Woodkirk Stone
According to JudgeService, dealerships that sell premium brand cars are more likely to get referrals from auto manufacturer websites.
The September 2021 JudgeService Industry Report, which polled the opinions of 73,778 car buyers, identifies the online role each car brand plays in securing the loyalty of existing customers and the aspirations of new ones.
Premium brand websites were the top performers, especially German brands, led by Audi with 12.8% of its customers stating that they first visited the brand’s website before being referred to the one of its dealers.
Other top 10 premium brands were BMW (12%) followed by Mini (11.4%), Volkswagen (10.9%), Volvo (9.5%), Mercedes-Benz (8.9%) ) and Jaguar (8%).
“Our research reveals that buyers of premium brand cars are most likely to choose the badge before finding the car itself,†said Neil Addley, Managing Director of JudgeService.
“For them, brand equity or loyalty are vital considerations. They may aspire to own one of the brand’s cars, own one now, or have had good experience in the past and therefore associate it with good product quality. Therefore, for many of these buyers, the dealer they buy from is almost a secondary consideration, â€he added.
Car manufacturers’ websites were less important to major brand customers, with Ford, the UK’s biggest new and used car seller, being the top online port of call for just 4.4% of its buyers.
“Big brand dealerships have a lot less traffic from manufacturers’ websites because their customers are likely to have few existing brand preferences before they find the car they wanted to buy.
“These buyers are more likely to settle for a good-value car with the features they need, rather than sticking to a brand they know or going for a brand with a perceived status, â€Addley said.
Almost a third (31%) of all buyers said they found the car they ultimately bought on a website, according to research by JudgeService, highlighting the importance of online marketplaces.