There is no doubt that ceratin automotive brands have to benefit from the Volkswagen's troubles after the emissions scandal.
Full-line brands including Ford, Toyota and Honda are the most frequently cross-shopped against VW, according to market experts' data. Based on cross-shopping patterns, these brands could gain most if shoppers spurn VW: Ford would gain 26%, Honda - 23%, Toyota - 20%, 18% would go to BMW and 19% - to Mazda.
But Volkswagen might have enough in its arsenal to keep some of those shoppers in the fold. Some gasoline-powered VW models had a spike in cross-shopping after the diesel emissions scandal made headlines. For example about 40 percent of shoppers for the diesel-powered Golf SportWagen also browsed information about its gasoline-powered counterpart in the week ending Oct. 4, compared with about 33 percent before the scandal broke.
VW diesel buyers are more loyal than the average VW owner, with some 51 percent of VW diesel owners buying another diesel at trade-in time, compared with a 39 percent loyalty rate for the VW brand overall. When shoppers consider a VW diesel, their interest in other models rarely strays outside the brand. For example, for shoppers looking at the diesel-powered Jetta, other VW models account for the four most frequently cross-shopped models: 9.2 percent also look at the diesel Golf, and 28.5 percent check out the gasoline-powered Jetta.
Anyway it's clear that as long as VW can't sell diesels, some competing models and brands could stand to gain substantially.
