TrueCar.com released a study based on Hispanic car-buying behavior in 2010 that shows import brands and models dominating the top 10 list. Hispanic car-buyers in 2010 made up seven percent of all new vehicle retail purchases in the U.S.

“The Hispanic market is very critical for automakers, being the fastest growing minority group in the U.S.,” said Jesse Toprak, Vice President of Industry Trends and Insights at TrueCar.com. “The domestic automakers have some work ahead of them as the Asian brands have a stronghold on Hispanic car buyers.”

Some of the key findings of the TrueCar.com study include:

  • The brand Hispanic car-buyers preferred most was Toyota (19.5 percent), followed by Honda (13.7 percent), and Nissan (11.9 percent). Domestic brands rounded out the top five with Chevrolet (9.4 percent) and Ford (9.3 percent).
  • Eight of the top 10 models purchased by Hispanic car-buyers were Japanese.  The top five vehicles purchased were the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, and Ford F Series.
  • The brands with the highest growth among Hispanic buyers in 2010, compared to 2009 (with sales above 1,000 units) were Buick, Hyundai, Cadillac, Kia and GMC.
  • In 2010, among Hispanic buyers (age 18-34) when compared to all buyers from that age demographic, Mitsubishi was the most popular brand, followed by Nissan, Toyota, Suzuki and Honda.
  • The most popular vehicles in 2010 among Hispanic buyers (age 18-34) when compared to all buyers in that age group, placed the Nissan Sentra at the top of the list followed by the Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Nissan Pathfinder and Scion tC.


TrueCar.com also examined the most current market prices and listed discounts for all of the brands and specific models in the Top 10 for Hispanic car-buyers.  Below are the top 10 brands for all Hispanic car buyers and also for young Hispanic car-buyers:

Top Brands Purchased in 2010
by Hispanic Car Buyers

Top Growth Brands in 2010
by Hispanic Car Buyers

Brand

% Market Share

Current
Discount %
from MSRP

Brand

% Growth
in Sales (YoY)

Current
Discount %
from MSRP

Toyota

19.5%

7%

Buick

76.8%

6%

Honda

13.7%

5%

Hyundai

48.2%

6%

Nissan

11.9%

10%

Cadillac

42.0%

4%

Chevrolet

9.4%

8%

Kia

40.3%

6%

Ford

9.3%

7%

GMC

28.2%

8%

Hyundai

4.2%

6%

Acura

28.1%

8%

Dodge

3.4%

8%

Infiniti

24.6%

8%

Kia

3.0%

6%

Mazda

20.9%

8%

Volkswagen

2.9%

5%

Volkswagen

20.8%

5%

Mazda

2.8%

8%

Audi

20.3%

8%

Below are the top ten brands and models that had the highest percentage of young Hispanic buyers (age 18-34) when compared to all buyers (age 18-34) and their current market discounts from MSRP:

Top Brands for Young Hispanic Buyers

(Age 18-34) in 2010

Top Models for Young Hispanic Buyers

(Age 18-34) in 2010

Brand

% of Hispanic
Buyers

Current
Discount %
from MSRP

Makes/Models

% of Hispanic
Buyers

Current
Discount %
from MSRP

Mitsubishi

15.0%

10%

Nissan Sentra

19.5%

8%

Nissan

14.5%

10%

Toyota Yaris

18.9%

4%

Toyota

12.6%

7%

Nissan Versa

17.4%

6%

Suzuki

11.9%

11%

Nissan Pathfinder

17.3%

12%

Honda

11.0%

5%

Scion tC

16.8%

2%

MINI

10.3%

2%

Toyota Corolla

16.8%

7%

Mazda

10.3%

8%

Nissan Armada

16.6%

13%

BMW

10.2%

6%

Mitsubishi Lancer

15.9%

8%

Mercedes-Benz

9.9%

5%

Nissan Cube

15.9%

5%

Cadillac

9.8%

4%

Nissan Frontier

15.4%

13%

For more information, visit the TrueCar Truth Blog where the full tables are available.

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