Automotive researcher Trend Tracker’s new Car Buyer Brand Perceptions 2011 study, of a nationally representative sample of 12,000 motorists, tracks the criteria on which buyers choose individual brands, and the size, type and cost of car they intend to buy next. Among the criteria investigated are carbon emissions, and the type of engine consumers’ next car is likely to have. The results may be at least modestly encouraging for manufacturers offering lower-emissions cars to comply with mandatory EU targets, but less so for electric cars.

• Most car buyers want their next car to reduce their personal emissions, women more so than men
• Men are more inclined than women towards diesels and hybrids
• None of the 12,000-strong survey sample expected their next choice to be an electric car

Forty-two per cent of motorists interviewed face-to-face in their homes for Trend Tracker by Lake Research said they wanted to choose a car that would reduce their personal emissions. Sixteen per cent agreed strongly with this proposition, while 25% neither agreed nor disagreed, 14% disagreed, and 3% disagreed strongly.

What type of engine their next car will have will clearly influence motorists’ personal emissions, and here 45% of respondents said their next car would be petrol-fuelled and 42%, a diesel. Just 2% said they would choose a hybrid-electric car, but none opted for a fully-electric car. A dual-fuel LPG-petrol engine was the preferred choice of 1% of respondents.

Broken down by gender, the survey responses showed a slightly greener attitude among women concerning the wish for a car that would reduce their personal emissions, while male respondents showed a slightly higher inclination to choose a fuel type that might achieve that aim.

Over half (53%) of women said their next car would be petrol-fuelled, and 28% diesel-fuelled, while under half (43%) of men would choose a petrol car against a higher 39% opting for diesel. Two per cent of men would consider a hybrid, against 1% of women. Overall, women are more likely than men (63% versus 52%) to want to choose a car with lower emissions, but this does not necessarily make them more inclined to purchase a hybrid or pure electric car.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers, ‘Alternative Fuel Vehicles’ (cars using neither conventional petrol or diesel power) accounted for 3,026 units or 1.0% of the first-half 2011 UK new car market, private and business buyers combined. Of these AFVs, pure battery-electric cars accounted for just 670 vehicles, or 0.06% of new car purchases, according to data obtained by the RAC Foundation, and these were most likely to comprise a large majority of corporate registrations.

Trend Tracker analyst Toby Procter commented, “While the zero score for ‘zero emissions’ electric cars in the Trend Tracker consumer study may disappoint those pushing for electrification, the 2% of the male and 1% of the female samples surveyed interested in a hybrid is actually pointing in a greener direction than the current new-car market.”

Procter added, “A high prevalence of ‘Other/Don’t know’ responses in our survey may well indicate a lack of knowledge concerning what alternatives may be available when buyers come to choose a given car make and model in up to three years’ time.”

Notes for editors

About the Car Buyer Brand Perceptions Study

Trend Tracker’s new Car Buyer Brand Perceptions 2011 study is based on a face-to-face survey of a nationally representative sample of 12,000 motorists intending to buy a new or used car within specified periods, carried out by Lake Research.
The study is an independent monthly survey of car buyer brand preferences and purchase intentions in the UK. The survey has been designed to provide detailed information on the brands that both new and used car buyers are thinking of purchasing. The survey also tracks the criteria upon which car buyers select individual brands, the size, type and cost of car they intend to purchase, the extent of research they intend to carry out and the strength of any relationship with a dealer.

The survey tracks rational, emotional or low involvement purchasing and identifies which brands will be emotional, rational or low-involvement purchases. Most consumers prefer to believe that they make purchase decisions based on purely rational criteria, but in reality, and especially with the purchase of cars, emotional factors, including socially undesirable motives, can influence the brand selection and purchase decision.

Most car buyers prefer not to admit that the purchase of a particular brand might help to support their self-esteem. A unique series of questions developed by Trend Tracker based on Consumer Involvement Theory (CIT) allows the research in this quantitative survey to identify rational, emotive and low involvement purchasing intentions without respondents needing to articulate their motivations or reveal socially undesirable motives.

In addition to analysing brand selection and purchasing intentions based on consumer involvement theory, the survey also identifies for each of the 34 car brands in the survey the levels of customer retention or intention to re-purchase the same brand, individual brand strengths and weaknesses, and brand positioning analysis using brand maps. Details of the report can be downloaded from www.trendtracker.co.uk.

About Trend Tracker

Trend Tracker Ltd. was formed in the UK in 2003 by experienced specialists as a company dedicated to providing accurate and informed automotive industry research. The company undertakes bespoke client studies and publishes its own reports, and unlike most research businesses, has the automotive industry experience to help customers implement business improvements predicated by the information provided.

Further information:

Please phone Trend Tracker lead analyst Robert Macnab on +44 (0)7767 861440 or email rmacnab@trendtracker.com, or phone Trend Tracker director Toby Procter on 07974 453911 or email tprocter@trendtracker.co.uk.