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| Deloitte's 2021 customer survey opens a window on trends that will impact dealerships around the world. |
The 12th annual Deloitte’s Global Automotive Consumer Study that was released this week has revealed several consumer trends and disruptive technologies that will impact the automotive industry in the year ahead.
The study surveyed over 24 000 consumers in 23 countries from September to October 2020, and questioned potential car buyers’ views on electric vehicles, vehicle purchasing, financing, options and whether to buy from a dealership or over a website.
Deloitte said the 2021 Global Automotive Consumer Study was structured to explore consumers’ opinions regarding a variety of critical issues affecting the automotive sector, including the development of advanced technologies.
The executive summary
• Electric vehicles (EVs) still have hurdles to clear.
• People remain concerned about the security and safety of a connected vehicle.
• The pandemic has delayed demand for new vehicles.
• The future preference of buying vehicles in-person versus virtual is still to be determined.
Most consumers aim to buy down
Despite the disruption caused by lockdowns around the world, a majority of consumers have not altered their timeline for buying a new car.
However, the slight delay in demand that is expected will likely have a negative impact on sales.
While 66% said the pandemic did not alter the timeline of their next vehicle purchase, over half (55%) said they plan to buy a less expensive vehicle, 39% plan to buy a smaller one and 21% are looking for more fuel efficiency.
Buy from a dealer or via a website?
Lockdown restrictions have forced the auto industry to accelerate online and click-and-collect strategies.
In the UK and Germany, a quarter of consumers would prefer to buy their next vehicle through a partial or fully virtual experience.
Deloitte asked if this trend will continue post Covid-19, when public-health concerns associated with visiting a showroom in person have eased.
On average in nine countries, seven in 10 consumers said they will still go to dealers, while 17% said they are happy to buy a car in a fully virtual transaction.
Those buying over the web cited the convenience and speed of a transaction as their main reasons for preferring this route, while those going to a dealer want to sit in the vehicle (75%) and test drive it (64%), while 38% thought they could negotiate a better deal in person.
Most in SA prefer the dealer
The poll of 895 people in South Africa showed 73% will go to dealerships and only 10% will do the deal fully virtual.
The demographics of the South African were 51% male, with a third in the 18 to 34 age group, 32% in the 35 to 54 bracket, and 35% of 55 years old or older.
Of interest to South Africa’s dealers is that consumers in most countries seem to have the most trusted relationship with the purchasing dealer, but not in Turkey or South Africa, where consumers “feel most connected” to the brand of vehicle they currently own, rather than the seller.
Brand subscription service
A new offering in Europe that is not yet available in South Africa is a subscription service that allows buyers access to different models from the same brand.
Of note for local dealers is that half of the South Africans sampled want this service. However, consumers around the world are not generally willing to pay more than 10% for subscription services.
Electric or fossil fuels?
Fossil fuel vehicles still dominate, with over 74% of the people polled around the world aiming to buy diesel or petrol.
The 21% who want “evees” expect to do 71% of their recharging at home, with range remaining the greatest worry about electric cars, followed by lack of charging infrastructure (25%) and the premium price of “evees” (19%).
Of great interest to car builders are the features potential buyers want in their cars. Seven in 10 rate blind-spot warnings or alerts as very important, followed by auto emergency braking (60%), while lane departure warning and built-in sat nav are considered important by 59%. These preferences hint at drivers who take their driving seriously, which may explain why semi-autonomous driving systems got the least votes (32%), behind Bluetooth systems for the phone (35%).
Vehicle finance
In general, consumers either did no research or spent less than one hour researching finance options on their current vehicle.
Buyers in the majority of nations said flexibility and convenience top the list when it comes to singing on the dotted line for vehicle finance.
Consumers in Turkey and South Africa added acceptance based on low credit scores as important. A trend in France that may spread is that a third of consumers said “all-in rates” are the most important feature of getting a loan.
