Honda and Toyota lead all auto makers with the highest scoring perception metrics by millennials who plan to purchase a car in the next year, followed closely by BMW and Ford.
YouGov BrandIndex measured all car makers with three critical perception metrics: the revenue-oriented Purchase Consideration (what percentage would consider purchasing the brand when next shopping for a car), Impression and Ad Awareness. Impression scores, which asks respondents "Do you have a general positive feeling about the brand," can range from 100 to -100 with a zero score equaling a neutral position.
According to YouGov Profiles, the new profiling and targeting tool, 14% of Millennials think foreign-made cars are better quality, compared to 12% of the general population.
34% of millennials would consider a Honda the next time they are in the market for a car, slightly ahead of Toyota at 32%. Both car-makers carry the same 41 Impression score.
Toyota has the highest ad awareness among millennials at 28% (on a scale from zero to 100%), while Honda has the fourth highest (20%), with both Ford (27%) and Chevrolet (23%) coming in second and third respectively.
Nissan achieved a solid balance of scores with in-market millennials, with 21% considering the brand next time they were out in the market, and a 21 Impression score.
Luxury Vehicles: Admired But Tough To Consider
Luxury brands mostly received the same pattern from millennials: the younger generation of car buyers seems to be impressed with the luxury auto brands, but perhaps struggle to imagine that they can afford them. BMW fared the best, receiving the third highest Impression scores from millennials in the sector at 36, yet only 16% would consider buying the German vehicles, putting them behind Honda, Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet and Nissan, on par with Jeep and ahead of a dozen others.
Like BMW, Mercedes had a very strong Impression score (30), but only 8% would consider buying them, putting them behind more than half the car-makers. Audi and Lexus did almost as well as Mercedes, with Acura and Infiniti further behind.
GM: High Ad Awareness But Little Appeal
High ad awareness has not helped General Motors connect with millennials. GM has the fourth highest millennial ad awareness in the industry, just ahead of Nissan, yet only 10% of millennials would consider purchasing from the mar maker, putting them in the middle of the pack.
According to YouGov Profiles only 9% of Millennials buy only US made cars compared to 13% of the general population.
Automotive Sector: Consideration versus Impression
