonata/Ford Fusion (tie) 686/686 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen 637 Chevrolet Volt 711 Ford Taurus/Dodge Charger 635/634 Cadillac ATS/Lexus ES 350 696/694 Hyundai Equus 804 Volvo XC70 621 Scion FR-S 708 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 727 MINI Cooper Roadster 726 Porsche Boxster 708 Toyota Tacoma 595 Chevrolet Avalanche 618 GMC Sierra 2500/3500 550 Toyota FJ Cruiser 623 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport 653 Ford Explorer 650 Chevrolet Traverse 648 GMC Yukon XL 608 Cadillac SRX 673 Lincoln Navigator 651 Porsche Cayenne 649 Toyota Sienna 627 Hyundai Equus 804

Special Award APT Tesla Model S 786 Best Full-Line Corporation Hyundai Motor Corporation 648
Strategic Vision is a research-based consultancy with over thirty-five years of experience in understanding the consumers' and constituents' decision-making systems for a variety of Fortune 100 clients, including most automotive manufacturers. Its unique expertise is in identifying consumers' comprehensive, motivational hierarchies, including the product attributes, personal benefits, value/emotions and images that drive perceptions and behaviors. J. Susan Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision, coined the phrase "True Innovators" and we measure this construct in the detailed Total Value Index report. The ValueCentered® psychology and research methods were defined by Dr. Darrel Edwards in 1968, and enhanced by co-founders J. Susan Johnson (1972) and Sharon Shedroff (1975). For further information, contact Alexander Edwards or Christopher Chaney at (858) 576-7141 or visit www.strategicvision.com.

By Brandon Turkus