Malaysian Car Buyers Are Relying More On Online Research

Malaysian car buyers are visiting fewer car showrooms as they turn to online research before buying a car, said Jon Day, head of marketing at Google Malaysia.

Recent study conducted by Google and TNS Research found that 86% of Malaysians shopping for cars start the process with research online.

More than 75% of Malaysians are online and they are savvy with their online searches – how they search and what sites they visited.

As a result, Malaysians visit fewer car dealers as all of the information on brands and models are easily available online, Day added.

“At the end of the day, they are going to be visiting two to three dealers compared to three to four in 2013,” he said.

For car companies to draw these potential customers to their showrooms and ultimately sell their cars, Day said they need to be aware and understand the online trends among Malaysian car buyers.

Beyond the price, functionality generally trumps design among Malaysians. This includes fuel mileage and seating capacity, Day added.

Other factors that are important to car buyers in the country are the after-sales service provided by the car companies and also the resale value of the car.

Factors that are lower in the list of criteria are engine and overall performance, he noted.

The above data was derived from surveys of recent car buyers and those who are car shopping, as well as analysis of online search queries.

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