Survey compares Canadian car buying/driving habits to nine other countries

You are what you drive. Survey says Canadians are “image” buyers.

A just released international survey of car buying habits shows more Canadians buy cars for their image, than buyers in other countries, and roughly the same percentage buy vehicles for their “performance”.  The survey also showed however that Canadians are less “risky” behind the wheel than elsewhere

 The International Car Survey was conducted this year by Redshift Research among a sample of 10,054 drivers, using the online sales site Kijiji

Scott Neil, is head of autos, for the online sales site Kijiji

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Car sales figures for the month of August have come out, and almost all brands report significant sales increases in this country.  Vehicle sales are up in Canada 6.5% on average over last year.  Chrysler Canada said it sold 19,858 cars and light trucks in September, its best since 2000  and Canadians drove 25,956 Ford Canada cars and trucks off the lot last  month, a 10 per cent year-over-year jump, GM reports 5% bump in sales while Honda gets 20% boost.

But what do Canadian drivers look for when they buy, and how does that compare to those in the nine other countries surveyed; Argentina, Australia, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the UK?

 

The recent survey shows in Canada, 27% of buyers look for image, i.e., the brand, design and styling, versus 23% of drivers globally.  Canadians seeking “performance” come in at the global average of 17% of drivers..

This is borne out by sales figures of top end cars.  Luxury/performance have been improving for brands like Bentley, Maserati, Porsche Jaguar-Land Rover and others, which have all been improving sales in Canada year over year in each of the last few years.

But, on the other hand, Canadians are also firmly in the global average of 22% of buyers who list reliability, efficiency and running costs as their priorities.

And a  good percentage of Canadians see cars merely as transportation objects. In fact, slightly more Canadian drivers than the global average (19% vs17%)  consider them merely as a way to get from point A to B.

Canadians are far less likely to take risks like drinking and driving for example compared to the global average (5% vs 11%)

And although Canadians tend to rate slightly higher on the style and image factor, we seem to prefer rather neutral tones over bright bold colours.  The most popular colour is silver chosen by 18% of buyers, followed by blue and black, and even grey at 14%  is more common than racy red at 11%.