13 April 2005
Singapore

A global online survey on car ownership and purchase intentions conducted recently by ACNielsen reveals that people in Asia are the most ‘aspirational’ when it comes to car ownership in the next 12 months when compared with their American and European counterparts.

Findings on online consumers’ current and future car ownership intentions were released in Singapore today by ACNielsen, a leading provider of consumer and marketplace information, as part of its Online Consumer Survey which polled over 14,100 internet users in 28 countries across Asia Pacific, Europe and the US in October 2004 . Respondents from Singapore totaled 500.

Across Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand were the only countries in the region making the list of the global top 10 driving nations with 90% of Australians claiming to own a car, on a par with the Italians and just behind Americans at 92%. New Zealanders ranked fourth in the global car ownership stakes, with 89% owning a car.

At the other end of the scale, nine of the bottom 10 ranked countries for car ownership hailed from Asia, with Hong Kong (20%), China (31%) and Singapore (39%) commanding the lowest percentage of car owners globally.

Not surprisingly - given the low percentage of car owners in Asia, the highest percentage of people in Asia (30%) expressed an intention to buy one in the next 12 months, compared with less than a quarter of Europeans and Americans intending to purchase.

Of the Asian countries, Singapore has one of the lowest percentages of such aspiring new car buyers, following Japan and Hong Kong where only around 12% of the respective populations have plans to get a new car. In Singapore, one in five people are anticipating buying a spanking new set of wheels within the next year, among whom those 25 to 39 years of age form a large proportion of these ‘aspirants’.

“With Singapore’s relatively small land area and its comprehensive public transportation network—almost every corner of the island is easily accessible via the public bus and MRT, owning a set of wheels is more of a ‘want’ than a ‘need’, not to mention that we are looking at a group of relatively affluent Singaporeans who responded to this survey,” commented Mr Ashok Charan, Managing Director for ACNielsen Research Singapore. “In many cases, it is even considered a luxury for the cost of buying and maintaining a car locally is considerably high compared to many countries.”

Based on the survey findings, automotive experts at ACNielsen developed an “Aspiration Index” (AI) to further measure the relationship between current ownership levels and future intentions to purchase a vehicle, highlighting countries of high future demand. As a result, significant variations were observed between markets and the types of vehicles aspired to, and the factors driving these choices.

With three of the world’s four most populous countries leading ACNielsen’s Aspirations Index, it is clear that consumer demand for their own set of ‘four wheels’ will drive future sales globally, as consumers’ ability to buy a car falls into line with their aspirations.

In contrast, the US, many northern European countries and Japan were all found to have a low Aspiration Index, reflecting higher levels of existing ownership and reduced potential for further growth.

Price driving purchase choice
Globally, price was most frequently cited as the driver of choice, and therefore was a universal consideration for new car purchases. Other considerations like fuel consumption, performance and safety were a distant second and third, and varied across the three regions.

In Asia Pacific, Malaysians (88%), Indonesians (82%) and Thais (81%) were the most price-conscious while performance figured highly for about two-thirds of Chinese, Indians and Filipinos. Fuel consumption is of a relatively high concern amongst Indians and Koreans.

In Singapore, 80 percent of the people surveyed quoted “Price” as a key consideration for a new car purchase, making the country among the region’s top 5 where Price concerns the most. Performance (44%) and fuel consumption (43%) followed at a distant second and third as the most important considerations for potential car buyers here. “In fact Singapore is the region’s second market after Indonesia with over half of the car aspirants considering Price as the first and foremost factor for new purchases.” Mr Charan added.

“It is also interesting to note that although fuel consumption ranks high as one of the top three important features in the overall car purchase decision, it is not a topmost consideration among many locals. In fact, brand image/prestige and design of the car ranked higher as a first consideration amongst 9% and 8% of Singaporeans respectively,” Mr Charan observed.

Among those intending to purchase a new car, 43% accounted for first time buyers, while 49% would be buying a replacement for an existing car. The remaining potential car buyers are either getting an additional car or buying it for someone else.

Toyota the most popular the world over
Among dozens of car brands, Toyota was the most popular the world over, both in terms of current ownership (11%) and consideration for future purchase (16 %). Ford trailed closely at eight percent and Volkswagen was third at six percent in terms of current ownership while Honda (8%) and Hyundai (6%) took over the second and third positions when it came to future purchases among the world’s consumers.

When Singaporeans were asked the brand of car they were likely to buy, the highest percentage went for Toyota (34%), trailed by Honda (12%), then Nissan and Hyundai (both at 9%).

About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns. To learn more, visit www.acnielsen.com.

ACNielsen is part of the VNU Marketing Information group. VNU is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media measurement and information (Nielsen Media Research) and business information (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Computing, Intermediair).

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