Report Summary
Everything you need to make the right decisions
Providing the most comprehensive and up-to-date information and analysis of the Luxury Cars market, and the behaviours, preferences and habits of the consumer.
Mintel has the answers you’re looking for
What are the key challenges facing the industry? Who is the consumer and what do they want? Where are the opportunities, where are the risks and what lies ahead?
Covered in this report
This report covers 555 luxury car owners and 1,684 intended luxury car buyers. Therefore, this report not only investigates luxury cars, but also consumers’ luxury car purchasing intention.
Mintel defines luxury cars by brand. In total 13 brands are defined as luxury car brands, namely Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, Cadillac, Lincoln, Tesla, Lexus, Infiniti, Acura, Land Rover, Jaguar and Volvo.
Market size and market share are calculated based on the domestic sales (including imports) of the passenger cars of these brands.
Mintel set minimum thresholds on the monthly household income of respondents in order to better investigate the purchasing behaviours and the attitudes of luxury car owners and potential buyers. Tier one city respondents with monthly household income lower than RMB 20,000 and tier two and three city respondents with monthly household income below RMB 18,000 were screened out.
Expert analysis from a specialist in the field
Written by Terence Zhou, a leading analyst in the Automotive sector, his extensive knowledge delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight current trends and add expert context to the numbers.
The growth of the luxury car market reflects consumers’ upgrading demands, which introduces higher requirements for luxury car brands. At the same time, the female market is gaining more attention. Opportunities are seen in meeting women’s needs for more tailored interior design, and understanding how to enhance brand perception towards luxury brands when communicating to general car owners with upgrading needs about exclusive, leading technology and long brand history Terence Zhou
Automotive Analyst
Table of Contents
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Overview
- What you need to know
- Covered in this report
- Excluded
- What you need to know
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Executive Summary
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- The market
- Steady growth of luxury car market stands out against drop in overall new passenger car sales
- Figure 1: Sales volume and growth rate of luxury cars and total new passenger cars in China, 2013-19
- CAGR of 7.3% over the next five years
- Figure 2: Best- and worst-case forecast of luxury cars sales volume, 2014-24
- Companies and brands
- Top tier is shared by BBA
- Figure 3: Market share of luxury car brands, by volume, 2016-18
- The consumer
- Female market is gaining more attention in luxury car category
- Figure 4: Luxury car owners’ portrait, by gender, 2019 vs 2018
- Emergence of rational considerations towards luxury cars
- Figure 5: Luxury car brand choices, 2019 vs 2018
- Perception gap between luxury and general car owners on technology and brand history
- Figure 6: Luxury car brand feature association – selected item, by type of car ownership, March 2019
- Must-have features for female intended luxury car buyers include phone connectivity and storage
- Figure 7: Interior function requirement – selected items, claim rate on “must have”, by gender, March 2019
- Reaching 81% of luxury car owners and potential buyers through auto websites and auto exhibitions
- Figure 8: Luxury car information channels – TURF Analysis, March 2019
- What we think
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Issues and Insights
- Marketing the stories behind the brand
- The facts
- The implications
- Figure 9: 1960s Continental sedan and Lincoln Continental 80th anniversary version
- Building a greater audience via brand collaborations
- The facts
- The implications
- Figure 10: OnePlus 6T McLaren edition
- Figure 11: Huawei Mate 20 RS Porsche edition
- Promoting luxury experiences and luxury dreams
- The facts
- The implications
- Figure 12: Porsche design tower
- Figure 13: The Aston Martin Residences
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- Figure 14: Intersect by Lexus
- Marketing the stories behind the brand
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The Market – What You Need to Know
- Reaching 3 million sales units in 2019
- Upgrading needs and electrification are building up growth potential
- Reaching 3 million sales units in 2019
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Market Size and Forecast
- Steady growth of luxury car market stands out against a drop in overall new passenger car sales
- Figure 15: Sales volume and growth rate of luxury cars and total new passenger cars in China, 2013-19
- Luxury car penetration is catching up with the US
- Figure 16: Luxury car sales units and penetration of China and US, 2013-18
- Sales of domestically-produced luxury cars are rising
- Figure 17: Percentage of domestically-produced luxury cars and imported luxury cars out of total luxury car sales, 2015-18
- CAGR of 7.3% over the next five years
- Figure 18: Best- and worst-case forecast of luxury cars sales volume, 2014-24
- Steady growth of luxury car market stands out against a drop in overall new passenger car sales
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Market Factors
- Upgrading needs in saturating market
- The race for luxury electric cars is on
- Upgrading needs in saturating market
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Key Players – What You Need to Know
- Declining market concentration
- Affordable pricing and customisation are the major competitive strategies
- Luxury MPV and innovations in infotainment systems
- Declining market concentration
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Market Share
- Intensified competition with declining market concentration
- Figure 19: Market share overview of luxury car brands, by volume, 2015-18
- Top tier is shared by BBA
- Figure 20: Market share of luxury car brands, by volume, 2016-18
- Only Audi beat last year’s growth
- Figure 21: Year on year growth rate of luxury brands, by volume, 2017-18
- Intensified competition with declining market concentration
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Competitive Strategies
- Affordable pricing due to localisation of manufacturing
- Figure 22: Starting price range of Localised models from luxury brands
- Introducing SUV models from super luxury brands
- Figure 23: SUV models of super luxury brands
- Affordable pricing due to localisation of manufacturing
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Who’s Innovating?
- Luxury MPV
- Figure 24: Luxury MPV models
- BMW’s innovation
- Figure 25: BMW iDrive system 7.0
- Energizing comfort system by Mercedes-Benz
- Figure 26: Mercedes-Benz Energizing Comfort system
- Luxury MPV
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The Consumer – What You Need to Know
- Portrait of luxury car owners and potential consumers
- Luxury impressions vary by different consumer groups
- Auto websites and auto exhibitions are consumers’ major information channels for luxury cars
- Portrait of luxury car owners and potential consumers
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Profiling the New Luxury Buyer
- Female market is gaining more attention in luxury car category
- Figure 27: Luxury car owners’ portrait, by gender, 2019 vs 2018
- High upgrading intention for luxury cars among current general car owners
- Figure 28: Luxury car purchasing budget, March 2019
- BMW, Audi and Mercedes are the most popular luxury car brands
- Figure 29: Luxury car brand choices, March 2019
- Emergence of rational considerations towards luxury cars
- Figure 30: Luxury car brand choices, 2019 vs 2018
- Female market is gaining more attention in luxury car category
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Luxury Impressions
- Trident of luxury brands – dynamic performance, technology and appearance
- Figure 31: Luxury car brand feature association, March 2019
- Impress female consumers with interior design and brand ethic
- Figure 32: Luxury car brand feature association, by gender, March 2019
- Perception gap between luxury and general car owners on technology and brand history
- Figure 33: Luxury car brand feature association – selected item, by type of car ownership, March 2019
- Ethical expectations on luxury brands are higher among consumer from lower tier cities
- Figure 34: Luxury car brand feature association, by city tiers, March 2019
- Trident of luxury brands – dynamic performance, technology and appearance
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Interior Function Requirements
- Meet the requirements of basic functions
- Figure 35: Interior functions requirement, claim rate of “must-have”, March 2019
- Highlight features beyond the basic ones on high-end luxury models
- Figure 36: Interior functions requirement, claim rate of “must-have”, by luxury car purchase budget, March 2019
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- Figure 37: Mercedes-Benz’s in-car fragrance
- Phone connectivity and enough storage are treated as must-have functions by more female intended luxury car buyers
- Figure 38: Interior functions requirement – selected items, claim rate of “must have”, by gender, March 2019
- Meet the requirements of basic functions
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Information Channels of Luxury Cars
- Auto websites and auto exhibitions are consumers’ major information channels for luxury cars
- Figure 39: Luxury car information channels, March 2019
- Reaching 81% of luxury car owners and potential buyers through auto websites and auto exhibitions
- Figure 40: Luxury car information channels – TURF Analysis, March 2019
- Auto websites and auto exhibitions are consumers’ major information channels for luxury cars
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Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Figure 41: Total market volume of luxury cars, 2014-24
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Appendix – Methodology and Abbreviations
- Methodology
- Fan chart forecast
- Abbreviations
- Methodology
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Market
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Brand/Company
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