Hong Kong, October 10, 2024 / PRNewswire / -- Autohome (New York Stock Exchange stock code: ATHM; Hong Kong Stock Exchange code: 2518) Research Institute's latest user study shows that in the first half of 2024, 46% of repurchase users had a car age of over 8 years. Based on this calculation, a repurchase peak is expected between 2024-2026, seizing the opportunity of increased repurchases becoming a new 'compulsory course' for car companies.
To fully understand the profile and behavioral preferences of increased repurchase users, Autohome Research Institute conducted in-depth insights into repurchase users from a user perspective, releasing the '2024 Repurchase User Trend Insights' report, aiming to unveil the veil of repurchase users in the market and better grasp their needs.
From the user profile perspective, compared to first-time buyers, repurchase users are significantly older, with more mature family structures. People aged 30-50 account for nearly 75%, surpassing first-time buyers by 18 percentage points. Married with children account for over 90%, exceeding first-time buyers by 32 percentage points. Among repurchase users, people from first-tier and new first-tier cities account for almost 40%, significantly higher than first-time buyers, while high-income earners with household incomes of 0.2-0.5 million account for a higher proportion, with a more ample car purchase budget.
Repurchase user's car purchase decisions are influenced by multiple factors.
The replacement cycle has been extended - due to the improvement in product quality, users do not need to change cars frequently with normal use, and with poor user income expectations, the current user replacement cycle has been extended. Users with a replacement cycle of over 8 years account for 46%, an increase of 2.2 percentage points from last year. At the same time, the proportion of users selling old cars and choosing to buy new cars is decreasing, while the proportion of users choosing to buy more cost-effective second-hand cars is increasing.
The replacement process is difficult to capture - research has found that only 8% of users will follow the 'sell old-buy new' steps, completing the valuation of the old car first, and then going to the store to see the new car. 48% of users will choose to first see the new car in the store, complete the booking for the new car, and then choose to sell the old car. This means that if you wait for users to list their second-hand cars before pushing for the sale of new cars, their target car may already be determined, making it impossible to influence their purchase. Therefore, predicting the car purchases of replacement users requires more dimensional user big data support.
Replacement decisions are influenced by replacement subsidies - following the national policy pace, since August this year, local governments have successively launched a 'upgrade version' focusing on the local automobile market, the 'old for new' program, with enhanced subsidy intensity and more convenient application process. The 'old for new' policy effectively boosted car sales, and stimulating replacement demand has become the core driver of current market growth.
The research results of the Autohome Research Institute also confirmed the positive effect of replacement subsidies, with over 40% of users stating that replacement subsidies can effectively accelerate car purchase decisions. At the same time, 16% of users stated that the replacement subsidy policy increased their car purchase budget. However, the percentage of users who are not familiar with the subsidy policy is also growing, with 60% of users in 2024 having only partial knowledge of the policy, an increase of 8 percentage points from last year.
Price and size upgrades are still the main theme of the replacement purchase market.
In the first half of 2024, the average price of new cars for replacement buyers increased by approximately 0.04 million yuan, with a price upgrade proportion close to 50%. Price upgrading remains the mainstream direction for replacement buyers. However, in the main upgrade group with prices ranging from 0.1-0.2 million, there has been a lack of upgrade momentum. Less than half of the car owners continue to choose upgrades, a decrease of 1.6 percentage points compared to last year. This trend also extends to the group of users with original car prices ranging from 0.2-0.3 million, where the upgrade proportion has decreased by 0.6 percentage points, leading to a decrease in the proportion of users in the mid-to-high price range of replacement purchases.
Due to the novelty and the inability of old brands to meet the replacement trend, 90% of users indicate they would consider purchasing other brands. Even nearly 60% of users explicitly state that they will not choose old car brands, as users hope to experience a completely new brand through replacement. At the same time, the concentration of brand intention among replacement buyers continues to decline, with brand choices becoming more diversified. This means that loyal brand users inevitably become targets for other brands to compete for.
In addition to comprehensive costs, the main reasons for replacement buyers to switch from oil to electricity are intelligence and a good driving experience. The preference of replacement buyers for new energy has rapidly increased from less than 20% in 2021 to over 40% in the first half of 2024. Among them, user preferences for plug-in hybrids/extended range have almost caught up with pure electric vehicles. We expect that in the next 1-2 years, plug-in hybrid/extended range users will surpass pure electric users.
For users willing to exchange for new energy, it has completely subverted the concept of 'brand level'. In the first half of 2024, among users who exchanged for new energy, the proportion of those intending to choose independent new energy brands from China increased by nearly 4 percentage points, indicating that the competitive advantage of independent new energy brands from China over joint ventures and Tesla's old users is continuously expanding, accelerating the plundering of the existing market.
Users who purchase additional automobiles tend to have more children, showing a clear preference for additional new energy vehicles.
In 2023, the group of users purchasing additional vehicles accounted for 11% of the automobile market. Compared to users who exchange vehicles, users who purchase additional vehicles are more likely to be married with multiple children, showing a stronger preference for new energy vehicles, especially pure electric models.
Classifying users who purchase additional vehicles based on the type of energy, Autohome Research Institute found that users aged 30-40 account for a higher proportion of those purchasing additional new energy vehicles; they prefer independent new energy brands and are more influenced by experience and technological upgrades, with a higher expectation of experiencing intelligent functions in their vehicles. On the other hand, those who prefer fuel vehicles are primarily lower-income users in lower-tier cities and middle-income users in first-tier cities. They remain loyal users of joint ventures and luxury cars, and are more susceptible to price reductions, placing more emphasis on brand and reputation when purchasing vehicles.
As an important driving force for the development of the automobile market in recent years, both at the central and local levels are actively promoting the implementation of the trade-in policy for automobiles, providing momentum for the replacement and renewal of the automobile market; grasping the consumption and behavioral preferences of trade-in users has also become a necessary homework for automobile manufacturers. Autohome Research Institute will fully leverage its data resources and research advantages, evolve together with automobile manufacturers, and explore a new chapter in the development of the industry in the stock market.
About Autohome
Autohome (NYSE:ATHM; HKEX:2518) is China's leading online service platform for automotive consumers. According to QuestMobile data, Autohome's mobile daily active users reached 67.91 million in June 2024, an increase of 8.3% compared to the same period last year. The company's mission is to enhance the purchasing and driving experience of Chinese automotive consumers. Autohome provides original content (OGC), professional creative content (PGC), user-generated content (UGC), AI-generated content, comprehensive car model libraries, and extensive car release information covering the entire car purchase and use cycle. As it is able to reach a large and active group of automotive consumer users, Autohome has become the preferred platform for automotive manufacturers and dealers to promote advertising activities. In addition, the company's dealer subscription and advertising services allow dealers to market their inventory and services through the Autohome platform, expand their physical showrooms to millions of potential Internet users in China, and obtain sales leads. The company provides sales leads, data analysis and marketing services to assist automotive manufacturers and dealers in improving efficiency and facilitating transactions. Autohome operates its "Auto Mall", a full-featured online trading platform that helps automotive manufacturers and dealers promote transactions. In addition, the company provides other value-added services through its website and mobile applications, including automotive finance, car insurance, used car trading and after-sales services.
For more information about the company, please visit the corporate website.
