Fleets will be acquiring mid-size, middle-of-the-line cars for '78 as the trend to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars continues, according to the National Association of Fleet Administrator's (NAFA) annual new car acquisition survey.
A total of 140 commercial fleets operating 85,238 passenger cars plus 13 government fleets with 16,152 cars and eight public utility fleets with 2,195 passenger cars participated in the survey.
The fleets' favorite choice, the mid-size, will account for Percent of new car orders, with small cars taking only four percent and large cars getting the remaining 15-percent. NAFA defines a mid-size car as having a wheelbase between 106 and 114 inches and weighing between 3,000 and 3,500 pounds.
The survey also revealed that almost two out of every three fleet cars ordered for '78 will have four doors and the middle-line cars will take 58-percent of the orders.
The mid-size cars have posted an eight percent increase over last year's survey in which 73-percent of the fleets responding indicated they would go with the mid-size car. Small car preference has declined one percent over last year while the remaining seven-percent increase in mid-size cars came directly from a decrease in large cars, which have fallen from 22 to 15-percent.
In addition to the public utility and government categories, the NAFA survey is broken down further to include fleets in the following categories: chemical and petroleum, drug and cosmetic, food and beverage, insurance, manufacturing-consumer, manufacturing-industrial, and "other."
Public Utility Fleets
In the public utility group, eight fleets operating 2,195 passenger cars responded. The current fleet is composed of 19-percent small cars; 40-percent mid-size cars and 41-percent large cars. During the 1978 model year, the group plans to acquire 514 cars, 36-percent being small cars, 46-percent mid-size and 18-percent large cars.
In keeping with the utility image, only one percent of the cars in use are top-of-the-line models, while 48-percent are mid-size and the bulk of the fleet (51-percent) is small cars. Of the cars that will be acquired during 1978, 50-percent will be small, 46-percent will be mid-size, and four percent will be large, a trend that reflects the current makeup of utility fleets.
There will be no two-door models acquired by utility fleets, with 65-percent of the cars ordered having four doors and the remainder being station wagons. Two fleets responding indicated they were repositioning their fleets to smaller cars, with one making the switch from large to midsize vehicles and the other from mid-size to small.
One fleet indicated it would use standard transmissions in '78 and another fleet said it would use six-rather than eight-cylinder engines. In the five fleets ordering large cars for '78, all will have the new units air conditioned and four of the five will specify posi-traction.
All the small cars ordered by four fleets responding in this category will have automatic transmissions, but only one fleet will have power disc brakes. Two have specified power steering and two indicate a preference for air conditioning.
Government Fleets
The government group consists of law enforcement and general service agencies operating 13 fleets totaling 16,152 units. Currently eight percent are small cars, 63-percent are mid-size and 29-percent are large cars. This group plans to acquire 4,449 new cars, the majority being mid-size cars at 70-percent, followed by large cars at 24-percent and small cars at six percent.
Like the utility group, the government group plans to acquire very few top-of-the-line models with only one percent in that category. Middle-of-the-line units will make up 39-percent of the acquisitions and 60-percent will be at the bottom of the line.
Currently top-of-the-line models comprise two percent of the fleets, 44-percent are middle-line and a majority at 54-percent are bottom-of-the-line models.
Four-door models will make up the bulk of the acquisitions at 86-percent while eight percent will be two-door models and six percent will be station wagons. A total of 115 vans will be ordered by 10 of the fleets during the 1978 model year. Three fleets indicated they would make major changes in car sizes, two switching from large to midsize cars and one moving up from mid-size to large vehicles. One fleet in the group said it permitted employees to choose the units they want to drive while four fleets indicated that they allow extra equipment to be added to the base car. That privilege, however, is usually extended to executives only.
Chemical and Petroleum Fleets
The category of chemical and petroleum respondents is also comprised of 13 fleets and operates a total of 11,038 units.
According to the survey, these fleets plan to acquire 3,292 cars during 1978. Currently the fleets are composed of two percent small cars, 78-percent mid-size and 20-percent large cars. Of the new cars to be acquired, less than one-half of one percent will be small cars, while 85-percent will be mid-size and 15-percent large cars. Only one fleet reported it was changing car size and that fleet will reposition from mid-size to small cars.
This group plans to order 134 vans during '78, an indication of the continuing strength of the light truck market. Four-door vehicles dominate the fleet acquisitions with 94-percent, followed by two-door models and station wagons with two percent each.
The current fleets' composition is eight percent top-of-the-line models, 87-percent in the middle and five percent at the bottom. For '78, the ordering will be a little heavier among the top-of-the-line models at 21-percent, with the middle-line cars taking most of the orders at 75-percent and the bottom models taking only four percent.
Five fleets report they are changing engine sizes, with three going to six-cylinder power plants and two going with the small V8s. Ten fleets allow drivers to select the make of car they drive, one allows model selection while two allow the drivers to select power plants.
Cruise control will be standard on all fleet cars in six fleets, while four fleets are using the device on only the large cars. All cars acquired in this group will have radios, power steering, automatic transmissions, steel-belted tires and tinted glass. Four fleets have ordered vinyl roofs on all units and only one fleet did not specify power disc brakes on mid-size cars.
Drug and Cosmetic Fleets
A total of 10,959 cars are operated by the 20 fleets responding in the drug and cosmetic group. These fleets plan to acquire 5,352 new cars during the 1978 model year, with small cars getting only a two-percent share, mid-size cars coming out on top with 83-percent and a 15-percent share for large cars. Currently the fleets are operating about 85-percent mid-size, 15-percent large and only one-tenth of one percent small cars.
Six fleets plan to reposition their fleets, with three switching from large to mid-size vehicles and three moving in the opposite direction from mid-size to large cars. Two-door models post a healthy showing in this group with a 45-percent share. Four-door models are running a close second at 41-percent and nine percent will be station wagons.
Top-of-the-line models are popular in this group, taking a 50-percent share of the cars in use. Middle-line units make up 49-percent of the fleets, while one percent are bottom-line models. New car orders will be running about 48-percent top-line and 57-percent middle-line in this group. Among this class of respondents there are no plans to bottom-of-the-line cars for '78.
A total of 40 vans will be ordered by five fleets in this category for 1978. Thirteen fleets are planning changes in engines, with 10 fleets going to six cylinders and three planning to use small V8s. One fleet reported ordering standard transmissions.
Six of the seven fleets ordering large-size cars will equip them with steel-belted radial tires and air conditioning. Two will specify vinyl roofs on all units, but only one is ordering cruise control.
Mid-size cars going to 18 of the fleets will have power disc brakes, power steering, automatic transmissions, and steel-belted radial tires as standard equipment. All but one of these fleets are ordering all cars with air conditioning, while three are going with vinyl tops and four will have cruise control.
All but one of the fleets in this group give the driver a limited choice of make and model with 15 allowing drivers to order additional equipment at their own expense.
Food and Beverage
There are 20 fleets in the food and beverage group which operate a total of 14,582 units. Of the current fleet, again small cars only make up a small part at two percent, while mid-size cars are dominant with 81-percent and large cars account for 17-percent.
These fleets will acquire a total of 6,972 cars during the upcoming model year, with 85-percent of them being midsize, 12-percent large cars and the remaining three percent small cars.
Three fleets indicated they would be changing car sizes, one from mid-size to large, another from large to mid-size and the third from mid-size to small cars. One fleet said it is going to experiment with large station wagons in '78.
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One fleet in the group said it was planning to use standard transmissions in the 1978 cars it will acquire, and two fleets reported planning changes in their air conditioning policy.
A total of 160 vans will be acquired by this group and one fleet said it currently operates 150 vans not included in the passenger car total.
The top choice in model style for this group is the four-door which will comprise 78-percent of the new car orders. Two-door models will be second with 18-percent and four percent will be station wagons.
A total of 46-percent of the new car orders will be top-of-the-line models, while the middle models will get 49-percent. Bottom-of-the-line models will account for four percent of the orders. Currently, this group's vehicles are 45-percent top-line, 52-percent middle-line and three percent bottom-line cars.
Nine fleets indicated that they would be switching engine sizes in the new model year to six-cylinder engines and another fleet said it is going to the small V8s.
Steel-belted radial tires will be standard on all large cars being acquired by 11 fleets, air conditioning will be on all units of 10 fleets and none are ordering cruise control.
The 17 fleets ordering mid-size cars have specified power steering and automatic transmissions as standard equipment, 16 will order the units with power disc brakes and steel-belted radial tires and 13 fleets will have these cars air conditioned. Four fleets are ordering vinyl roofs and one fleet will use cruise control on its mid-size units.
Manufacturing-Consumer Fleets
A total of 20 fleets responded in the manufacturing-consumer group representing 10,721 passenger cars, a figure comprised of four percent small cars, 59-percent mid-size and 37-percent large cars. A total of 4,393 units will be ordered by this group, with mid-size units again leading at 78-percent followed by large cars at 18-percent and small cars at four percent.
While only one fleet is moving from mid-size to large cars, four fleets will downsize, with two going from large to mid-size and the other two moving from large to a combination of mid-size and small cars. Ten fleets in this group reported they will order a total of 134 vans, and one fly indicated it was including 50 pick-up trucks in its passenger car orders.
Predictably, four-door models came out on top with 65-percent of the new car orders. Two-door models came in second in this group at 23-percent with 14-percent station wagons and two percent sport models.
Currently fleets in this group are composed of 50-percent top-of-the-line models, 44-percent middle-line and only six percent bottom-of-the-line. The trend toward top-line cars will reverse a bit during 1978 with 41-percent top-line orders as compared with 51-percent middle-line and nine percent bottom-of-the-line models.
A total of 12 fleets will be changing engines this model year with eight going to six cylinders and the remainder to the small V8s.
Of the 13 fleets ordering large cars, 12 specify steel-belted radial tires, 10 will order all units with air conditioning, four will ask for vinyl roofs and four for cruise control.
Mid-size units ordered by 18 fleets will have radios, power steering, and automatic transmissions, and all but one of the fleets will have power disc brakes. All but two ordered the cars with steel-belted radial tires and only one of the 18 fleets did not specify factory-installed air conditioning.
Insurance Fleets
The largest number of units in the survey - a total of 21,390 passenger cars - are operated by the 26 fleets responding in the insurance category. The bulk of these cars are mid-size at 73-percent. Small cars outnumber large cars 14-percent to 13-percent.
This group indicated that it plans to acquire 9,355 new cars of which nine percent will be small, 84-percent will be mid-size and seven percent will be large cars.
Five fleets in the group said they plan to make major changes with three downsizing from large to mid-size, one moving from mid-size to small and another moving back to the mid-size from small cars.
Just as the mid-size cars comprise the bulk of the fleets in this group, middle-of-the-line models account for 72-percent of the cars in use, with 18-percent at the top end and 10-percent at the bottom. Top-of-the-line unit ordering will increase to 27-percent, middle-cars will get about 69-percent and four percent of the orders will go for bottom-of-the-line models.
Six fleets indicated they will order a total of 56 vans for the 1978 model year. Eleven fleets said they will go with six cylinder engines, while one fleet will order the small V8s.
Two-door models will be more prevalent among the new car orders at 40-percent, but four-door models will remain the favorite taking 59-percent of the orders. Only one percent will be station wagons.
The large cars ordered by eight fleets in the group will have air conditioning, three of the fleets will have vinyl roofs and four fleets will have cruise control.
All but one of the 24 fleets ordering mid-size cars are specifying air conditioning and power steering. A total of 22 fleets are ordering the mid-size models with power disc brakes and 21 fleets are ordering automatic transmissions. Seven fleets are looking towards vinyl roofs and four are considering cruise control. Power brakes and automatic transmissions will be standard on the small cars ordered by five fleets.
Manufacturing-Industrial Fleets
The manufacturing-industrial group is made up of 27 fleets operating 13,865 passenger cars. The current composition of the group's fleet is one percent small cars, 65-percent mid-size and 34-percent large cars.
The fleets responding in this group plan to acquire a total of 5,775 new cars of which 74-percent will be midsize, 25-percent large cars and only one percent small cars.
Four fleets indicated that they plan to switch to midsize vehicles and 14 fleets reported plans to acquire a total of 249 vans.
The new car orders will include 65-percent four-door models, 25-percent two-door and 10-percent will be station wagons. Top-of-the-line models account for 45-percent of the current total in this group with 49-percent middle-line and six percent bottom-line. Of the cars to be acquired, 43-percent will be top-line, 48-percent will be middle-line and nine percent will be bottom-of-the-line. Of the 13 fleets indicating an engine change, 12 said they are going to try six-cylinder power plants and one is making the switch to the small V8s.
The mid-size cars that will be ordered by 23 of the fleets in this group will have radios, power disc brakes, power steering and automatic transmissions as standard equipment. All but two fleets specified steel-belted radial tires and all but one fleet will have air conditioning in all units. Cruise control and vinyl tops on all units will be ordered by eight fleets.
Of the 14 fleets ordering large cars, 11 will ask for steel-belted radial tires, 13 will order air conditioning and five will include vinyl roofs and cruise control.
"Other" Fleets
The "other" group in the NAFA survey consists of agriculture, farm supplies, financial services and engineering firms. This group of respondents represents 14 fleet operating 2,683 cars. In this group, one percent of the units are small cars, 66-percent are mid-size and 33-percent are large cars.
A total of 1,077 vehicles will be acquired by this group in the '78 model year with small cars making one of their strongest showings at 11-percent, large cars being the favorite at 52-percent and mid-size getting 37-percent.
One fleet indicated a change from mid-size to large cars, another is moving from large to mid-size units and a third from mid-size to small models.
Top-of-the-line models currently make up 29-percent of the total units in this group with mid-size listed at 71-percent. None of the fleets report having bottom-of-the-line units. Plans for '78 call for 26-percent top-line and 74-percent middle-line units.
Four-door models in the "other" group will be the top choice for '78 with that style taking 53-percent of the orders. Two-door models follow at 30-percent and 16-percent will be station wagons. Three fleets are planning a switch in '78 to six-cylinder engines and two fleets plan to move to a small V8.
Of the 10 fleets ordering large cars, eight will have steel-belted radial tires and nine will air condition the units. Three fleets will order vinyl tops and three will have cruise control.
Steel-belted radial tires, power steering and air conditioning will be standard equipment on mid-size cars ordered by eight of the fleets in this category, seven fleets will equip these models with power disc brakes and automatic transmissions and five fleets are ordering vinyl roofs. Cruise control will be standard on all mid-size units in three fleets.
Nine of the fleets in this group give the operator a choice of make or model.
The survey reveals that two-door models have declined from a high of 40-percent of fleet orders in 1975 to 30-percent in 1978. Four-door models, however, will get 64-percent of the orders, a position not held since 1976. This points to the mid-size four-door as the standard fleet car for 1978.
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