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Ford Edge appealing to older customers, says J.D. Power
Source: Canadian Driver
04-20-2007

Toronto, Ontario - The all-new 2007 Ford Edge, equipped with a 3.5-litre V6 engine, is appealing to Canadian customers who are older than buyers of all other competitive models except the Toyota Highlander, according to J.D. Power's Power Information Network (PIN). The average age of the Edge buyer in Canada during the past five months was 49 years, which is two years older than the typical Edge buyer in the U.S.

In Canada, the average Edge customer is also more likely to be male than buyers of all direct competitors.

Slightly more than 22 per cent of Edge transactions included a trade, and of them, 46 per cent were Ford-branded products. "This suggests that the Edge is bringing in many new vehicle buyers or secondary vehicle buyers, but its conquest rate is relatively low," the study says. "Also, one of every five trades coming in on the Edge is an 'upside down' situation, i.e., the payoff amount on the outstanding loan is greater than the actual market value of the trade."

The study also says that when compared to its competitors, 77 per cent of all Edge transactions have been leases, 13 per cent points higher than the next-closest competitor, and more than 25 percentage points higher than the segment average. "This is mostly due to a low lease rate program that Ford has been offering on 36-month leases for the Edge," the study says.