Relationship of Automobile Characteristics to List Prices and Profit Margins -- A Preliminary Analysis

Details

• Creators:
  Cassella, M. A. ; Rabe, F. T.
• Corporate Contributors:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, (U.S.) ; United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Automobile industry
  • Automobiles
  • Motor vehicle industry
  • Fuel consumption
  • Manufacturing
  • Prices
  • Profits
  • Regression analysis
  • Regulations
  • Standards
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT-TSC-NHTSA-78-30
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• NTL Classification:
  NTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION ; NTL-ECONOMICS AND FINANCE-ECONOMICS AND FINANCE ; NTL-LAWS AND REGULATIONS-LAWS AND REGULATIONS ; NTL-LAWS AND REGULATIONS-U.S. Code of Federal Regulations
• Abstract:
  The report describes research on potential impacts of fuel economy regulations on the U.S. automobile industry. The study focused on the possible effects of auto "down-sizing" on manufacture profit margins. Historical price data were used to estimate variable profit margins. Estimated margins were strongly correlated with vehicle inertia weight and the price of the average options packages and, to a lesser extent, were negatively correlated with production volume. Regression analyses were also performed to relate list prices to vehicle characteristics believed to represent valuable attributes to consumers. The results, although ambiguous, suggest that vehicle roominess, fuel economy, and power-to-weight ratio are positive influences on prices. However, the extent and quality of the data employed in the analyses were too limited to support firm general conclusions. Further study is required to anticipate the long term effects of the fuel economy regulations on price.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  DOT-TSC-1311
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/10593/dot_10593_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.19 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Volpe Center
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:093363467b891f9a5ccf9fb810443ee7a80bb31d4cbd738a5a0eef221bef3b00