When Buying a New Car, "Price" Matters Most... Most Popular Models Are "SUVs"

Chabot Mobility "2026 New Car Purchase Trends"
Rational spending focus on monthly payments and maintenance costs
SUVs dominate, with space and safety as top priorities

Chabot Mobility, a mobility concierge platform company, announced on February 8 the results of its survey titled "2026 New Car Purchase Plans and Automotive Consumption Trend Analysis," conducted on 450 people planning to purchase a new car in 2026. The survey was carried out to understand the overall consumer decision-making structure throughout the vehicle purchase journey, and it analyzed preferences in terms of vehicle type, budget, and financing from multiple angles to derive future demand changes in the automotive market and strategic implications.

In response to the question about plans to purchase a new car in 2026, "Considering a purchase" was the most common answer at 49.1%, followed by "Actively considering" at 27.4% and "Definitely purchasing" at 23.5%. By gender, the proportion of women in the consideration stage was 56%, higher than that of men (47.6%), indicating that female consumers tend to go through a relatively longer comparison and review process.

By income level, 81.2% of households with a monthly income of less than 3 million won remained in the consideration stage, whereas among high-income households with a monthly income of 10 million won or more, 35.9% had already decided to purchase, clearly revealing a difference in decision-making speed depending on income level.

Looking at the purpose of vehicle purchase, "Replacing an existing aged vehicle" accounted for the largest share at 45.5%. This was followed by "Purchasing an additional vehicle" (20.9%), "Reducing fuel and maintenance costs" (19.5%), "Experiencing the latest technology and safety features" (17.3%), "Lifestyle changes" (13.7%), and "Switching to an eco-friendly vehicle" (13.4%).

Regarding preferences between domestic and imported cars, the flexible response of "Considering both" was the highest at 45.1%, but "Considering only domestic cars" followed at 37.2%, indicating that trust in domestic brands remains strong. "Considering only imported cars" was limited to 15.2%. However, the higher the income level, the greater the tendency to consider imported cars. Among high-income respondents (monthly income of 10 million won or more), preference for imported cars was 23.1%, which was 16.9 percentage points higher than that of low-income respondents (6.2%).

In terms of preferred vehicle type, midsize and large SUVs were the most selected at 38.6%, and when including compact SUVs, overall SUV preference reached 62.8%, showing that roughly two-thirds of the market prefers SUVs. This was followed by "Dedicated electric vehicle models" (30.0%), "Hybrids" (29.2%), "Midsize and large sedans" (24.5%), and "Compact SUVs" (24.2%). By age group, respondents in their 30s showed the highest preference for midsize and large SUVs (54.2%), while those aged 60 and older showed a pronounced preference for hybrids (45.2%), indicating generational differences in preferences for vehicle type and powertrain.

When asked about the most important factors when purchasing a vehicle, "Price" accounted for the highest share at 66.8%. This was followed by "Fuel efficiency and maintenance costs" (53.8%) and "Performance" (52.7%), indicating that price, economic efficiency, and performance are the key criteria in purchase decisions. By gender, men placed relatively more importance on brand value (41.4%), whereas women evaluated fuel efficiency and maintenance costs (68%) as more important. By age group, respondents in their 20s cited both price (100%) and performance (100%) as their top priorities, while those in their 30s showed the highest sensitivity to fuel efficiency and maintenance costs (52.1%).

Looking at purchase budgets, 22.7% of respondents selected "50 million won or more but less than 60 million won," 22.4% selected "40 million won or more but less than 50 million won," and 19.9% selected "30 million won or more but less than 40 million won," indicating that about 74% of respondents were concentrated in the mid-price segment between 30 million and 50 million won. The proportion selecting a budget of "70 million won or more but less than 100 million won" was 10.7%. By income level, among high-income respondents with a monthly income of 10 million won or more, 25.6% chose a budget of 70 million won or more, whereas among those with a monthly income of less than 3 million won, the proportion with a budget of less than 30 million won was highest at 31.2%, clearly confirming a gap in price sensitivity depending on income level.

As for vehicle purchase methods, "New car installment (auto loan)" accounted for the largest share at 46.2%. This suggests that the method of spreading out monthly payments while retaining ownership of the vehicle is perceived as the most rational option. This was followed by "Lump-sum cash payment" (27.1%), "Long-term rental" (9.4%), "New car lease" (6.9%), and "Subscription services" (1.8%), indicating that recently introduced subscription-based models are still in the early stages.

Regarding the most important factors in determining the final budget, "Monthly payment burden" (46.9%), "Initial purchase price" (43.0%), and "Maintenance costs" (34.3%) ranked highest, confirming that economic burden factors have a critical impact on purchase decisions. In contrast, "Financing interest rate" (13.4%), "Government subsidies and tax benefits" (13.0%), and "Resale value" (11.9%) showed relatively lower shares, suggesting that immediate expenditures and perceived financial burden have a greater influence than total cost of ownership.

A Chabot Mobility representative stated, "Based on our integrated concierge service that supports the entire process from vehicle purchase to financing, insurance, and after-sales management, Chabot Mobility plans to continuously enhance its data-driven personalized recommendations and financial consulting services so that consumers can choose and use vehicles in a more rational and transparent way."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.