Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) electric cars are the most preferred car in some parts of the United States, according to a survey from Kelley Blue Book. The survey highlights the popularity of Tesla cars even though the vehicles do not show up on the road frequently.
Tesla popular in the West
The survey asked questions of more than 10 million users on its KBB.com website to find out the most-popular and the least-popular automotive brands by region. Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) was the most preferred car in the western part of the United States, though it is not the most popular in the southern regions and lagged significantly behind in popularity in the east.
According to Kelley, the most preferred brands in a particular region have their facility or headquarters in that area, which indicates that the preference of some of the buyers is linked with the brand’s local ties.
Arthur Henry, analyst at Kelley Blue Book, said that car brands popular in one region are ignored in another. The analyst added that the Western region prefers fuel efficient brands with style like Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Scion, but Southern and Northeast counterparts overlook these cars. In the South, the buyers are more inclined towards the brands that are manufactured in the same region. Midwest shoppers are largely drawn towards the brand that has its headquarter or facility in their own backyard.
Region-wise preference
The brands’ scores measure relative popularity in different regions, not total sales. Shoppers in the Southern region are more likely to go in for a ‘traditional’ luxury brand such as Infiniti (17%) over other brands, possibly because of Infiniti’s headquarters in Tennessee. Contrary to the South, in the Midwest 64% of the population surveyed preferred Chrysler vehicles and 56% of Northeast shoppers preferred Subaru over other brands.
The survey revealed that buyers in the Mid-Western region go for the domestic, non-luxury brands overlooking the imported luxury brands such as Mercedes, BMW and other compact luxury cars.
The southern region is known as the truck belt in America, which is why shoppers in the region prefer RAM models more compared to any other region in the United States, according to Karl Brauer, a senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book. Southern consumers prefer ruggedness and durability, which is provided by the RAM truck brands.
