China: The changing habits of car buyers

Traditional dance being performed at a BYD dealership in China.

* See the China Full Year 2013 Report here! Thanks Alexandra *

According to a study by TNS, Chinese car buyers’ behaviour has changed drastically in 2013 compared to a year before, in a market where a record 379 brands of vehicles are available, vs. just 64 a decade ago. Analysis the way Chinese car buyers behave online and in the real world, TNS found that 77% of them have benefitted from a promotion/rebate when they bought their car in 2013, vs. only 39% in 2012! Linked to this, the time allocated to the purchase of a car has lengthened by a huge 40% compared to one year ago.

Chinese consumers have also proved to be very receptive to advertising messages and very opened to friends, family and influencer input at every step of the way in their purchase path: TV advertising, social media, blog, automotive sites and of course the dealership themselves: all play a part in the final purchase decision, which uncovered a very surprising figure. Only 10% of Chinese car buyers end up buying the vehicle they had in mind when they started researching their car purchase!