Buyers avoid brands based on previous poor reliability with a vehicle

Previous poor reliability has put nearly a third of in-market buyers off from purchasing from the same car brand again, research by What Car? has found.

What Car? researched 1,022 in-market buyers about their perceptions on vehicle reliability and previous experiences with cars they have owned.

Of all the buyers surveyed, 30.3% said poor reliability on a car they’ve previously owned has deterred them from purchasing from the same brand.

What Car? also looked at whether buyers believe electric vehicles (EVs) were generally more reliable than petrol or diesel models, with 12.8% of respondents stating they believed they were, while 42.1% said they believed petrol and diesel cars were more reliable.

Steve Huntingford, editor of What Car?, said: "This data highlights once again just how important a reputation for reliability is for manufacturers - and why our annual Reliability Survey is so important in keeping Britain's car buyers up to date on the latest issues being faced by car makers.

"It also shows that the advantages of EVs having far fewer moving parts, and therefore less things to go potentially wrong, remains an important message that the industry needs to get out there if it wants to continue to grow consideration among would-be buyers."

Another recent survey from What Car? found that over a third of UK motorists are choosing to hold on to their cars longer as the cost-of-living crisis makes consumers increasingly averse to long-term finance agreements.

Of the 137 in-market buyers set to buy an EV as their next car, 50.4% of respondents to the latest survey said they believed EVs would be more reliable than petrol and diesel models, with 40.2% unsure.

Of the 510 buyers opting for a petrol or diesel car, 60.2% believe internal engine vehicles are more reliable than EVs, with 34.3% unsure.

The research also looked at if buyers perceive brands that belong to the same manufacturing group, such as Stellantis or Volkswagen Group, to have similar reliability records to their sister brands.

Of the 1022 buyers surveyed, 41.4% believe brands in a manufacturing group typically have the same reliability record, while 22.2% believe brands in the same group have very different reliabilities. The rest (36.4%) were unsure.

Discounts of up to 16% are being offered on new cars at UK retailers, ahead of the March plate-change.