Toyota RAV-4 Named “Top Overall Future Majority Vehicle”
The Ninth Annual Diversity Volume Leadership Awards (DVL) were recently presented by the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD) and S&P Global Mobility during the awards program at the 2024 Annual NAMAD Conference at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel. The DVL Awards celebrates brands that are driving sales leadership with ethnic consumers. The program was sponsored by American Honda.
U.S. Census statistics predict that by the year 2045, ethnic minorities will be the “Future Majority.”
“The ‘Future Majority’ reality continued to be the driving theme throughout this year’s Awards ceremony, as the monetary impact of minority vehicle buyers is a significant part of dealer sales. So, it’s very important that through the DVL Awards, we continue to bring awareness to the lack of diversity-targeted marketing that has improved, but that still remains a critical issue in the automotive industry,” said NAMAD Chairman Damon Lester.
During the Awards Program and Conference, NAMAD and S&P Global Mobility partnered to celebrate brands that are driving sales leadership with ethnic consumers. The conference program also addressed and educated the industry about the necessity of a dealer body that reflects the United States’ increasingly diverse population.
Winners of the prestigious DVL Awards demonstrated the highest new retail vehicle registrations with ethnic consumers. This year’s awards were based on an analysis of data from S&P Global Mobility representing the period July 2023-June 2024.
“The DVL Awards are representative of the commitment of automakers to ensure their vehicles are marketed to diverse consumers,” said Marc Bland, Chief Diversity Officer, S&P Global Mobility. “In just over twenty years, the ‘Future Majority’ reality will be upon us. We’re honored to recognize these top models and their respective brands in support of their efforts to reach the rapidly changing demographic of vehicle consumers.”
This year, 24 different brands were finalists for DVL Awards, with 11 different brands receiving awards in the following categories:
- Fourteen Non-Luxury Awards
- Ten Luxury Awards
- One Non-Luxury Hybrid Award
- One Luxury Hybrid Award
- One Non-Luxury Battery Electric Vehicle
- One Luxury Battery Electric Vehicle Award
- Top Overall Future Majority Luxury Vehicle
- Top Overall Future Majority Vehicle
The 2024 awards saw new categories for Battery Electric Vehicles, created to accommodate the growing consumer interest in electric vehicles in the US market.
This year, NAMAD and S&P Global Mobility honored Toyota Motor North America’s RAV4with the “Top Overall Future Majority Vehicle” DVL Award, one of sixteen awards presented to Toyota/Lexus during the program. This award is the most sought-after DVL Awards honor for automotive brands dedicated to driving sales leadership within Asian, Native American, Hispanic and African American car buyers combined.
Following is the complete list of this year’s DVL Award-winning models:
NON-LUXURY AWARDEES
Sub-Compact Car: Nissan Versa
Compact Car: Honda Civic
Mid-Size Car: Toyota Camry
Sport and Mid-Size Sports Car: Ford Mustang
Full-Size Car: Dodge Charger
Sub-Compact Utility: Honda HR-V
Compact CUV and SUV: Toyota RAV4
Mid-Size CUV and SUV: Toyota Highlander
Mid-Size Van: Toyota Sienna
Compact to One Ton Van: Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
Compact to Mid-Size Pickup Truck: Toyota Tacoma
Three-Quarter to One-Ton Pickup Truck: Chevrolet Silverado
Half-Ton Pickup Truck: Chevrolet Silverado
Full-Size SUV: Chevrolet Tahoe
Non-Luxury Battery Electric Vehicle: Volkswagen ID4
Non-Luxury Hybrid: Toyota RAV-4
LUXURY AWARDEES
Luxury Sub-Compact Car: Acura Integra
Luxury Compact Car: Lexus IS
Luxury Mid-Size Car: Lexus ES
Luxury Full-Size Car: Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Luxury Exotic, Prestige Full-Size and Sports Car: Chevrolet Corvette
Luxury Sub-Compact CUV: BMW X1
Luxury Compact CUV: Lexus NX
Luxury Mid-Size CUV: Lexus RX
Luxury Mid-Size SUV: BMW IX
Luxury Full-Size SUV: BMW X7
Luxury Hybrid: Lexus NX
Luxury Battery Operated EV: BMW I4
TOP AWARDEES
Top Overall Future Majority Luxury Vehicle: Lexus RX
Top Overall Future Majority Vehicle: Toyota RAV4
The cumulative list of Award-winners is as follows:
- Toyota/Lexus – Sixteen (16) DVL Awards
- General Motors (Chevrolet) – Four (4) DVL Awards
- Mercedes-Benz – Two (2) DVL Awards
- Honda/Acura – Two (2) DVL Awards
- Nissan – One (1) DVL Award
- Stellantis (Dodge) – One (1) DVL Award
- Ford – One (1) DVL Award
- BMW – Four (4) DVL Awards
- Volkswagen – One (1) DVL Award
It is important to note that several finalists that did not receive awards were still extremely competitive contenders. For example, in the Compact Car segment, the Honda Civic outpaced the Toyota Corolla by less than 100 registrations. Also important to note is that part of the criteria for DVL Award recognition is having an active dealer network, which eliminated Tesla from consideration. Lucid received its first nomination this year, with the Lucid Air garnering third place in the Full-Size Luxury Car segment.
Award winners have proven their marketing strategies are working toward the goal of reaching the Future Majority for 2024 and beyond.
For information on National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers visit: www.namad.org
SOURCE National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD)
PRNewswire
