July 14th, 2023, Bhavika Bansal
From the shiny showroom floor to the open road, purchasing a car can be a major milestone for many adults. It's no surprise then, that numerous factors - ranging from brand reputation and fuel efficiency to performance and design - are considered before a purchase is made. However, the significance of safeguarding one's automotive investments against unexpected breakdowns and exorbitant repair costs and ensuring long-term reliability cannot be ignored either. A recent YouGov Surveys: Serviced poll across 18 key international markets explores whether a car's warranty and maintenance plan hold any sway in the purchase decision.
Data from the survey reveals that nearly four out of five global consumers (78%) believe that a car’s warranty plan is an important factor when choosing a new car – a sentiment shared by nearly nine out of ten consumers in Australia and Mexico (87%).
Much like their Australian neighbors, consumers across most APAC (India, 85%; Singapore, 83%; Indonesia, 82%) markets significantly outpace the global average with Hong Kong (75%) being the only outlier to the trend.
While consumers in Canada (81%) align more closely with their Mexican counterparts, consumers in the US (72%) are substantially less likely to place importance on a car’s warranties when in the market for a new car.
Interestingly, European consumers seem to place lesser importance on a car’s maintenance plan compared to the other polled regions. While more than four out of five respondents in Italy (84%) and Spain (83%) say they consider such warranties important, this proportion falls to less than three-quarters of consumers in Germany (73%), Denmark (71%) and France (69%, the lowest of all markets).
Slightly more than three out four respondents in the UAE (77%) share the same opinion.
A look at the data demographically also reveals some interesting nuances.
The importance given to a car’s warranty or maintenance plan when buying a new car continues to increase as the age of our respondents increases. Compared to two-thirds of 18-to-24-year-old consumers globally (67%), nearly nine out of ten global consumers aged 55 and above (86%) say that such plans are an important factor for consideration.
Even with the varying degrees of importance given to them, it is evident that car warranties and maintenance plans are not mere add-ons or afterthoughts but critical factors that shape the overall purchase journey for new car buyers across major international markets.
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YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 511 and 1,999 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in May 2023. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.