What matters most to Gen Z car buyers (it’s not just price)

A report diving into the preferences of Gen Z consumers spotlights how the demographic could impact car sales in 2025 and beyond and how dealerships can get ahead of the curve.

The details: The report – released by Urban Science – is drawn from a survey of Gen Zers in the U.S. (those born between 1997  to 2012), with a focus on key car buying trends, including perception of car ownership, vehicle preference, and preferred sales method.

• Despite some reports, personal vehicles are important to Gen Zers, with 68% indicating they value owning a car.  

• Over half of Gen Zers who are considering purchasing a car are interested in a battery electric vehicle (BEV) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), with 63% leaning towards hybrids. 

• 38% of Gen Z respondents expressed a willingness to purchase a vehicle entirely online. 

Why it matters: Gen Z’s purchasing decisions lean heavily on factors like incentives, online shopping ease, and confidence in EV knowledge. Unlike boomers, who prioritize the lowest price, Gen Z buyers want a straight-forward, tech-driven experience.

Between the lines: Even though a notable percentage of Zoomers surveyed for the study indicated that they would purchase a vehicle online, nearly half of the respondents still value dealerships during the sales process.

• 43% of respondents agreed that they would not purchase a vehicle without a dealer, up 14% from last year’s survey.

• 51% of those surveyed “strongly agree” that the dealers help make the vehicle purchase process easy and convenient.  

Digging deeper: Although the survey speaks to the value that dealerships hold among Gen Z consumers, it also highlights the challenges associated with closing the deal with Gen Zers, compared to older buyers.

• Only 55% of Gen Z consumers said they would buy from a dealer offering the best price, compared to 74% of boomers.

• 42% of Gen Zers said they would be swayed to a dealer by an incentive. For boomers, it was only 26%.  

• Only 41% of Gen Z consumers think dealers are staying abreast of the EV marketplace to advise buyers, compared to 58% of boomers.   

Bottom line: Gen Z is the fastest growing consumer demographic in the U.S., making them a segment that cannot be ignored. And with roughly 6.4 million Zoomers looking to buy or lease a vehicle in the next 12 months, it’s imperative that dealerships prioritize them now rather than later.

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