SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

Although eight of the 10 fastest-growing brands in terms of attracting female buyers are from the Big 3, one particular European automaker dwarfs all other brands when it comes to female ownership, according to Edmunds.com.

Topping the site’s list of auto brands that have seen the largest gains in the percentage of sales that went to women is Porsche.

In the first eight months of 2010, 19 percent of Porsche buyers were women. In the same period of 2011, that proportion has jumped to 23 percent, which is a 21.1-percent hike.

Buick was next with an 8.6-percent jump, as its female buyers climbed from a 35-percent share to 38 percent. Dodge was third (up 7.4 percent) followed by Chevrolet (up 6.5 percent) and Infiniti (up 6.1 percent).

Rounding out the top 10 were five domestic brands: GMC (up 3.8 percent), Ford (up 3.2 percent), Lincoln (up 2.9 percent), Jeep (up 2.8 percent) and Chrysler (up 2.7 percent).

“One thing that these 10 brands have in common is that their shares of female buyers all fall below the industry average of 39 percent,” stated Edmunds.com senior analyst Jessica Caldwell. “It’s smart for these brands to develop new and refreshed products that have a stronger appeal with women so that they don’t miss out on an important part of the market.”

The 39-percent share for women buyers in the industry that Caldwell referred to is basically the same as a year ago, Edmunds noted.

On the opposite side of the equation, the bulk of the heaviest drop-offs were among import brands. Mini was down 4.2 percent proportionally, as its percentage of women buyers dipped from 48 percent to 46 percent.

Audi followed (down 2.9 percent), with Volvo, Volkswagen and Hyundai — each of which were down 2.3 percent — not far behind.

Edmunds said it gathered the information for the study by taking new-vehicle registration data for the first eight months of both 2010 and 2011, which Polk provided. To be included in the analysis, brands had to have sold at least 1,500 vehicles to women in the U.S. during each period.

To illustrate its data, Edmunds provided the following table:

Biggest Increases in U.S. Female Market Share By Brand

Rank
 Brand Female Share Jan.-Aug. 2010
 Female Share
Jan.-Aug. 2011
 Proportional Change
1 Porsche 19 percent 23 percent 21.1 percent
2 Buick 35 percent 38 percent 8.6 percent
3 Dodge 27 percent 29 percent 7.4 percent
4 Chevrolet 31 percent 33 percent 6.5 percent
5 Infiniti 33 percent 35 percent 6.1 percent
6 GMC 26 percent 27 percent 3.8 percent
7 Ford 31 percent 32 percent 3.2 percent
8 Lincoln 35 percent 36 percent 2.9 percent
9 Jeep 36 percent 37 percent 2.8 percent
10 Chrysler 37 percent 38 percent 2.7 percent
  Overall
 39 percent
 39 percent 0 percent