Car Buyers Turning to Online Tools, Study Shows

People in the market for new and pre-owned vehicles used to go the old-fashioned route of visiting showrooms, meeting with sellers, and traveling distances just to see a car. Not anymore.

Over the course of two years, established online vehicle marketplace Carmudi commissioned a study to ascertain consumer preferences. Results of the survey revealed that more people are opting to do their search online over traditional methods such as personal calls to dealers or printed classifieds.

This phenomenon has only heightened with the widespread economic growth in Asia. E-commerce in general bloomed an incredible tenfold in tandem with steadily increasing GDP – “In the first month of 2016 alone, 29% of the 47.1 million active internet users in the Philippines purchased a product or service online.

And with many industries prospering throughout Asia due to this online shift, automotive manufacturers and dealers in the region have realized that online searching is now a significant, if not the most significant stage of the car buying process,” reports Carmudi. With a population boasting US$2,700 per capita income, the Philippine automotive industry has continued to reap the benefits of a vibrant economy. An estimated 350,000 cars will be sold by the end of 2016 – a full 10-percent increase from last year.

The company’s study, “The Changing Landscape of the Car Industry in Asia:Automotive Search Preferences in the Philippines 2014 – 2016,” sought to reveal trends and habits more readily gleaned in the electronic arena. Focused on a two-year period spanning 2014 to 2016, Carmudi additionally surveyed its dealers to gain more insight about certain trends in the country.

“Our research focuses on the popularity of car body styles, car brands, and price ranges among others, to demonstrate the changing trends in automotive search behavior in the Philippines and to share our projections for the coming years.”

A significant finding in the report is that the search for used cars online increased by almost 100 percent from 2015 to 2016. All told, 82 percent of total searches were for pre-owned vehicles.

Still, 63 percent of used car dealers surveyed in the study revealed to have seen “a slight decrease in second-hand car sales over the past two years. Every dealer that stated this indicated that low down payment offers from new car dealers was the main reason for this.”

You can find out more about the results of the study at carmudi.com.ph. Leveraging on its international presence expertise, the Carmudi business model redounds in gains for both buyer and seller. With a dedicated Philippine content, it facilitates quicker and more convenient transactions between verified, reputable sellers and prospective buyers of new and old vehicles. Carmudi users have unparalleled and swift access to tens of thousands of certified listings and, perhaps, most importantly, get an unmatched guarantee of the lowest price.