Online research in China: Mini cars market

See also our focus on Fiat 500 in China

By no doubt, China has topped in the car market in the world. In this overall market, some segments show great potential and perspective for foreign brands. Mini cars market is an emerging and growing trend in China. Here is our focus on mini cars market in China, with data from an online survey.

Mini cars market in China has a lot of space for newcomers

As showed by online research in China, the open up and reform policy in China leaded China to be through a miraculous economic growth, and every single person in this country is motivated in this consuming marathon. Thus, by now, China is already the number one car-buying nation and continues to grow as a rate of 6% per year. As the majority of the car buyers are first-time-buyer aging 34 years old, they are expected to change or purchase a second or third car in the following 10 to 20 years, not to mention the undeveloped third or fourth tier cities, thus it is not surprising that many newcomers are eying to market entry in China.

How Chinese consumers choose cars

According to recent analysis, Chinese consumers are more likely to rely on Internet information to decide whether or not to buy a car. Nearly 55% of consumers purchased after looking online for pricing. Thus, the online promotion became more and more important, so many brands created their own homepage in Chinese social network sites such as weibo(微博), renren(人人) and douban(豆瓣).

How to enter the Chinese market

Facing this situation, and the robust Chinese consuming power, Mini is expected to sell 30,000 vehicles in 2014. Mini, as a brand of BMW, is known for its flexibility and stability for Chinese consumers.

According to Peter Schwarzenbauer, the BMW’s board member responsible for MINI brand, only 10% of MINI sales come from China, which can be explained by the juvenility of the market and the fact that the consumer behaviours are continually evolving. To make this evolution benefit for MINI, MINI decided to give their different types of cars different Chinese names through vote from netizens in Weibo (微博). The Chinese market usually starts with premium brands such as MINI and slowly develops a more mass market. Thus, MINI refused to set a factory in China for local market production but definitely see a lot potential in the longer term.

However, some issues as over crowded streets and over polluted air lead China to take measures which can undermine the growth of the market, as Beijing enacted a policy named “odd-even car ban”, Shanghai set a quota of 20000 new vehicles to register per month.

Daxu Consulting, Online market research in Shanghai

Reference :

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/25/world/asia/china-used-car-market/index.html?iref=allsearch

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/business/international/chinas-embrace-of-foreign-cars.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Aw&_r=0

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90778/90860/6835756.html