Women and Their New Car
According to recent Forbes research, 62% of new car buyers in America are women. They also suggest that 85% of new car buys are influenced by women. Australia can’t be too far behind these stats, either. But when it comes to spending habits, men and women are still vastly different, with very different priorities for their money. Research shows that men are more likely to splash out and buy big, whereas women focus more on lifestyle which also means being comfortable with spending money on a new car without the guilt. These spending habits and goal orientations do also align with what sort of cars women and men generally buy.
Think about this for an example. Just over 90% of those purchasing a Ferrari are men. Men tend to love big, fast cars more and are image conscious, like to focus on style and are more likely to be turned on by a car’s technology. On the other hand, generally speaking, most women tend to be more concerned with how reliable and safe their new car will be, the car’s style and colour, and whether it will fit her needs.
A few years ago Autogenie did a bit of research from a random sampling of around 6000 brand new vehicles that were purchased back in 2013, and it was consistently divided between male and female buyers. The study noted that women bought small cars and SUVs, while men preferred to buy sedans and ute’s. Interestingly, the most popular vehicles that were purchased by male buyers were the Ford Mondeo, the Ford Ranger ute and the Toyota Hilux ute. Women new car buyers preferred buying the Mazda6, Toyota Kluger SUV and Holden Barina city car.
Mazda3 a Winner With Women
The study also revealed that both male and female new car buyers liked the Mazda3. Both the Mazda CX-5 and Volkswagen Golf made it to the best five most accepted models that men and women liked equally. Among the male buyers, the larger Holden Commodore was well-accepted, finishing as the 4th most wanted model. On the other hand, female customers preferred to buy smaller cars, and these were the Mazda3, Hyundai i30 and VW Golf.
But let’s, for moment, take the gender comparison out of what drives a buyer to buy a particular type of new car, and we find that everyone has different priorities for purchasing a new car. The car’s fuel economy, purchase price, looks, interior space, and the number of luxury items and gadgets will all be factors which will tip the scales toward buying one new car from the other.
The ways people are buying new cars are also changing. A lot more people now use online reviews and online guidelines to get an idea about vehicles they would, or might like to, buy. Particularly women are turning to their social networks — both online and offline — for vehicle recommendations, according to Cars.com research. Women like to turn to their friends and family for recommendations of what new car to buy because they don’t have a specific car in mind that they want to get.
Hatch, Sedan or SUV?
Women are looking for a vehicle that will fit their lifestyle, so they will need something for hauling their big dogs to the beach or something for traveling safely on back roads or something that’ll make the city traffic and tight spaces less stressful. Women focus on safety, reliability and comfort. They’re also less brand loyal than male new car buyers. These findings have been backed up by J.D. Power research. Men will be more common to place performance and style on their car want list, as well as the latest technology like panoramic moonroofs and multimedia systems.
Buying a new car is always exciting. During August, in Australia, the top-selling cars (in order from most bought to least) were: Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai i30, Toyota RAV4, Mazda3, Toyota LandCruiser, Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi Triton and the Nissan X-Trail. I wonder which ones were bought most by women?
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