How much do Brits plan to spend on their next car?

YouGov Profiles data explores how much Britons are planning to spend on their next car

Data from YouGov Profiles shows that most Britons have a budget of £15,000 or less (67%) when it comes to buying their next car. Half (49%) have a budget of £10,000 or less, with less than one in ten (8%) planning to spend more than £30,000.

But while this high-budget group is small, they’re also potentially lucrative to automakers. So what are the meaningful differences between the group of bigger spenders and those with a smaller budget?

In terms of the type of car they prefer to buy, high-budget consumers are less likely to buy a petrol car (43% vs 59% of lower-budget buyers). But that doesn’t mean these customers are all rushing out to buy electric. Although those with more than £30k to spend are more likely to consider an electric vehicle (31% vs. 24% of those with under £30k), there is also a significant proportion who plan to buy a diesel (26% vs 33% of those with smaller budgets).

High vs. low budget priority features

In terms of preferred features, both higher and lower budget buyers are most likely to prioritise parking sensors (57% vs. 48%), a rear parking cam (57% vs. 38%), and smartphone integration (48% vs. 35%). As you can see, consumers with more than 30k to spend are more likely in each instance to desire the feature.

Lower down the list, the gaps between expectation on features go even wider. If you want keyless entry, for example, you’re twice as likely to have a budget over 30k (45% vs. 22%). The same goes for a lane departure warning system (40% vs. 18%). And you’re also more likely to want a touchscreen (43% vs. 27%) or a blindspot monitor (41% vs. 23%).

Attitudes of higher budget vs. lower-budget consumers

Higher-budget and lower-budget customers have some key attitudinal differences. For example, those with more than £30k to spend are less likely to care about fuel consumption than those with under £30k (50% vs. 60%). It’s also not especially shocking that higher-budget customers are more likely to say they would “never buy an ugly car” (69% vs. 50%), or that they like a car with a powerful engine (67% vs. 52%). . Marketing aimed at higher-budget customers should focus on design and raw horsepower.

Lower-budget buyers are more likely to skip car ownership entirely: 55% of this group (vs. 39% of higher-budget consumers) say it’s too expensive, while 31% say they don’t want to be locked into vehicle ownership (compared to 17% of those with a higher budget). To attract lower budget buyers, it be worth emphasising alternative models of payment and mobility ownership, where available. Car ownership might not be as alluring as it once was – which may be good news for the mobility as subscription business model.

Methodology

YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Dataset used from 11 July 2021. Profiles data is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.

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