Car buyers more likely to choose UK-built models post-coronavirus
New research shows many car buyers are now more inclined to purchase from a manufacturer that builds its cars in the UK or has supported frontline workers during the pandemic...
More than a quarter of new car buyers (26%) are more inclined than before to purchase from brands which have factories in the UK to help the economy recover from the coronavirus crisis, new research by What Car? suggests.
The survey of 5998 in-market buyers also showed that nearly four out of 10 (38.9%) are keen to purchase from a manufacturer that has supported frontline workers.
The UK automotive industry responded in force to the pandemic in early March, with factories shifting production to help manufacture essential hospital equipment, while many retailers used demonstration vehicles to deliver food and medicine to the vulnerable.
Ford, McLaren, Rolls-Royce and Vauxhall, for example, joined forces to work on ventilators; Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover produced visors and protective clothing; Nissan's Sunderland factory sorted and packed thousands of individual visor parts for shipping to the NHS; and many manufacturers lent out vehicles.
These sort of things have caused 10.9% of car buyers to change their perceptions of a manufacturer, with 14.1% saying responses to the pandemic have caused them to consider a brand that wasn’t previously on their shortlist.
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