"In a troubling sign for Detroit, import brands appear to be winning over the new generation of American car buyers, people between the ages of 18 and 27.
This group, known as Generation Y or "Millennials," is showing an even greater preference for Asian brands than the Gen X consumers before them, according to a study by TrueCar.com, a data firm in Santa Monica, Calif.
The car brands with the biggest proportion of Gen Y buyers were Japanese, South Korean and German, according to the study, conducted in 2009 and 2010. Those were tough years for Detroit's automakers and also for Japan's Toyota Motor Corp.
Toyota's Scion brand had the biggest share of Gen Y customers — 21.2 percent — followed by Mitsubishi, Mazda, Nissan, Volkswagen and Kia. Rounding out the top 10 brands were Hyundai, Honda, Toyota and Subaru. The highest-ranked domestic brand was Chrysler Group LLC's Jeep, in 12th place.
"Based on the data, it's something for the domestics to worry about," said Jesse Toprak, a market analyst at TrueCar.com. "It shows that some of these brands come across as more youthful or hip, or have better integrated use of technology"..............READ MORE
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