SCHAUMBURG, Ill. -

Experian Automotive revealed two clear trends during its quarterly automotive insights Webinar this week. Drivers are keeping their vehicles longer, while more units on the road are not covered under a warranty.

While the warranty drop-off could lead to more activity in dealership service bays, Experian’s director of consulting and analytics Jeffrey Anderson wondered what it’s going to take to have growth in the sales showroom, too.

First, Anderson asked, “In terms of manufacturers, what kind of new must-have features or assets are being brought to market that are going to bring customers back to market more frequently? Since we have vehicles that are more dependable than ever, what are those key features?”

In discussing the questions, Anderson mentioned technological attributes such as what Ford has with SYNC that allows for Bluetooth connectivity and more. He also mentioned the overall styling models boast nowadays.

“Brands are certainly trying to differentiate themselves in that manner. It’s going to be really interesting to watch,” Anderson pointed out.

Another element Anderson emphasized was the vast of amount of compact vehicles that pack numerous features into a smaller package. He noted how Ford is pushing the Fiesta and Focus while Chevrolet is highlighting the Cruze and Volt while Chrysler soon will roll out the Fiat 500. Also in the mix are vehicles from foreign nameplates such as the Nissan Juke and LEAF as well as Mazda’s Mazda2

“A lot of these vehicles are going to have a high level of content over some of the small cars of the past,” Anderson stated. “The challenge is going to be there to attract new buyers into the segment.”

Whether it’s in the compact segment, full-size pickups or others, Experian contends owners are keeping their vehicles longer — no matter the nameplate.

For example, a buyer of a new Chevrolet or Honda keeps the vehicle for 70 months, according to Experian. The firm’s data also indicated a used-vehicle buyer of either of those brands keeps the unit for at least 40 months.

The length range of ownership for new-vehicle purchasers extends from more than 40 months on the lower end for Mini owners to more than 80 months for Volvo and Buick owners. Those brands represent the extremes among used-vehicle buyers, too, with the length swinging from just below 30 months to a little more than 50 months.

Since these owners are keeping their vehicles longer, Experian is seeing lower numbers of vehicles still covered under a manufacturer warranty.

The two brands with the most differential between vehicles in operation and units still covered by a warranty are Ford and Chevrolet. Experian calculated more than 40 million Ford vehicles were in operation as of the second quarter of this year but less than 10 percent of them still have warranty coverage. Among Chevy units, the total amount in operation came in above 35 million, but the percentage still under warranty was just above 10 percent.

Only two other nameplates in Experian’s data had similar scenarios — Toyota and Dodge.

“A large number of those vehicles are not covered under a warranty. That’s a great opportunity for those vehicles for volume in the aftermarket,” Anderson indicated.

Conversely, the opposite scenario is associated with Hyundai and Kia. Experian noted these brands composed more than five million of the vehicles in operation as of the second quarter of this year. However because of the generous factory warranties, Experian found close to 50 percent of Hyundai and Kia units on the road still have coverage.

“It’s going to be a while before we really optimize that population in terms of aftermarket opportunity,” Anderson stated.

All told, Experian determined 85.6 percent of vehicles in operation as of the second quarter of 2010 did not have factory warranty coverage. It’s a drop of more than 5.5 million units as compared to the same quarter of last year.

Trends in Vehicle Registrations

Experian revealed that while new-vehicle registrations have climbed steadily since the fourth quarter of last year, used-vehicle registrations have wavered up and down during the same span.

Year-over-year gains for new-vehicle registrations came in at 13.5 percent in the second quarter, according to Experian. That jump computed into almost 350,000 units. Anderson emphasized how encouraging that growth is since 2009 year-over-year comparisons revealed drops of more than 1 million units on a quarterly basis.

“Clearly, it seems like we’re turning a corner here,” Anderson declared.

Meanwhile after remaining flat year-over-year in the first quarter of the year, Experian found used-vehicle registrations slipped by 2.8 percent in the second quarter. Anderson didn’t think the decline should ring any alarms.

“It’s a very different trend than new vehicles, but the used-vehicle market isn’t falling down either. It’s still holding the course with prior quarters,” Anderson stressed.

Waning Interest in Hybrids

A specific vehicle segment Anderson gave more attention to in this quarterly Webinar had to do with a rising migration of buyers away from hybrids.

Experian found the percentage of hybrid vehicle disposers who bought another hybrid peaked during the middle two quarters of last year. In the second quarter, the percentage stood at 57.8 percent while in the third quarter it moved slightly higher 58.7 percent.

Since then, however, the drop has been significant.

Anderson pointed out the percentage stayed above 50 percent in the last quarter of 2009 but just barely. It came in at 50.2 percent.

Turning to the first quarter of this year, the percentage of hybrid vehicle disposers who bought another hybrid dropped to 42.7 percent. It’s the lowest mark in Experian’s data that went back to the third quarter of 2008.

Instead, Anderson indicated these buyers are dropping their hybrids for standard and lower mid-range cars, entry-level CUVs and small economy cars.

So why are buyers turning away from hybrids?

“Certainly a contributing factor to this could be efficiency increases in some of these vehicle segments, getting better gas mileage than perhaps two years ago,” Anderson speculated.

“The difference in gas mileage and efficiency between these vehicles and hybrid might not be enough to warrant staying with a hybrid,” he continued. “But certainly they’re staying within categories that are within a relatively fuel-efficient segment.”

Migration to Hyundai

When looking at market share, Experian specifically highlighted the positive net-owner migration of five major automakers to Hyundai. In the second quarter of this year, Hyundai did not lose any ground to General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Honda or Toyota. The Korean automaker gained from each one.

Experian broke down the Hyundai growth in terms of units captured during the second quarter. Hyundai gained 26,702 units from GM, 16,737 units from Chrysler, 14,545 units from Ford, 14,359 units from Toyota and 10,131 units from Honda.

Anderson reiterated the accuracy of Experian’s figures since they’re derived from enormous databases.

“All the data is not survey based; it’s not samples. We’re look 100 percent at purchase and registration activity in the marketplace,” Anderson insisted.