Sporty cars given hard shoulder as car buyers go green

The proportion of people buying cars on environmental grounds has increased three-fold (from 6% to 20%) in the last 12-months – whilst demand for sporty models to impress the neighbours has hit rock bottom, according to research from AA Personal Loans.

The findings suggest that the way new registration cars are marketed is increasingly at odds with what the public actually wants. At a time when car manufacturers continue to push ‘drive of your life’ performance features and va-va-voom sex appeal, the ultimate driving machine for the majority of Brits is a car that is environmentally friendly and cheap to run.

“Deals on Wheels” is the quarterly tracking study from AA Personal Loans that follows seasonal demand for new and used cars across the UK – and people’s reasons for changing cars. In tracking demand rather than forecourt sales, the AA study offers an early warning system on forthcoming car buying trends across the UK.

Key findings and trends over the last 12 months:

Lean and Green: With 25% of Brits planning to change their car in 2007, the green agenda represents the most significant swing in people’s car-buying decisions. 20% look to buy a green car in the next 12 months compared with just 6% in February 2006. Significantly, the proportion of car buyers driven by the environmental agenda has increased for five consecutive quarters, suggesting underlying consumer demand for green cars will grow further in the months ahead.

Cheap and cheerful: At a time when many Brits are living life with big credit card balances and mortgage commitments, the financial aspect of running a car was also massively more important than snob value. 31% of car buyers wanted a reliable car that was cheap to maintain (up from 20% 12-months ago) and a further 27% wanted better fuel economy and a lower insurance group.

Boxy but safe: For around one in five car buyers, replacing a car was simply a functional necessity. 14% of people needed a new, bigger, car because their family was growing and 11% wanted a car with better safety features. Safety was a key consideration for female car buyers (17%); space a key feature for young families.

Love on the rocks: Demand for sporty cars with sex appeal has bombed to 6%. Although more than a third of people (38%) claim to have had passionate encounters inside their car, sex appeal no longer appears to be driving their car buying decisions. Impressing the neighbours is a thing of the past, down by two thirds over the last year - with only 2% of drivers still involved in maintaining any form of competition with the Jones’s.

Lloyd East, Director of AA Personal Loans, commented: “The rapid growth of the green agenda among car buyers over the last year is very significant. To date, the Chelsea Tractors have take the brunt of green attacks but in truth 4x4s make up a relatively a small percentage of cars on the road: if they were all taken off the streets tomorrow, there would still be a green agenda to tackle. With a fifth of all car buyers today going green, the environmental agenda is being driven into the heart of the motor industry – over family estates, saloon cars and people carriers.

“Money matters are also becoming hard to separate from environmental factors, as people want efficient cars that are cheap to run, insure and maintain. Our concern at the AA is that the savvyness people show in the cost of running a car is not mirrored in how they buy them. Too many people take expensive forecourt finance, not shopping around for a good deal. Convenience is costing Brits millions every year.”