Are you right now looking for a new car, regardless of when you bought your current car? You are not alone. You are part of a whopping 78% of car owners in the region’s automotive hubs.
One-of-its-kind market
The survey included 1115 adults living in the UAE and KSA who owned at least one car. 42% of households that owned a car had two or more. 15% had 3 or more cars. Now, here’s what would beat the rest of the world hollow – one in approx. seven households with just one person had more than one car!
Always ready for a change
82% of car owners in the region bought a car or changed their car in the past two years, while in the UAE almost 79% bought theirs in the past six months! One in five buyers did not replace or upgrade their existing car; they simply added to their collection! (Huh! Who says you can’t have your cake and eat another slice?) Now, you can stop wondering about that long and dense line of traffic on your morning commute.
Reasons that seal the deal
Innovation and cutting edge technology claim top shouting rights in our realm of automobiles, while maximum buyers seek auto content online (That includes drivemeonline.com, yay!) While aspirational brands enjoy the highest loyalty, their seekers also look for innovative advertising. Naturally, coz it’s more about perception and image for the big bucks spent!
Some of the facts in the survey are pretty obvious. You already knew singletons would be more inclined to buy sports cars and a large chunk of families are likely to choose an SUV, didn’t you?
Even in this market, sense seems to largely prevail. Practicality rules over luxury predilections in five out of seven purchases, (that explains all those Toyotas and Nissans that outnumber the Audis and Bimmers in a lot) though a quarter of all buyers wants to own a luxury car. Well, who doesn’t?
According to Yahoo and IPSOS findings, a humungous chunk of the 45+ age group gave more importance to reliability, safety and after sales service while younger buyers were attracted to state-of-the-art technology and innovation, while 60% of the younger ones (mostly just out of college) flock towards customizing options or models that afford them some playtime like dune bashing!
There seemed to be not much difference gender-wise but generally, women seemed to prefer an SUV or a used car less than men did. (Probably got something to do with a sense of heightened security and a general aversion to the spanner.) In the UAE, an overwhelming number of women (81%) had an equal or sole say in the car-buying decision.
Having gone through the findings, I glanced through the quarterly or annual bragging sheets I receive from various automotive brands. You may check against the increasing time taken to get to office from home every day. It makes sense. There is a helluva lot of people out there, helping themselves to the latest consignments or the growing waiting lists at showrooms, every day!
Research vendor: IPSOS MediaCT
Excerpts gathered from a seminar by Yahoo! Let’s Talk Autos
