Conclusion

Hi,

Thanks to our study, we have identified the main factors of influence in the case of a car purchase. We can say that our results matches with the figures found in the IFOP 2012 study. Moreover, it allows us to segment our interviewees in two groups:

•          Price & Consumption as most important criteria

•          Comfort and Safety as most important criteria

The questions asked about brands perception per nationality helps us to obtain some key results, especially about American brands:

•          They have a clearly differentiated design

•          They are perceived as non-eco-friendly and as important oil consumer

•          Ford is not really viewed as an American brand in Europe but half of the sample thinks this local adaptation is positive

To conclude, we can say that our advice for an American brand who wants to import US model directly in Europe is to focus on the target described above and to conduct more research on that specific target:

We hope that you enjoyed our blog !

Thank you very much for your attention !

Manon - Pascal - Clément - Nicolas

Focus on car design

·         Renault Mégane

 

The car was rightly identified by two interviewees. The other interviewees thought this vehicle was a Skoda, a Seat, a Ford or a Volkswagen. Overall, like the Renault brand, the design of the front of this car is qualified as classic. 

Half of the sample has a positive perception of this design, using expressions like “it seems solid”, “it looks nice and comfortable” or “the design is pleasant”. We can notice that these interviewees all drive a Renault (main car) and consider consumption as a crucial factor. However, three interviewees, that do not own a Renault, perceive this design negatively, using expressions like “it looks dull and do not attract me”, “it reflects a lack of power and do not inspire confidence” or “it lacks of fineness”.

·         American car

Only two interviewees associated this front car with American brands (Ford and Chevrolet). It was also identified an Opel or a Maserati but most of the interviewees mentioned Aston Martin.

Overall, this car is perceived as sports, with adjectives like “aggressive” or “powerful”. Three interviewees, all males, particularly liked this design, using for example expressions like “Very high range”, “Awesome! I love it!” or “Pleasant and robust”. However, four interviewee, including all the female of the sample, did not liked the front of this car, using key words like “show-off”, “tuning” or “showy”. We can notice that these four interviewees perceive American brands as non-eco-friendly.

·         Volkswagen Golf

 The Golf was recognized by six interviewees among the sample. Overall, the design of this car is considered as classic, which reflects Volkswagen global perception.

To conclude, we can say that three interviewees preferred the American car while three other interviewees preferred the Volkswagen Golf:

American cars

The large majority of the interviewees view the American vehicles as non-eco-friendly, which is linked with the characteristic of power associated with US brands. They said American vehicles “suck too much”, “pollute too much” and “are not good at the environmental level”. 

Overall, Chevrolet was the first brand that came to interviewees’ mind when thinking about American cars. We can notice that two interviewees mentioned that US car manufacturers suffer from a poorly developed concessionaire network in France, which is an issue in case of repairs or pieces replacement.

About design, the interviews opinions are varied. However, they all agree on the fact that American cars are clearly different from European cars, using for example expressions like “modern design”, “imposing design”, “exotic look” or “attractive look”.

More particularly, the majority if the interviewees mention that Ford vehicles have a good value for money, using expressions like “the value for money is very competitive” or “they have adopted the same price line”. Moreover, two of them mentioned a good experience with the models Kuga and Focus. However, according to two other interviewees, Ford cars lack of reliability and the brand suffer from problems of customer and after sale service.

Then, we can notice that half of the sample spontaneously mention that it perceive Ford as an European brand, using expressions like “it is not American for me”, “it is similar to Volkswagen or Seat”, “it is between Opel and Volkswagen in terms of image” or “I clearly make a difference between Ford in the United States and Ford in Europe”. Moreover, three interviewees think that Ford adaptation to European standards is very positive; it is a purchase driver for two of them. Please find above the main characteristics of these two consumer groups: