Research Shows Young Car Buyers Want Freedom And Good Tunes

A new study commissioned by Hyundai Australia has found that female buyers make up roughly two-thirds of Australians aged under 35 who are looking to buy a light car.

Armed with a university degree (69 percent) and moved most by music (65 percent), movies (59 percent) and travel (58 percent), Hyundai says the prime motivators for young women are friends and fashion, while the guys lean more to video games, technology and cars.

Brand loyalty (doubtless a key factor for any carmaker offering models from the light segment through to the large family car market) is a clear part of life for young adults in Australia. Around 70 percent of the 3070 respondents own at least one Apple-branded product, with 42 percent getting behind the iPhone, iPod and iPad.

On the car shopping front, 74 percent of respondents were first-time buyers of a brand-new car, with most expecting to spend less than $20,000 and many hoping to hold onto their purchase for at least six years before replacing it.

While car manufacturer websites and news websites ranked highly as sources of information on new cars (yup... duh: editor), females tended to look to friends, family and peers for advice on a new car, while males leaned mostly to news websites, forums and blogs.

Key purchase criteria for most young buyers included price, fuel economy, reliability, warranty and safety. The most desirable feature for most is a good audio system (79 percent stating a love for listening to music in their car), and 70 percent simply want the freedom that comes with owning a car.