04 Feb 2011
Posted by Miriam O'Neill 
12.9% of motorists are planning to buy a car this year. 4.4% say they will buy a new car while 8.5% say they will buy second hand. The findings are contained in an AA Motor Insurance poll of more than 20,000 motorists. The results will come as good news for the motor industry which has already reported a positive start to 2011, with an increase in revenue of €30 million on the previous January and a 29% increase in vehicles sold.
For new car purchase the figure is slightly weighted towards male drivers with 5% planning to buy a brand new car this year compared with 3.4% of women. Reliability / durability matters most to new car buyers, with 98.1% rating it as important or very important. Price and fuel economy were also prioritised but interestingly ‘Top Speed’ was bottom of the list with only 21.4% considering it important.
Diesel sales, which accounted for 64% of new car sales in 2010, will continue to dominate the new car market again in 2011 according to the AA Motor Insurance poll. 60% of new car purchasers polled say they will opt for a diesel car over a petrol model this year. 23% of poll respondents say that they will buy a petrol model while the rest are still undecided. It seems that more females than males are in the market for a petrol model. 30% of women intending to buy a new car in 2011 say they will opt for a petrol model compared with just 19% of males.
“Across our portfolio of motor insurance customers, we see that twice as many women as men drive a car with an engine of 1.2 litres of less,” says John Farrell, Director of AA Motor Insurance. “75% of new cars sold within this category during 2010 were petrol models, so it’s not surprising that petrol models are faring better among females.”
Overall, the AA Motor Insurance poll reveals that 15% of those buying a new car this year will opt for a smaller car that their last, 53.1% will choose something similar to their current model and 23% will upsizeertain vehicle characteristics seem to resonate better with the residents of some counties than others. According to the AA Motor Insurance poll, Dubliners are least concerned by a vehicle’s fuel economy. Limerick residents are the least likely to prioritize a vehicle’s handling in severe weather conditions such as snow whereas Longford residents were the most concerned by this. And Cavan residents are the least interested in a vehicle’s top speed capabilities.
Ends
Notes to the editor;
Fig. 1 Poll respondents who are planning on buying a new car in 2011 (Based on 20,086 responses)
| Yes, will buy a new car this year | 4.4% |
| Yes, will buy a second hand car this year | 8.5% |
| Not yet sure | 20.4% |
| No, will not be buying a car this year | 66.7% |
(B) MALE poll respondents who are planning on buying a new car in 2011 (Based on 11,330 responses)
| Yes, will buy a new car this year | 5.0% |
| Yes, will buy a second hand car this year | 9.2% |
| Not yet sure | 21.2% |
| No, will not be buying a car this year | 64.6% |
(C) FEMALE poll respondents who are planning on buying a new car in 2011 (Based on 8,344 responses)
| Yes, will buy a new car this year | 3.4% |
| Yes, will buy a second hand car this year | 7.7% |
| Not yet sure | 19.5% |
| No, will not be buying a car this year | 69.5% |
Fig. 2 (A) Split by fuel type of new car purchases planned by poll respondents during 2011 (Based on 3,001 respondents)
| Petrol | 22.8% |
| Diesel | 60.1% |
| Biofuel compatible | 1.2% |
| LPG | 0.0% |
| Electric | 0.5% |
| Other | 0.3% |
| Not yet sure | 15.1% |
(B) Split by fuel type of new car purchases planned by MALE poll respondents during 2011 (Based on 1859 respondents)
| Petrol | 19.0% |
| Diesel | 66.4% |
| Biofuel compatible | 0.9% |
| LPG | 0.0% |
| Electric | 0.5% |
| Other | 0.2% |
| Not yet sure | 13.0% |
(C) Split by fuel type of new car purchases planned by FEMALE poll respondents during 2011 (Based on 1080 respondents)
| Petrol | 29.5% |
| Diesel | 49.2% |
| Biofuel compatible | 1.6% |
| LPG | 0.0% |
| Electric | 0.4% |
| Other | 0.6% |
| Not yet sure | 18.8% |
Fig. 3 (A) Size of vehicle that respondents who are planning on buying a new car this year will opt for (Based on 2,998 responses):
| It will be a bigger car | 22.8% |
| It will be a smaller car | 15.0% |
| It will be a similar car | 53.1% |
| I have not yet decided | 5.8% |
| It is not a direct replacement for a current car | 3.3% |
(B) Size of vehicle that MALE respondents who are planning on buying a new car this year will opt for (Based on 1,861 responses):
| It will be a bigger car | 21.9% |
| It will be a smaller car | 15.9% |
| It will be a similar car | 53.4% |
| I have not yet decided | 5.6% |
| It is not a direct replacement for a current car | 3.3% |
(C) Size of vehicle that FEMALE respondents who are planning on buying a new car this year will opt for (Based on 1080 responses):
| It will be a bigger car | 24.5% |
| It will be a smaller car | 13.3% |
| It will be a similar car | 52.9% |
| I have not yet decided | 6.3% |
| It is not a direct replacement for a current car | 3.1% |
Fig. 4 – Importance respondents’ would place (either hypothetically/or in practice) on the below features and characteristics when making a decision to purchase a new car (Based on 20,556 responses) :
| Very important | Somewhat important | Neutral | Somewhat unimportant | Very unimportant | |
| Reliability / durability | 90.5% | 7.6% | 0.9% | 0.0% | 0.9% |
| Price | 85.8% | 11.7% | 1.6% | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| Performance | 62.5% | 27.6% | 7.4% | 1.3% | 1.3% |
| Fuel economy | 83.0% | 13.9% | 2.2% | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| Comfort for driver and passengers | 66.2% | 28.0% | 4.5% | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| Eco-friendliness | 35.4% | 39.5% | 18.0% | 4.5% | 2.6% |
| Resale value | 42.7% | 35.9% | 14.2% | 4.9% | 2.3% |
| High safey rating (e.g. 5 Star EuroNCAP crash test score) | 57.1% | 30.3% | 8.7% | 2.9% | 1.0% |
| Number of seats (e.g. people carrier required) | 25.5% | 32.4% | 22.5% | 8.5% | 11.1% |
| Top speed | 4.2% | 17.2% | 33.0% | 25.9% | 19.7% |
| How well suited the vehicle is to severe conditions, e.g. snow | 34.2% | 38.7% | 19.8% | 4.5% | 2.9% |
| Brand name / preferred make of car | 24.3% | 34.8% | 27.5% | 5.1% | 8.3% |
| Luggage space | 17.4% | 34.7% | 26.7% | 15.1% | 6.1% |
| Bluetooth | 13.3% | 18.1% | 27.5% | 13.3% | 27.8% |
| Extra features, e.g. SatNav | 6.2% | 21.5% | 30.3% | 15.6% | 26.4% |
Fig. 4 – County by county split, of car features that respondents’ would rate ‘Very Important’ when making a decision to purchase a new car (either hypothetically/or in practice):
| Reliability / durability | Price | Performance | Fuel economy | Comfort for driver and passengers | Eco-friendliness | Resale value | High safety rating (e.g. 5 Star EuroNCAP crash test score) | |
| Carlow (200 responses) | 95.5% | 80.2% | 61.8% | 82.4% | 66.8% | 34.7% | 41.1% | 51.0% |
| Cavan (200 responses) | 90.5% | 76.0% | 56.5% | 78.4% | 62.9% | 27.9% | 43.7% | 52.6% |
| Clare (392 responses) | 90.5% | 78.3% | 61.2% | 81.5% | 64.0% | 35.8% | 44.3% | 55.8% |
| Cork (2,236 responses) | 91.3% | 80.8% | 59.4% | 78.9% | 63.4% | 33.5% | 41.1% | 55.1% |
| Donegal (319 responses) | 90.5% | 85.8% | 62.5% | 83.0% | 66.2% | 35.4% | 42.7% | 57.1% |
| Dublin (7490 responses) | 90.5% | 79.2% | 54.4% | 71.9% | 62.9% | 33.0% | 35.8% | 53.2% |
| Galway (902 responses) | 90.7% | 79.1% | 61.8% | 78.3% | 63.9% | 35.7% | 40.2% | 55.5% |
| Kerry (332 responses) | 94.3% | 85.8% | 65.8% | 85.2% | 67.6% | 42.8% | 40.3% | 57.5% |
| Kildare (1322 responses) | 93.3% | 81.3% | 55.0% | 80.3% | 64.1% | 34.7% | 39.2% | 57.3% |
| Kilkenny | 93.9% | 80.7% | 62.0% | 79.6% | 62.7% | 29.1% | 40.4% | 51.1% |
| Laois (259 responses) | 93.0% | 84.4% | 63.5% | 86.7% | 67.7% | 36.8% | 40.2% | 60.0% |
| Leitrim (99 responses) | 91.8% | 79.8% | 56.7% | 86.9% | 64.6% | 34.7% | 43.8% | 59.2% |
| Limerick | 92.2% | 79.5% | 61.8% | 79.2% | 64.0% | 35.3% | 46.6% | 57.4% |
| Longford (123 responses) | 91.9% | 84.6% | 61.7% | 77.7% | 70.2% | 39.7% | 49.6% | 54.2% |
| Louth (476 responses) | 91.6% | 80.7% | 55.7% | 80.4% | 61.9% | 34.5% | 41.1% | 54.2% |
| Mayo (388 responses) | 90.9% | 81.3% | 59.0% | 81.8% | 69.5% | 36.0% | 43.3% | 56.1% |
| Meath (915 responses) | 93.0% | 80.1% | 55.1% | 80.4% | 63.5% | 30.4% | 39.8% | 56.3% |
| Monaghan (113 responses) | 94.6% | 81.4% | 61.6% | 78.8% | 66.1% | 31.0% | 35.5% | 49.5% |
| Offaly (209 responses) | 93.2% | 82.0% | 65.2% | 82.1% | 71.2% | 38.0% | 40.1% | 67.6% |
| Roscommon (211 responses) | 92.4% | 76.4% | 57.4% | 83.9% | 66.2% | 32.1% | 43.5% | 61.0% |
| Sligo (226 responses) | 92.4% | 81.4% | 57.5% | 78.5% | 66.2% | 30.3% | 37.2% | 56.1% |
| Tipperary (475 responses) | 92.6% | 80.7% | 61.1% | 83.6% | 65.5% | 31.5% | 45.1% | 56.1% |
| Waterford (453 responses) | 90.9% | 82.0% | 58.2% | 78.0% | 63.9% | 30.4% | 38.9% | 55.0% |
| Westmeath (329 responses) | 92.0% | 80.5% | 61.0% | 81.6% | 66.5% | 30.2% | 43.3% | 58.2% |
| Wexford (546 responses) | 90.0% | 79.8% | 59.0% | 81.9% | 68.1% | 34.0% | 42.3% | 58.6% |
| Wicklow (865 responses) | 92.0% | 78.2% | 50.9% | 78.7% | 64.7% | 34.8% | 33.9% | 53.2% |
CONT’D County by county split, of car features that respondents’ would rate ‘Very Important’ when making a decision to purchase a new car (either hypothetically/or in practice):
| Number of seats (e.g. people carrier required) | Top speed | How well suited the vehicle is to severe conditions, e.g. snow | Brand name / preferred make of car | Luggage space | Bluetooth | Extra features, e.g. SatNav | |
| Carlow | 25.3% | 4.1% | 34.7% | 26.5% | 22.7% | 21.4% | 11.3% |
| Cavan | 23.5% | 1.5% | 33.8% | 23.4% | 21.5% | 20.4% | 6.7% |
| Clare | 24.1% | 5.0% | 27.3% | 24.7% | 21.1% | 17.3% | 8.2% |
| Cork | 24.0% | 3.8% | 25.8% | 25.2% | 22.6% | 16.5% | 7.7% |
| Donegal | 25.5% | 4.2% | 34.2% | 24.3% | 17.4% | 13.3% | 6.2% |
| Dublin | 21.9% | 3.5% | 25.5% | 24.6% | 22.0% | 17.2% | 7.1% |
| Galway | 22.8% | 3.2% | 27.1% | 23.7% | 19.5% | 17.6% | 7.3% |
| Kerry | 24.3% | 3.7% | 28.3% | 24.5% | 19.0% | 15.7% | 7.4% |
| Kildare | 24.0% | 2.7% | 31.2% | 23.1% | 22.2% | 20.9% | 7.4% |
| Kilkenny | 22.7% | 4.7% | 28.2% | 19.7% | 21.4% | 22.7% | 8.7% |
| Laois | 29.3% | 2.8% | 33.6% | 25.0% | 22.1% | 15.7% | 6.9% |
| Leitrim | 32.7% | 4.3% | 37.1% | 27.6% | 28.6% | 19.6% | 11.5% |
| Limerick | 23.0% | 6.2% | 23.8% | 26.8% | 21.9% | 18.3% | 7.7% |
| Longford | 25.8% | 5.0% | 38.0% | 28.1% | 19.2% | 22.3% | 15.8% |
| Louth | 25.4% | 4.8% | 28.2% | 24.5% | 20.4% | 18.6% | 8.9% |
| Mayo | 28.0% | 4.8% | 34.2% | 26.1% | 19.7% | 17.7% | 8.2% |
| Meath | 30.3% | 3.6% | 34.8% | 24.2% | 22.7% | 21.4% | 7.0% |
| Monaghan | 20.9% | 3.6% | 33.9% | 27.9% | 16.2% | 16.1% | 6.3% |
| Offaly | 26.3% | 3.0% | 28.6% | 26.7% | 19.7% | 15.0% | 6.6% |
| Roscommon | 21.7% | 4.9% | 34.8% | 24.6% | 15.5% | 14.1% | 6.9% |
| Sligo | 22.5% | 5.0% | 29.3% | 24.0% | 17.4% | 15.3% | 7.3% |
| Tipperary | 22.4% | 3.9% | 25.9% | 24.6% | 16.9% | 14.4% | 9.6% |
| Waterford | 22.7% | 4.6% | 25.3% | 26.2% | 19.7% | 17.1% | 8.5% |
| Westmeath | 28.2% | 3.7% | 27.0% | 29.7% | 22.7% | 20.2% | 6.6% |
| Wexford | 22.1% | 4.4% | 36.7% | 23.3% | 20.9% | 17.2% | 6.8% |
| Wicklow | 23.3% | 3.2% | 32.5% | 24.9% | 23.1% | 18.5% | 7.0% |
1 Comment
Amazing site…
I really liked your blog, thanks for sharing this useful information……