CarGurus, a car shopping platform in the U.S., conducted a survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers to gather their opinions around how the recent presidential election will impact the automotive industry and their plans to buy a car. Overall, findings showed many expect both car and gas prices to increase, and even more expect to see fewer government incentives for environmentally friendly vehicles. That will likely not impact the decision to buy one, however, the survey results showed.
CarGurus learned the following based on the presidential election results:
- 35 percent think auto prices will increase
- 8 percent think auto prices will decrease
- 57 percent think auto prices will stay the same
- Almost half (46 percent) think gas prices will increase
- Almost one quarter (21 percent) think gas prices will decrease
- Almost one third (32 percent) think gas prices will remain the same
In addition, the survey uncovered the following:
- 70 percent noted that the election will have no impact on their decision to buy a U.S. or foreign-made car
- 75 percent expect to see fewer government incentives to buy efficient cars like electronic vehicles and hybrids, and 25 percent expect to see more
When asked what impact a reduction in government incentives would have on the likelihood to consider purchasing an electric vehicle:
- 67 percent said it would not have an impact on their decision
- 17 percent said they would be much less likely to consider an electric vehicle
- 16 percent said they would be somewhat less likely to consider an electric vehicle
The CarGurus survey also found that younger respondents were more skeptical in their post-election opinions. They were more likely than older shoppers (55-plus) to believe gas prices will increase, with 60 percent of 18-24 year olds thinking gas prices will increase as opposed to 44 percent of respondents aged 55 or older. In addition, almost 10 percent of younger shoppers said they would delay their decision to buy a car and almost 10 percent of 25-34 year olds say they are planning to spend less on the car since the election.
“Our survey uncovered that while the election may have produced a level of uncertainty related to some issues like car and gas prices, others such as an affinity toward an electric vehicle remain largely unaffected,” said Sarah Welch, senior vice president of consumer marketing at CarGurus. “It will be interesting to watch how this unfolds over the coming months and years, especially with the theme of financial prudence and caution coming from the younger generation.”
The survey’s full findings can be found here.