In the 12 months to November 2010, 48% of the 2.12 million long term new car intenders rate the internet as the most useful for providing information when purchasing a new motor vehicle compared to only 26% for newspapers.

Of those intending to purchase a car from one of the top ten manufacturers, Subaru (61%) and Volkswagen (60%) had the highest proportion who regarded the internet as the most useful media to help with their purchase.


Most useful Media when Purchasing a New Car


Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia) October 1999 – November 2010. Base: New Car Intender (next 4 years) n=64,853 (12 monthly moving average  n=6,327) *Respondents are able to choose multiple responses.


Norman Morris, Industry Communications Director, Roy Morgan Research, says:

“The internet’s penetration and growth as a media for those intending to purchase a new car can have different implications for different automotive manufacturers. While the internet is the most useful media for intenders of all brands, Subaru and Volkswagen intenders have the highest preference for the internet as an information source.

“Those who use the internet for information when purchasing a new car vary greatly by age. Intending buyers aged 25-34 are the most likely group to use the internet, but for those aged 50 or more, only 33% see the internet as most useful. An important consideration when this age group represents 38% of new car intenders. At the same time, this group prefer newspapers, 34% citing them as the most useful media.”

To learn more about automotive intentions for the different vehicle types, view the Roy Morgan Automotive Currency Report, which covers intentions to purchase new vehicles, future intentions and recent sales, loyalty and satisfaction, brand health, automotive attitudes, car servicing and use of the internet for vehicle related content.

To purchase the detailed Roy Morgan Automotive Currency Report.

This report looks at the Australian automotive industry, providing vital trended information on key market metrics, delivering a cost effective tool for measurement and evaluation of marketing effectiveness, brand performance and competitor performance.


For more details contact:

info@roymorganonlinestore.com