Gas prices hitting SUV sales?

Survey of new vehicle prices finds large SUV prices off, while compact car prices up.

Prices for large sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks fell in April while prices for smaller cars rose, when corrected for options and other factors, according to autos Website Edmunds.com. This suggests that car buyers are becoming more concerned with fuel economy in the face of rising gas prices, according to the Website.

The Edmunds Price Index for new vehicles (EPI-N) increased from 99.9 to 100.3 overall in April, an increase of 0.4 points. The EPI-N for large SUV's declined 1.5 percent, while the index number for large trucks dropped 1.2 percent. For compact cars, meanwhile, the Edmunds index number for all vehicles rose 2.4 points.

The EPI is designed to measure average changes in the amount paid for new vehicles with fixed sets of options. Over the past year, the EPI-N increased 2.4 points overall.

During April of last year, the EPI-N for large SUVs went up about a point while the figure for large trucks went up by three-quarters of a point. The EPI-N for compact cars went up just 0.35 of a point during the same month last year.

"Although we have yet to see a flood of consumers trading in their large SUVs or trucks for smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, our analysis of 16 different vehicle segments clearly displays a relative weakening of demand for larger, less fuel-efficient vehicles," said Dr. Jane Liu, Vice President of Data Analysis for Edmunds.com.

Art Spinella of CNW Market Research, a company that tracks automotive sales trends, said that he doubts consumers are shying away from larger vehicles just because of gas mileage.

"The impact of gas prices is not on the size of the vehicles or the type of vehicles but the powertrain being selected," he said.

For example, he said, a consumer might buy a vehicle with a six-cylinder engine rather than upgrading to an optional eight-cylinder engine.

Gas prices have continued to climb in recent weeks as crude oil hit 13-year highs. Thursday Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said that rising gas prices is a concern for the world's largest retailer.

The AAA daily survey of gas prices hit another record Thursday as the average price of a gallon of unleaded reached $1.95, up from $1.93 a gallon Wednesday. California had the highest state average at $2.271 a gallon, while South Carolina had the cheapest average at $1.792