Global: How important is safety for consumers when it comes to buying a car?

Data from YouGov Global Profiles reveals the degree to which consumers across the world are particular about their car being equipped with as many safety features as possible.

It reveals that a plurality of global respondents (77%) agree that they would want all possible safety features in their car.

South Africa tops the list of 43 countries surveyed where consumers consider automotive safety of great importance. Nearly nine in ten South Africans (89%) want as many safety features as possible in their cars.

A few Asian markets – Indonesia (84%), Thailand (79%) and China (78%) – outpace the global audience and have around four in five consumers in each market who agree with the statement. However, other markets in this region don’t see such a high number of consumers in agreement, with Japan registering the lowest figure (64%).

North Americans have significant differences in their approach to car safety. While over four in five urban Mexicans (81%) are most likely to want a car equipped with all safety features, consumers in the US are less likely to agree (76%). However, the real difference is seen among Canadians. Even though Canada registers 70% of consumers who want maximum safety in the cars, it finds itself near the bottom of the list of all markets in this survey.

Consumers in MENA seem to be on the same page as far as automotive safety is concerned. They are all as likely as global respondents to agree with the statement – Saudi Arabia, Morocco and UAE (77% each).

European markets are less likely than global respondents to agree with the statement. Spain (75%) and Great Britain (74%) register the highest share of consumers in this region who prefer their car to be equipped with full safety gear. But the figure drops to less than seven in ten consumers in France (68%) and Austria (66%), followed further behind by Switzerland at 59%, the lowest of all markets.

While Germany registers around 71% of consumers in agreement, the country also sees the highest number of consumers who disagree. Nearly two in ten Germans (19%) don’t prefer their cars to have all safety features, followed by the Swiss (14%). USA, Vietnam and Austria are the only other countries where over one in ten consumers (11% each) disagree with the statement.

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Methodology: YouGov Global Profiles is a globally consistent audience dataset with 1000+ questions across 43 markets. The data is based on continuously collected data from adults aged 16+ years in China and 18+ years in other markets. The sample sizes for YouGov Global Profiles will fluctuate over time, however the minimum sample size is always c.1000. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from India and UAE, which use urban representative samples, and China, Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Philippines, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, which use online representative samples. Learn more about Global Profiles.