Most car buyers who had been aiming to buy a car in November will carry on shopping despite England’s new lockdown.
A poll of 5,524 in-market buyers by What Car? as part of its weekly market research found that 77 per cent of them were undaunted by the latest restrictions.
Releasing its findings today (Nov 11), it said 16 per cent were still looking to buy in the next four weeks.
That’s four percentage points down from the typical level of interest for November, but the car-buying brand said it still showed how strong the level of intent was as dealers looked to sell over the phone and internet, as well as offer click-and-collect.
In addition, 50 per cent of those planning to buy were bringing it forward because of the lockdown in case of further restrictions.
More than a third of the respondents also said they were now more receptive to using online tools such as live video tours and live chat as part of their research.
Meanwhile, 30 per cent said they were more comfortable with the prospect of buying a car now than during the last round of showroom closures.
Rachael Prasher, managing director of What Car?, said: ‘Although October saw new car registrations down by just 1.6 per cent, there has been genuine concern over how the market will react to the England-wide lockdown.
‘Our research suggests the majority of in-market buyers are still in the market for a vehicle and haven’t been put off by the new restrictions.
‘This has been helped by the growing uptake and reception towards live video tours and online buying, which will help dealers through the month-long closure.’
New car sales drop to nine-year low for October as they fall by 1.6 per cent
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