变速换挡，COVID-19和快速变化的汽车消费者（英文）

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1Shifting gears: COVID-19 and the fast-changing automotive consumerAutomotive Consumer Tracker Survey The automotive industry is no stranger to major change and disruption. Trends such as shared and electric mobility were already causing significant change even before the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has shifted consumer preferences again, making it critical to understand which changes will endure over the medium term. To get to the pulse of consumers during these uncertain times, we have updated our earlier April 2020 research in this note.In our April report, COVID-19 and the automotive consumer: How can automotive organizations re-engage consumers and reignite demand?, we found that consumers were increasingly preferring personal vehicles, health and hygiene features in cars, and digital modes of interaction throughout the purchase cycle. In many markets, sales of cars rebounded in March and April,1 spurred by pent-up demand, supportive governmental policies, growing preference for personal mobility, and an improving economic outlook. But the recovery is only partial – car sales were still down year over year in recent quarters.2 Concerns over public and shared mobility are likely to persist however, as countries set up the infrastructure and technical support required to administer the vaccine for COVID-19.With research taking place in November, we have now gone back to consumers to understand which trends are being sustained over the long term, what new trends are emerging, and how automotive companies can respond effectively. We reached out to 11,000 consumers from 11 countries: the US, the UK, France, Germany, China, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Spain, and India. These countries together represented 62% of global annual passenger vehicle sales in 2019.RESEARCH NOTE1This research note outlines the key long-term and sustained trends that continue to drive the industry: 1. Mobility preferences continue to shift towards personal means of transport. Consumers are still avoiding public or shared transport and favoring private vehicles to fulfill their travel needs. This is driven by falling expectations of a return to the status quo once the pandemic subsides. Safety concerns are also driving preferences for in-car health and wellness features and touchless interactions. 2. Purchase appetite has continued to grow over the last few months in almost all markets. In April, 35% of consumers expressed interest in buying a car; in November, this stood at 46%. With multiple COVID-19 waves and emerging new mutations, coupled with renewed lockdown restrictions, consumers prefer personal mobility over shared or public transport. – Driven by economic concerns stirred by the pandemic, a large segment of consumers have lowered their expectations regarding the car they intend to buy. However, a sizeable segment now wants a more premium experience from their cars than what they were planning earlier – and t