Aggressive pricing could tempt buyers away from established brands

Consumers will consider switching to one of the many new car brands if priced significantly lower than established marques, new research has revealed.

JudgeService’s Car Buyer Barometer, which polled the views of 1,000 consumers, found three-quarters would be tempted by cheaper prices. 

Nearly half (48%) of mainstream brand owners said they would consider buying from a new entrant if prices were up to £3,000 cheaper, while a further 27% said they would switch if they were more than £3,000 lower. 

Owners of prestige cars were also willing to change with over a third (34%) saying they would switch if prices were at least £3,000 cheaper, while 41% would consider savings of over £3,000. 

With many new brands offering generous standard equipment levels, a quarter of all respondents said they would switch if the specification was right for them, regardless of the cars being cheaper. 

Willingness to consider a new entrant brand was strongest among new car buyers aged 25-34 (29%) and used car buyers aged 18-24 (17%). 

The research identified 15 new marques from China, South Korea and the US, mostly electric vehicles. The highest rated for awareness was Genesis (25%) followed by BYD (13%). 

However, awareness of all other brands was low, even for those currently on sale in the UK including GWM Ora (6%) and Fisker (9%). 

“From 2024 we will see an unprecedented rollout of new car brands and our research shows how aggressive pricing might be enough to tempt UK buyers away from established brands,” said Neil Addley, managing director of JudgeService. 

“For dealers contemplating representation opportunities, it’s important they consider how a new brand will fit into their portfolio and where best to invest their capital expenditure. 

“Dealers also need to keep an open mind on just how popular they could become. While many of these brands are currently unknown to the car buying public, the same was true of Kia and Hyundai back in the 1990s and look what happened to them,” said Addley.