Experian highlights opportunity in a challenged car market

News release

Contact:
Serj Heera
Press Relations Executive, Automotive & Insurance
+44 (0) 115 976 8945 Tel
serjeet.heera@uk.experian.com Email

experian highlights opportunity in a challenged car market

Nottingham, UK, 5 September 2008 - In a recent survey exploring the key concerns currently affecting consumer confidence, almost nine in ten British car owners have admitted that they are worried about the rising costs of living, but two in five would delay buying a car as a result, according to a survey[1] by Experian^®, the global information services company.

Kirk Fletcher, Managing Director of Experian’s Automotive division, said: “People are clearly worried about the current economic climate.  However, it is interesting to find that the influence of these concerns is not as overwhelming as expected.  People are certainly thinking about these issues when they are considering a car purchase, but not as many people as expected are actually delaying their purchase.  People are still buying cars.

“For example, just over a third of the British car owners change their cars regularly (within a three year period).  Of these, 83 per cent have admitted that they are worried about the current costs of running a car, but only 20 per cent would actually consider delaying buying a car at the moment.  There is still an opportunity to reach the car owners who are still likely to change their cars within that three year cycle.

“The focus for dealers now is to make the most of opportunities that are already present in their businesses.  For example, the most effective revenue-building asset in a dealership is the customer database.  Dealers can maximise a database’s value by using it to understand their customers more, then identify and target those who are most likely to buy soon.  A key part of this, however, is ensuring that their customer records are up-to-date.  Regular data cleansing is a small price for the significant amount of wasted expenditure it will save in the long run.”

Key findings included:

• 87 per cent of car owners are worried about the rising costs of living
• only 42 per cent would put off the decision to buy a car due to the rising costs of living
• 86 per cent of car owners are concerned about the rising costs of running a car
• only 17 per cent have stated that the increasing costs of running a car would be one of the main reason they would delay the purchase
• 34 per cent of owners are worried about being able to get finance in order to pay for a car 
• 22 per cent would delay buying a car as a result of their ability to obtain finance for it.

Kirk concluded: “Much of the industry has accepted that the difficult trading conditions will continue for a while and our contact with dealers has shown they are reacting practically to a very challenging environment.  For example, many dealers are increasingly recognising the huge value and potential of their customer databases and the need for regular data cleansing to reduce costs and maximise on opportunities they already have.”

For further information about data cleansing, please contact Experian’s Automotive team on 0870 414 0310 or email automotive.enquiries@uk.experian.com