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Take a look at the car buying landscape for 2023

Take a look at the car buying landscape for 2023

If you could gaze into a crystal ball or jump into a time-travelling DeLorean and see the coming 12-months for your business, it would give you a huge advantage, right? You could see what stock customers are most interested in and how many vehicles you’ll need, as well as what the most sought-after financial aftercare products would be.

Unfortunately, no such devices exist, so the next best thing is to poll as many consumers as possible and find out how they plan to invest in their next vehicle in the next year. That’s exactly what market research firm YouGov has done in one of their latest “profile peeks”, using their audience profiling and segmentation platform of over 350,000 panellists.

What does the car-buying landscape look like in 2023?

As we’ve seen from the latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the year kicked off positively with January registrations up 14.7% year on year. Battery electric vehicles lead the pack in terms of greatest percentage gain (up almost 20%) and, according to YouGov’s poll, EVs are second only to petrol when it comes to the engine types consumers are interested in.

They asked participants what type of engine they’re considering for their next car (allowing them to choose more than one option) and petrol was picked by 48% of participants looking to buy a new car, compared with 35% for electric, and 32% for full hybrid. For certified pre-owned car buyers, 57% picked petrol, full hybrid came in second at 34%, then electric at 27%. And for used cars 54% were interested in petrol engines while both full-hybrid and electric engines received votes from 26% of respondents.

What about the favoured type of car and price point?

As well as checking preferred engine types, the survey asked its panellists what type of car they intend to buy over the next year. For new car buyers, SUVs received 27% of the vote, dropping to 17% and 14% for certified pre-owned car buyers and used car buyers respectively. Small cars got 25%, versus 32% and 34%. And coming in third was “large family car/medium saloon/estate”, with 24% across the board.

More than a quarter of new car buyers said their budget was between £20,001 and £30,000, whereas for certified pre-owned and used car buyers the cheaper options were more popular. 11% of certified pre-owned car buyers said they aimed to spend less than £5,000 and 20% said £5,001 to £10,000. For used car buyers, 24% said they expect to spend less than £5,000 and the same percentage for £5,001 to £10,000.

For more statistics from YouGov visit their website.

Boosting your revenue on those car sales

Knowing what customers intend to spend on their new vehicle and the final bill can be very different, of course. Firstly, there’s always the enticing next model up. Then there’s the added extras. And of course, the aftercare protection, which many car buyers haven’t even factored in until they’re about to sign on the dotted line.

However, a Warranty, Service Plan, Tyre and Alloy Insurance, Cosmetic Repair Insurance, MOT Test Cover, and Roadside Assistance can all save your customers money and hassle in the long run. Who doesn’t want to protect their new pride-and-joy? Of course, choosing a high-quality provider such as Car Care Plan means those products meet customers’ expectations, boosting your bottom line, retention, and satisfaction rates.

For those EV and hybrid buyers, Car Care Plan’s exclusive EV Drivers Club brings together industry-leading EV products and services alongside a comprehensive annual vehicle health check to ensure happy motoring.

For further information on all of Car Care Plan’s award-winning vehicle warranty and Motor related add-on products visit carcareplan.com/products.

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