Dealers can expect a busy end to the year, with 46% of in-market buyers telling What Car? that they are planning to purchase a vehicle before the year is over.
In the second week of November, What Car? asked 1,596 in-market buyers whether they were likely to buy a car before the year is over, or to wait until 2022 to make a purchase. Nearly half of new and used buyers (46%) surveyed said they were looking to purchase before the year is over. More than half of all used buyers (52%) said they were going to buy a vehicle this year, and 42% of new car buyers expect to do the same.
The respondents indicated that they are still actively in-market despite the ongoing supply constraints. Those looking to purchase a fully electric vehicle were the most likely to postpone their purchase until 2022, with 59% stating that they’ll wait until next year to buy one. Petrol and diesel car buyers were most likely to purchase before the year is out, with 53% set to do so.
The research also asked those who have postponed a purchase until 2022 when in the year they expect to buy a vehicle, and found 34% set to purchase in the months between January and March, and 23% expecting to buy between March and June. While 14% are looking to buy after June 2022, another 28% said they’ve yet to decide when they will buy. Family SUVs, small SUVs and family cars are the vehicle segments set to be the most in demand next year accouting for 57% of the responses when buyers were asked what kind of vehicle they expect to purchase in 2022.
The research suggests a ‘busy end to the year, with buyers still active in the market and a relatively steady period of demand for the first three months of the new year’, What Car? suggested.
