All-Wheel Drive Vehicle Sales On The Rise

30% OF CARS SOLD PROJECTED TO HAVE ALL-WHEEL DRIVE BY 2015

All-wheel drive (AWD) vehicle sales have been making huge strides in the automobile market lately. Just take a look at some of the statistics that The Detroit Free Press has turned up:

• About 50% of the CTS models Cadillac sells have AWD.
• Lincoln offers AWD on every model it sells – about one quarter of MKZ sedans sell with AWD, as do about three quarters of MKX crossovers.
• 80% of Audi sales in the US operate on the Quattro AWD system.
• Even BMW’s M5, a traditionally rear-wheel driven power house, might be going AWD. BMW has offered few details, but they have confirmed that an AWD version is in the cards.
• The increase in the sale of vehicles with AWD is so dramatic that Paul Lacy, a consultant of IHS Automotive, projects almost 1 in 3 vehicles sold in the US will have AWD by 2015.

As you might have noticed in these stats, it does look like much of the growth in AWD vehicle sales are in the luxury car market, but the prevalence of AWD in mainstream cars is on the rise, as well, Autoblog.com points out. The Ford Fusion, Chrysler 300 and all Subaru models currently offer it.

The draw of AWD is pretty obvious – you get the power and performance of rear-wheel drive and the control and added safety of front-wheel drive. What may be surprising is how many people are opting for it considering the added expense.

AWD can add more than $1,000 to a sticker price and take 1 mpg off of the projected fuel economy, Autoblog.com notes. With gas prices on the rise, one might expect buyers to be more concerned with fuel economy than most features, but that does not seem to be the case.

Performance and safety are taking priority here. Autoblog.com points out that this may be because buyers also associate AWD with advanced technology and overall vehicle sophistication and capability.

Soon, buyers might not have to choose between fuel economy and AWD, however. Engineers are working on lighter and more efficient AWD systems. For instance, Autoblog reports that Haldex is working on an electrically powered rear axle that combines AWD performance with hybrid-style technology to improve fuel economy by up to 20% in AWD vehicles.

Whatever Haldex is able to produce, you can rest assured that AWD won’t be losing its appeal, and sales will continue to rise.