Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The impact of COVID-19 on car purchasing process
- Increasing importance of transportation and unchanged willingness to upgrade after COVID-19
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- Figure 1: Short, medium and long-term impact of COVID-19 on car purchasing process, December 2020
- The market
- The growth of total new passenger car sales volume is supported by rigid demands in 2020
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- Figure 2: Sales volume and growth rate of total new passenger car market, 2014-20 (est)
- The consumer
- Ownership of NEVs among surveyed respondents doubled in the last three years
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- Figure 3: Car energy types, by car purchasing time, September 2020
- Size upgrading demand still exists but has hit a bottleneck
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- Figure 4: Consideration process, by car purchase time, September 2020
- Practical specifications remain the most important, instead of designs and optional functions
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- Figure 5: Decisive factors, September 2020
- Specialised automotive websites remain as the most effective platform
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- Figure 6: Brand impression, by information channel, September 2020
- BMW leads in fashionable image and Toyota in good value for money
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- Figure 7: Brand image, September 2020
- Only less than four in 10 consumers stay within original budgets on car purchase
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- Figure 8: Upgrading aspects, September 2020
- Strong willingness to upgrade shows potential of car replacement market
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- Figure 9: Car purchasing attitudes, September 2020
- What we think
The Impact of COVID-19 on Car Purchasing Process
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- Figure 10: Short, medium and long-term impact of COVID-19 on car purchasing process, December 2020
- Key trends/shifts after COVID-19
- Trend 1: Consumers’ financial status stabilised and desires for cars are stimulated under policy support
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- Figure 11: Financial conditions, February-November 2020
- Trend 2: Rising importance of owning a car under the concern for safety and demand for convenience
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- Figure 12: Changes of success criterion (owning a car), by city tier, March vs. October 2020
- Trend 3: Desire for luxury cars drives continuous trading-up trend in the post-COVID-19 era
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- Figure 13: Desire for luxury cars, by monthly household income, November 2020
- Trend 4: Supply chain concerns will drive further localisation in auto manufacturing
- Trend 5: Online communications become more important
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- Figure 14: Broadcasting of AUTO Guangzhou 2020 by Sina Car x AutoHome
- Trend 6: Accelerating service digitalisation and connectivity
- Impact on the marketing mix
- Innovating online marketing to facilitate online car research
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- Figure 15: VR showroom for car in AutoHome
- Offering ‘healthy cars’ and remote/smart services
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- Figure 16: Mercedes me smartphone application with remote services
- Transferring the car into a safe home when portrait the image of cars
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Issues and Insights
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- Building memorable contact along with evolving consumer habits and interests
- The facts
- The implications
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- Figure 17: Micro-cinema Summer in the wild by BMW Motorcycles
- Differentiating the brand image beyond the product concept
- The facts
- The implications
- Managing the diversified expectation of car upgrading
- The facts
- The implications
The Market
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- The growth of total new passenger car sales volume is supported by rigid demands in 2020
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- Figure 18: Sales volume and growth rate of total new passenger car market, 2014-20 (est)
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Ownership of NEVs among surveyed respondents doubled in the last three years
- Size upgrading demand still exists but has hit a bottleneck
- Practical specifications remain the most important, instead of designs and optional functions
- Specialised automotive websites remain the most effective platform
- BMW leads in fashionable image and Toyota in good value for money
- Only less than four in 10 consumers stay within original budgets on car purchase
- Strong willingness to upgrade shows potential of car replacement market
Car Ownership
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- Ownership of NEVs among surveyed respondents doubled in the last three years
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- Figure 19: Car energy types, by car purchasing time, September 2020
- High-income consumers increasingly accept budget cars
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- Figure 20: Monthly household income, by car purchase price, September 2020
- High-end market for the young is promising
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- Figure 21: Car purchase price, by age, September 2020
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- Figure 22: BWM THE 4 x Jackson Yee x THE WOW SHOW art exhibition
- Price gap among city tiers is narrowing
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- Figure 23: Car purchase price, by city tier, September 2020
Consideration Process
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- Size upgrading demand still exists but has hit a bottleneck
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- Figure 24: Consideration process, by car purchase time, September 2020
- First consideration of brand is low even for high-end cars
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- Figure 25: Consideration process, by car purchase price, September 2020
- Young car owners have more passion for brands
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- Figure 26: Consideration process, by age, September 2020
Decisive Factors
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- Practical specifications remain the most important, instead of designs and optional functions
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- Figure 27: Decisive factors, September 2020
- Cost concern in the long-term is more important in lower-tier cities
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- Figure 28: Top three decisive factors-selected items, by city tier, September 2020
- Aesthetic fatigue in car design deserve attention
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- Figure 29: Top three decisive factors-selected items, by car purchase price, September 2020
- Car owners purchased a car within three years emphasis more on multi-purpose usage of cars
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- Figure 30: Top three decisive factors-selected items, by car purchasing time, September 2020
Brand Impression on Different Channels
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- Specialised automotive websites remain the most effective platform
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- Figure 31: Brand impression across information channels, September 2020
- Use of social media helps build emotional connections
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- Figure 32: Brand impression on social media, by age, September 2020
- Figure 33: Interactive activities held by brand collaboration of BMW and FPX
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- Figure 34: Toyota family campaign Loving Eyes 2015 Japan
- Short video platforms become more important in reaching more consumers
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- Figure 35: Brand impression on video platform, by age, September 2020
Brand Image
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- BMW leads in fashionable image and Toyota in good value for money
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- Figure 36: Brand image, September 2020
- Perceived image of BBA is similar in sense of technology, and getting weaker among young consumers
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- Figure 37: Brand image of having strong sense of technology, by age, September 2020
- Figure 38: Lexus LF-30 exterior and interior design
- Growing reputation of value for money of domestic brands in lower-tier cities
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- Figure 39: Brand image of good value for money, by city tier, September 2020
- Japanese car owners have good faith in Toyota’s environmentally-friendly image
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- Figure 40: Brand image of environmentally-friendly, by car brand origin, September 2020
Upgrading Aspects
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- Only less than four in 10 consumers stay within original budgets on car purchase
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- Figure 41: Upgrading aspects, September 2020
- More opportunities for trading up among young consumers
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- Figure 42: Selected upgrading aspects, by age, September 2020
- Figure 43: Mercedes-Benz museum in the UK
- Mid-price range has more potential upgrade configuration and models in the same brand
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- Figure 44: Selected upgrading aspects, by car purchasing price, September 2020
- Female consumers in lower-tier cities tend to pursue a quick upgrading solution of high-end model
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- Figure 45: Selected upgrading aspects, by city tier and gender, September 2020
Car Purchasing Attitudes
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- Strong willingness to upgrade shows potential of car replacement market
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- Figure 46: Car purchasing attitudes, September 2020
- Social status is still the initiative for older car owners to switch brands
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- Figure 47: Selected car purchasing attitudes (Agreed), by age, September 2020
- Acceptance of NEVs reaches 70%, while those of used car and domestic brands stay low
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- Figure 48: Selected car purchasing attitudes (Agreed), by city tier, September 2020
- Higher-priced car owners expect continuous improvement and fresh new driving experiences
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- Figure 49: Selected car purchasing attitudes, by car purchase price, September 2020
Appendix – Methodology and Abbreviations
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- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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