Topic: trends
Who are today’s in-market new luxury car buyers?
Luxury vehicles accounted for a record 14.7% of total US light-vehicle sales in 2021, and the market is expected to continue to grow. For dealers, the key to meeting these consumers’ expectations and increasing luxury sales is understanding who this high-value audience is and what drives them. CarGurus recently conducted a study to learn more about this segment and how they compare to new car buyers overall.
Our study found that new luxury car buyers are more likely to be Gen Z (under 25 years old) and older millennials (34 to 40 years old), and to identify as male and Hispanic or Latinx. Additionally, they tend to be high-income earners, parents, and live in cities. Beyond demographics, we analyzed how shopping behaviors vary between luxury buyers and non-luxury buyers. Here are the trends that emerged.
Exploring how dealers are adapting to current inventory challenges
As we’ve shared in the CarGurus Vehicle Availability Index & Insights report, the road to a new normal when it comes to inventory and pricing dynamics is likely to be a long journey with plenty more twists and turns along the way. At this year’s Navigate, we took a deeper look at these industry-wide supply constraints during our dealer panel discussion, Adapting to 2021 Inventory Challenges. Moderator Joe Overby of Auto Remarketing spoke with Danny Archibald of Archibald’s, Inc., AJ Maknati of Tricars, and Steve Marsh of Westgate about some of the ways they’re combatting this inventory crisis to set up their teams up for success.
Understanding the role of social media in today’s car shopping journey
In today’s digital era, it’s no longer enough to hope that a shiny new vehicle on your lot will catch a passing shopper’s eye, prompting them to come in for a test drive and to make a deal. Instead, most car buyers have spent hours scouring the web for information about the vehicle they want, possible deals, and more before ever stepping foot at your dealership.
While the vast majority pore over auto shopping sites – 94% of car buyers online use auto shopping sites like CarGurus before buying – to get their questions answered, that’s not the only way shoppers get their information. Prospective shoppers also use (and get distracted by!) social media while researching their next vehicle purchase.
To get a pulse on the role of social media in the shopping journey, we analyzed the data from our soon-to-be-released Buyer Insight Report. Here are three takeaways and what they mean for your dealership.
3 essential takeaways from our webinar CarGurus & CarOffer: Two platforms, one vision
CarGurus President & COO Sam Zales recently hosted a webinar in partnership with CarOffer’s CEO Bruce Thompson to discuss current industry trends and how dealers can lean on the CarGurus and CarOffer partnership to drive profitability.
Unfortunately, due to a technical problem, the webinar recording is unavailable. You can download the slides here, or take a look at these three essential takeaways:
3 Supply concerns plaguing the auto industry in the US — and how to keep them from impacting the shopping experience
The Covid pandemic remains top of mind for most Americans as infections continue to spread across the country. However, sales figures indicate that the auto industry is weathering the latest pandemic challenges reasonably well: total vehicle sales surged to 17.7 million in March – 5% higher than pre-pandemic sales numbers in January 2020.
Even with sales moving in the right direction, though, several issues threaten the stability of the new vehicle market in US in the coming months. Since it pays to be prepared, here’s a look at the supply concerns for the US auto industry that are currently making the news.
Why 2020 is an automotive year unlike any other
New vehicle sales seasonality has always been rather predictable. The end of the fiscal year, the model year changeover, Labor Day, and the end of the year have always led to stronger months in March, May, August/September, and December.
However, during recessions, seasonality trends break from their normal patterns—and this year is no exception. While we know the patterns will be different due to COVID-19, the variation is difficult to predict. That’s because the prolonged impact of the pandemic, which has led to stay-at-home orders, record jobless claims, declining consumer confidence, delayed tax returns, usage of stimulus checks, and increased OEM incentive spend is still relatively unknown. This makes 2020 unlike any other.
One Voice Report: Auto dealers facing inventory challenges
Acquiring inventory is fundamental to car selling, but it’s becoming a common challenge year after year. In our recent One Voice Report, 76.3% of used car dealers reported that they found it more difficult to source the inventory they wanted in 2019 compared to 2018. Almost a third (32.8%) rated it as very or extremely difficult. Built around a survey of nearly 1,000 independent and franchise car dealers and our annual Dealer Council meeting, the inaugural CarGurus One Voice Report examines the inventory challenge and how dealers are coping.
2020 macroeconomic trends to watch: Navigate 2019
2019 was a strong year for the US economy. There was record-low unemployment. Personal savings rates continued to climb. Small business optimism remained high. But 2019 was also full of economic challenges. Costs are rising faster than wages. 59% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Rumblings of a possible recession have ebbed and flowed this year. So what does this mean for car dealers in 2020?
At this year’s Navigate conference, George Augustaitis—CarGurus Director of Industry Analytics and Economics—shared the four key macroeconomic trends that will shape 2020 and what dealers should do to prepare. In this video, you’ll learn:
Navigate sneak peek: Luxury buyers are 2.6x more likely to be buying their first vehicle ever
Our Director of Consumer Insights, Madison Gross, provides a sneak peek into her research on today’s car-buying audience, which she’ll be sharing in-depth at Navigate in October.
Luxury vehicle sales have been consistently posting strong growth, and it turns out much of that growth may be attributed to first-time buyers, according to findings from the 2019 CarGurus Buyer Insights Report. About three in ten luxury car buyers said that before their most recent purchase, they had never bought a car.
Remember the headlines a few years back that Millennials were delaying buying a car? It seems that now that they’re ready to buy, they don’t want just any car, but rather an aspirational one. Our research found that first-time buyers in luxury are, on average, 29 years old. Additionally, among first-time buyers in luxury:
CPO buyers are especially pragmatic when it comes to car shopping, according to CarGurus research
When it comes to researching and buying a car, CPO buyers are all about being informed and getting their questions answered before making a decision, according to the 2019 CarGurus Buyer Insights Report. They spend hours researching and comparing their options, relying on online resources and experts to give them the confidence they need to purchase a vehicle.