Asked About Car Purchase Intentions This Year, 50% Prefer Domestic New Cars... Increased Preference for Used Cars Among Those in Their 30s

Among 10 people planning to purchase a car this year, 5 prefer domestic cars. The most important factor considered when buying a vehicle was 'discount promotions and additional benefits.'

Mobility platform 'Chabot Mobility' announced the results of a car purchase behavior survey conducted on 141 users of its application 'Chabot.'

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Regarding plans to purchase a car this year, more than half of the respondents, 57%, answered 'yes,' and nearly half of current car owners, 49.6%, also stated they plan to buy a car within a year. By age group, those in their 30s, the typical age for first-time car buyers, showed the highest rate at 76.2%, followed by 40s (59.6%) and 50s (57.1%).

The most desired type of car to purchase in the new year was a new domestic car at 51.4%, ranking first. Next were imported new cars (32.4%) and used cars (11.3%). Notably, there were differences in preferred car types by gender and age group. By gender, men (35.5%) showed a stronger preference for imported cars than women (16.7%), while women (72.2%) preferred domestic cars more than men (48.4%).

There was a trend of increasing preference for domestic cars with age. Among the second vehicle replacement age group, those in their 40s (38.2%) considered purchasing imported cars at nearly twice the rate of other age groups. Respondents choosing used cars were highest in their 30s, suggesting changes in vehicle purchasing behavior among 30s, who were the main customer base for imported cars, due to economic downturn and interest rate hikes.

The most important factor when purchasing a vehicle was 'discount promotions and additional benefits' at 59.2%, reflecting consumers' sensitivity to costs. This was followed by △ease of vehicle repair and additional services (19%) △direct experience through test drives (14.1%) △trust in the seller (7%) △possibility of non-face-to-face purchase such as online contracts (0.7%).

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Preferred vehicle purchase channels showed that offline remained dominant at 62%, indicating that a significant number of consumers still seek face-to-face purchases. Those preferring non-face-to-face purchases via online or apps accounted for 22.6%, with men (25.8%) showing higher preference than women (11.1%), and middle-aged groups in their 40s (20.6%) and 50s (20%) showing greater familiarity than those in their 30s (12.6%).

When purchasing vehicles non-face-to-face, consumers most preferred buying through official dealers (57%). Next was direct purchase from manufacturers (25.4%), followed by no preference (14.8%) and third-party distributors (2.8%).

A Chabot representative stated, "We could gauge that consumer perceptions toward non-face-to-face vehicle purchases are positively changing in line with the ontact consumption trend. Especially, as mobile familiarity increases among middle-aged and older adults, resistance to platform-based vehicle purchases provided by Chabot has significantly decreased, leading to a bright outlook for the market."

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