Mitchell International, Inc. today released the third quarter 2008 edition of its Industry Trends Report (ITR). This edition’s Quarterly Feature, "The Average Severity of Hybrid versus Gas Vehicles," by Mitchell’s Senior Director, Information Services, Jamison Day, discusses the recent results of a study conducted by Mitchell that examines the differences in estimates and average severities between traditional, gasoline-powered vehicles and their hybrid counterparts.
"The ever increasing gasoline prices have effected virtually every aspect of our economy, including increasing the demand for hybrid vehicles," said Day. "Given their increasing popularity, we thought it would be interesting to see how the hybrid’s average estimate amounts compared and explore what might be driving the differences."
The study showed that hybrid severities were consistently higher across different states and found that both parts and labor costs were higher for the hybrid vehicle repairs, Day added.
Other ITR findings include:
At $13,400, the average Actual Cash Value (ACV) of vehicles appraised for collision losses during Q2-2008 was $177 more than in Q2-2007, and also reflected slightly older vehicles.
In Q2-2008, the initial average gross appraisal value for comprehensive coverage estimates processed through Mitchell servers was $2,373 — a 13-percent increase, compared to $2,100 in Q2-2007. Applying the prescribed development factor for this data set produces an adjusted value of $2,367 — an increase of $273 over the same period last year.
The ITR can be downloaded in PDF format at www.mitchell.com.
