Cap gemini
This year’s study expands our coverage of consumer buying behavior beyond traditional mature markets such as the United States and Western Europe to include several emerging markets: Brazil, Russia and India, in addition to China, which we have covered since 2004. As these developing markets become increasingly vital for the automotive industry, companies must understand how consumer purchase patterns in these countries differ from or mirror the behavior of car buyers in established markets.
This year we also take a deeper look at top-of-mind issues like fuel efficiency and alternative-fuel vehicles, the use of new online tools such as blogs and discussion forums, and
customer satisfaction with the vehicle buying process, including consumer suggestions on what would improve the buying experience. As this is the 10th annual issue of Cars Online, we have also reviewed results from the past decade to see just how much has changed and what clues that can provide about the decade ahead.
During the past 10 years, Capgemini has surveyed almost 42,000 consumers across 15 countries, as well as 300 automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)
and 2,500 dealers, which adds up to significant insight into vehicle buying behavior. Some of the consumer knowledge gained over the course of this research has been highlighted in fact boxes. Look for them throughout the report.
The research for this year’s study involved more than 3,100 consumers in the United Sates, Western Europe (especially Germany, France and the UK), Brazil, Russia, India and China. The executive summary provides an overview of key findings from the research, and the sections that follow offer more in-depth data and analysis on each of the emerging markets as well as key topics such as vehicle research, lead management and customer loyalty. We also look at the changes consumers expect to see in the way they buy a vehicle in the coming 10 years. “The whole vehicle buying process will be done with a click of the mouse,” said a consumer from India, reflecting a sentiment expressed by the majority of respondents in our study.