Resale value matters: Uncovering the financial perspective of future car choices

In the vast landscape of the automotive market, consumers navigate a multitude of considerations when choosing their next vehicle. Factors such as performance, features, and aesthetics often take the spotlight. A recent YouGov study also reveals that a car's warranty and maintenance plan are important considerations for nearly four-fifths of global consumers. But what about the resale value of a car? Do financially savvy consumers continue to recognize this as a crucial determinant of their overall satisfaction and has it become a fundamental aspect of the decision-making process?

Data from a recent YouGov Surveys: Serviced poll across 18 key international markets, reveals that nearly two-thirds of consumers globally (64%) believe that a car’s resale value is ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ important when choosing a new car.

Consumers in India are the most likely of all to agree – 51% say that a car’s resale value is ‘very’ important and 31% say that it is ‘somewhat’ important when choosing a new car.

Consumers across other APAC markets share similar opinions. While an almost equal share of respondents in China and Hong Kong (66% and 65% respectively) as the global average consider resale value an important factor, this proportion increases significantly across other APAC regions, especially Indonesia (78%). 

Much like their Indian counterparts, nearly four-fifths of Mexican consumers (79%) believe that a car’s resale value is an important factor. However, only two-thirds of Canadians (67%) and less than three out of five Americans (56%) agree. 

Nearly three-quarters of consumers in the UAE (72%) say they think resale value is an important consideration while buying a new car. 

Much like in the case of a car’s warranty plan, European consumers seem to place lesser importance on a car’s resale value compared to the other polled regions with Poland (71%) being a notable exception. Substantially fewer than six out ten respondents in France (54%), Spain (54%), Great Britain (54%) and Denmark (53%, the lowest of all markets) say that resale value is important to them when choosing a new car. 

Evidently, a car's ability to retain its worth over time and ensuring a favorable return on investment when it is time to part ways is an important consideration, globally. And understanding this significance can help inform automakers' strategies to not just enhance the resale value of their vehicles but also to leverage brand perceptions.

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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.