Automotive Urbanization Survey: City Consumers Still Interested in Vehicles

Urbanization is a trend that’s having a major impact on the automotive industry, according to a recent report from the World Economic Forum. Since more people are living in big cities, automotive brands need to be able to appeal to those city dwelling consumers. But with other options like public transportation and ride sharing services, that might not be an easy task. So what do urban consumers think about vehicle brands? We asked 1,000 respondents about their thoughts on vehicle brands and automotive urbanization.

Vehicle Consumers

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 74% of respondents said that they currently own or lease a vehicle. Ford, Honda, Toyota, Chevy, Dodge and Nissan were the most popular vehicle brands among those respondents. And looking forward, 54% of respondents said they are at least somewhat likely to purchase another vehicle in the future.

Transportation Options

Overall, 7% of respondents said that they’ve used public transportation within the last day. Another 7% have used public transportation in the last week. 8% have within the last month. 7% have within the last three months. Another 7% have within the last year. 23% said it’s been more than a year since they last used public transportation. And 41% said they don’t ever use it. In addition, 2% said they’ve used a taxi or ride sharing service like Uber or Lyft within the past day. 5% have used taxis or ride sharing services in the past month. 7% have within the past month. 8% have within the past three months. 7% have within the past year. 17% said that it’s been more than a year since they’ve used taxis or ride sharing services. And 55% have never used taxis or ride sharing services.

Automotive Urbanization

In general, 22% of consumers said that they currently live in big cities. 42% live in suburbs. And 28% live in rural areas. Of those who live in big cities, 67% currently own vehicles. And 55% are at least somewhat likely to purchase vehicles in the future. But those respondents were also more likely to use both public transportation and taxi services regularly. Additionally, 80% of respondents said they consider having a vehicle to be a necessity. 88% agree that having a vehicle is convenient. And just 22% think that having a vehicle is an unnecessary expense. Of those who live in big cities, 76% think that having a vehicle is a necessity. 91% think that having a vehicle is convenient. And 31% of urban consumers think that having a vehicle is an unnecessary expense.

Key Takeaways

Those who live in big cities are currently less likely to own vehicles. But they are actually just as likely, if not slightly more so, to have plans to purchase vehicles in the future. In addition, urban consumers were more likely to see having a vehicle as convenient. But they were also more likely to consider it to be an unnecessary expense. What this information could mean for automotive brands is that targeting consumers in big cities is still worthwhile, even with the other transportation options available. And for those vehicle companies looking to target consumers in cities, highlighting convenience and inexpensive options could be an effective way to go. You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Taxi Cabs Unite by Brad Clinesmith under CC BY-SA 2.0What do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.

Results were collected on November 9-13 via AYTM’s online survey panel.