COVID-19 might have new-vehicle shoppers postponing their plans to buy, but not for very long, according to a pair of recent surveys.
A CarGurus survey, out today, found that shoppers might be delaying new-vehicle purchases, but a vast majority of them continue to research their purchases as the pandemic drags on.
Fewer reported delays in June versus April.
In June, 78 per cent of 505 shoppers surveyed reported delaying their new-vehicle purchase, down from 87 per cent in April, when CarGurus surveyed 500 people at the height of the pandemic in an effort to create a baseline. But even among those delaying their purchase, the majority (70 per cent) are actively researching a new vehicle. And only two per cent of prospective buyers have now delayed their purchase indefinitely, down from six per cent in April.
“The benchmarked CarGurus Canada COVID-19 Sentiment Study showed us that while 2020 Canadian auto sales may be lagging, they are certainly not lost due to the pandemic,” Madison Gross, director of customer insights at CarGurus said, in a statement.