Spending habits of the automobile customers in Pakistan – PakWheels Automobile Industry Survey 2018

Every year PakWheels.com conducts automobile industry survey to ascertain buying and selling trends, preferences and behaviours. The survey is also conducted to make a year-on-year comparison and analysis of any change or deviation in behaviours, preferences, and trends. The survey provides valuable insights for anyone interested in or related to the automobile sector of Pakistan.

In 2018, 34% of respondents mentioned that they went for a new car compared to 64% who preferred a used car. The inclination to buy a used car increased from 2017 to 2018 as 58% of respondents preferred buying a used car. This can be due to increasing prices of new cars on the market. In 2018, 2% of respondents did not know the source of their purchase down from 4% in 2017.

The percentage of respondents opting for car financing for a new car remained the same at 34% in both 2017 and 2018. However, the percentage of respondents opting for car financing for a used car decreased from 11% to 9% from 2017 to 2018. This can be due to people shifting from new to used cars who had enough money to not avail the option of car financing. The percentage of respondents planning to purchase their next car decreased from 66% in 2017 to 65% in 2018. Moreover, people planning to purchase their next car within one year decreased by 5% from 2017 to 2018. This can also be attributed to inflation and rising prices of cars in Pakistan.

In the case of bikes, the percentage of respondents purchasing new bikes decreased from 63% to 62% from 2017 to 2018. Compared to cars, 62% is still greater than 34% for cars in 2018. This is mainly due to the less expensive nature of bikes compared to cars. The percentage of respondents aiming for a used bike increased from 33% to 35% from 2017 to 2018. The percentage of respondents who did not know the source of their purchase decreased from 4% to 3% in the years 2017 to 2018. The percentage of respondents willing to purchase their next bike increased from 55% to 58% in the years 2017 to 2018. This trend is exactly opposite to the one observed in the case of cars. This may be due to people shifting to bikes as cars become expensive year after year.