Navigating the customer journey

The Report

As part of a series study on automotive consumer behaviour, this year's study covered a survey on over 22,000 consumers in 17 countries. This article focused on Asia Pacific consumers perspectives on electric vehicles and autonomous driving vehicles, as well as their attitude and experience in purchasing a vehicle, which can help companies prioritize and better position their business strategies and investments.

Viewpoints / key findings

• China's adoption of advanced automotive technologies could result in a worldwide tipping point. Compared to many other global automotive markets, China will likely scale faster and grow larger, which lays foundation to develop advanced technologies.

Figure 1. Electrification, connected cars and autonomous vehicles trends in China

• China is leading the Asia Pacific region in terms of consumer interest in hybrid-electrics and BEVs. Consumers in Asian markets are moving away from traditional gasoline and diesel engines in favor of alternative powertrain options. In China, 61 percent of consumers would prefer alternative powertrain in their next vehicle as compared to 48 percent in Japan. However, EV range anxiety and battery technology safety are still significant concerns for consumers in China.

Figure 2. Greatest concerns among consumers in China regarding BEVs

• Trust in autonomous vehicles is growing overall. Consumer opinion regarding the safety of fully autonomous vehicles, particularly in China, has improved significantly over the past year, with 74% consumers believe that self-driving vehicles will be safe, compared to 38% in 2017. However, over half of Chinese consumers (53 percent) trust AV-focused companies to bring a fully self-driving vehicle to market. In comparison, only 28 percent trust traditional car manufacturers to do the same.
• Consumers expect a high quality experience at the dealer. 88% of consumers in China feel the customer experience is an important decision factor when shopping a car, and themes of transparency, time management, and personal interactions are most important during the purchase process. Moreover, 86% of Chinese consumers are interested in the concept of buying direct from the OEM. But dealers had 2X touchpoints with consumers post their vehicle purchase when compared to a manufacturer, and a majority of Chinese consumers would prefer to negotiate pricing and complete the finance and insurance process at the dealership.