ISC-CX Future Mobility: Driving experience with electric cars is the biggest factor in the purchase decision. The test drive is crucial!
ISC-CX, one of the world's leading providers of customer experience programs, today announced the release of the ISC-CX Future Mobility consumer study. In March 2021, the research company gathered more than 3000 responses from consumers in China to find out which part of the customer journey is most important for potential customers when buying an electric car.
Some notable findings from the study:
• 89% of consumers absolutely want to take a test drive before buying a car - just over a third want the test drive to take place at their home.
• TikTok is the preferred social media platform for 80% of consumers in China to research the target cars before purchase.
• Inadequately-developed charging infrastructure is the main reason for consumers in China not to buy an electric car.
• 68% of those surveyed aim to get their first information about buying an electric car at a dealer.
According to the study, one of the most critical factors when buying an electric car is taking a test drive, which was cited as crucial for 89% of the respondents. In fact, 38% of consumers prefer to test their chosen model at home instead of at a car dealership. The results also show that consumers who have already driven an electric car are more likely to buy one as their next vehicle. "For many, the fact that the probability of purchase increases to 56% after a test drive may be surprising." says Florian Wimmer, Director of the Future Mobility Division. "However, if you have ever driven a Porsche Taycan, Audi e-tron GT or Ford Mustang Mach–E, given the acceleration, agility, and fun you can have in these cars, the findings from the study fit perfectly into the overall context. "
China was chosen for the 2021 ISC-CX Future Mobility consumer study because it is the largest revenue market for the automotive industry. Electric vehicles in particular are advocated and heavily promoted by the state and the population. The potential to derive use cases and best practices from a steadily-growing revenue market can be a good basis for recommendations for other markets around the globe. With this new study, ISC-CX is laying the first building block for tracking and predicting trends in the automotive industry. Going forward, ISC-CX’s Future Mobility Division will continue to provide the latest and most exciting insights into the development of the industry.
The survey’s overall conclusion is that during the customer journey of an electric car purchase all touchpoints with the prospective customer must be controlled and optimized. Since the test drive is so crucial to the purchase decision, it should never be left out. Potential customers would also like new ways to learn about the manufacturers' cars, such as viewing short explanatory videos from their dealer about specific features of a particular model. Research firm ISC-CX assists manufacturers and retailers in optimizing their customers’ experience through various CX products such as multi-channel customer service tests, data acquisition through crowdsourcing data and audits.
Curious for more Insights? You can download additional findings from the study for free here.
