J.D. Power: Chinese buyers prefer European brands over domestic, Japanese makes

BMW 5-Series Plug-in Hybrid

This may or may not come to a surprise. But J.D. Power and Associates of Asia Pacific conducted their third ever car buyer preferences study. The results are plain and simple: Chinese buyers are favoring the purchases of European vehicles over domestics and even Japanese makes.

This study included 65 brands and 161 separate models in nine different segments while the results themselves were based off of a total of 4,979 potential new-car buyers in 53 Chinese cities.

The survey found that the number of European cars under consideration by buyers has increased from 25% in 2009 to 32% in 2011. The reasons for this bump can be explained by the Chinese’ positive perceptions of safety, and superior engine and transmission technology as well as word of mouth.

Japanese cars went from 32% in 2009 to 27% this year as the buyers said that they weren’t as confident in the Japanese makes due to word of mouth and troubling news of reliability, quality, and dealer service.

“Brand awareness does depend on location; for example, in the South region, Japanese brands have particularly high brand influence due to their long tenure there,” said Dr. Mei Songlin, J.D. Power Asia Pacific’s general manager of research.

– By: Chris Chin

Source: JD Power