‘Consumers have strong intent to buy vehicle in next 12 months’

There is a strong intent to purchase a vehicle among a majority of consumers in the next 12 months, in what would be a good news for the auto industry, according to a survey by Mobility Outlook.

As many as 83% of respondents confirmed the intent to purchase a vehicle in the next 12 months, while another 13% indicated they may buy and just 4% said no to buying a vehicle, as per the survey by Mobility Outlook -- a brand of CarTrade Tech -- which sought responses from nearly 2.7 lakh customers across India.

The strong intent to purchase a vehicle reflected a healthy recovery in overall spending habits, it added. While the intent to purchase new vehicles is strong, used vehicles also seem to enjoy increased interest, it added.

As many as 52% of respondents wanted to buy a new personal car and 33% were looking for a new scooter or motorcycle.

Interestingly, 13% of the respondents said they intended to buy a used personal car, while 3% were inclined towards the purchase of a used scooter or motorcycle.

Value for money, cheaper than new vehicle, good deals and warranty from used car dealers and getting upper segment vehicle for the same price were some of the reasons for consumers leaning towards used vehicles, according to the survey.

When it comes to budget allocation for vehicle purchase as a result of COVID-19, 49% of the respondents said it has remained the same as before the pandemic, while 14% said they have increased the budget by up to 20%.

As far as ownership type is concerned, 74% of respondents still preferred owning directly through normal purchases from dealerships, while 17% were looking for long-term leasing for 1-4 years, 5% opted for short-term leasing of less than a year, while 3% of the respondents were looking for vehicle subscription service.