Google's Report : Used Car Search Trends in India

Here is a link to Rehaan's 2012 report on Search Trends and Buyer Behavior.

Google India has analyzed the search trends of used car queries and actual market behavior, to understand the used car market in India. It has released a report in association with Mahindra First Choice.

Some interesting facts from this report are as below:

• The most searched for used car type on Google in India are Utility vehicles. They comprise of 47% of all used car queries followed by hatchbacks at 20% and the remaining divided among sedans and luxury vehicles.

• This rise in online queries matches the offline sales of SUVs at Mahindra First Choice which has witness an SUV sales growth from 6% to 10% over the past 3 years.

• Used car queries on Google Search has grown 20 times in 6 years, at 30% YoY rise in 2014.

• As many as 8 out of 10 potential used car buyers start their search from Google search are undecided about which car to purchase. 84% queries in Google search are generic and only 16% are for a specific brand. The most common searched queries involve questions relating to budget, brands, fuel type and ownership.

• Still the used car buyers in India are less curious about 'certification' and 'warranty' on used cars in comparison to developed markets like the US.

• Even though the first time buyers still remain the largest category for a used car market, the proportion of first time buyers has declined while an increase has been registered in the "multiple car in the family segment". A used car as the second vehicle in the household instead of a two wheeler is the newer trend.

• The used car market is growing at a faster rate than the new car market and is also rapidly getting more organized. The organized used car market is likely to grow by 15-20% in the next 4-5 years.

• Search queries see a favorable spike towards diesel cars. While in 2011 and 2012 the ratio of petrol:diesel car queries was 80:20, it became 66:34 in 2014.

• Most number of searches come from Maharashtra followed by South India, West Bengal, NCR, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

• Honda is the most searched used car brand on Google and the City is the most searched used car.