This report looks at the following areas:
- Characteristics of car marketing in the AI era
- Changes in body type selection and important factors for current and potential car owners
- Types of automotive-related KOL/public accounts followed on professional and lifestyle platforms
- How brands can improve consumer opinion and differences across city tiers
- Effective engagement and youth-oriented marketing
- Demand for smart experiences and retail channels
As China transitions from being a major consumer of cars to becoming a major producer, we are witnessing China’s evolution from a learner to an innovator as it builds its automotive culture from scratch.
Keiyou Wang, Director, China Insights
Market Definitions
The report focuses on the profile of car owners, covering different city tiers, ages and preferred car models. It analyses the channels through which car-related information is obtained, the differences in KOL/public account followings, brand events that make a lasting impression, ways to enhance brand favourability, preferences for car purchase channels and attitudes toward car purchases. It explores changes and opportunities in automotive marketing and retail.
Car marketing refers to various marketing agendas for car products that are offered to companies through surveys, research, analysis and study of industry competition in the automotive sector. Car retailing refers to the business of selling new or used cars at retail by signing dealership contracts with car manufacturers or their sales subsidiaries.
‘Cars’ in this report are defined as passenger cars for private individuals. These are further categorised into petrol cars, plug-in hybrid electric cars and battery electric cars. The report sample includes 3,000 respondents, covering the 18-59 age group, all of whom have purchased a car in the past three years or plan to purchase one in the next 12 months. Among them, 2,000 are current car owners who purchased within the last three years, and 1,000 are potential car buyers planning to purchase within the next year.
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Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definition
- What you need to know
- Play the local car culture card well in car marketing and retailing
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OVERVIEW OF CAR MARKETING IN CHINA
- Overview of marketing in the Chinese automotive industry
- Domestic AI large models are reshaping the landscape of automotive intelligence, and the smartness-cost ratio competition heats up
- In the NEV market, foreign brands find it difficult to reverse the situation in China in the short term
- Graph 1: brands bought from in the past three years vs brands to buy from in the next year, 2025
- The initial wait-and-see sentiment may be changed under the incentive of government subsidies
- First-time buyers and replacement/additional car buyers are beginning to converge in their choices of NEVs
- Graph 2: intent to purchase cars within 12 months, by city tier, 2025
- Graph 3: the most preferred type of energy to purchase in the next 12 months, by car purchase condition, 2025
- Brand relevance is declining, more noticeably in lower tier cities
- Graph 4: changes in brand importance, by city tier, 2025
- The price war has extended to car finance and service rights
- Expanding from specialisation to extensive online services, ecological competition in the automotive lifestyle sector becomes three-dimensional
- Platforms promote a content creation ecosystem for car influencers
- Legal disputes between auto companies and car review accounts/platforms spark reflection on review standards and regulation
- Patriotic sentiment fuels car hot topic marketing
- Automotive Gala promotes people-oriented marketing
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Insight into car owners’ needs
- Differences between city tiers: adaptive car usage scenarios
- The usage of short videos for automotive information access has reached nearly 90%
- Graph 5: types of car bloggers/accounts followed on different platforms, 2025
- Graph 6: platforms on which you have subscribed to car bloggers/accounts, 2025
- The acceptance of narrative-style reviews is higher in lower tier cities
- Graph 7: platforms on which you have subscribed to professional reviewers/commentators, by city tier, 2025
- Official accounts of car companies should strengthen the delivery of down-to-earth content in lower tier cities
- Graph 8: platforms on which you have subscribed to official automotive company accounts, by city tier, 2025
- Considering the needs of different audiences, guides should incorporate multiple localised considerations
- Highlight the advantages of the new car/new technology in a simple and easy-to-understand way, reinforcing digital memory
- Graph 9: car brand campaigns that leave a lasting impression, by city tier, 2025
- What suits you best is the best: the personalisation needs of lower tier cities are no less than those of Tier 1 cities
- Graph 10: selected car purchase attitudes, by city tier, 2025
- Personalised car viewing scenarios focus more on the interaction between vehicles, people and the environment
- Compared to interior decoration and features, car owners in lower tier cities are more interested in exterior retrofits/modifications
- Graph 11: selected retrofits/modifications of interest, by city tier, 2024
- Xiaomi customised packages enter Tier 3 and 4 cities
- A long-term traceability system is more effective for brand promotion in lower tier cities
- Graph 12: methods to enhance a brand’s favourability – sum of the top three options, by city tier, 2025
- The acceptance of new retail brands is not low, but the differentiation advantage has yet to emerge
- Graph 13: preferences for selected car retailing channels, by city tier, 2025
- Differences by car owners’ ages: explore life with a car
- Subscribe to travel experts: it’s not just about the scenery, but also the courage to explore and the adventure spirit
- Graph 14: platforms on which you have subscribed to traveller KOLs (a), by age, 2025
- Brand mentions iconic travel scenes, amplifying the buzz for both parties
- Experienced trendy car owners on Xiaohongshu gain the attention of younger people
- Graph 15: platforms on which you have subscribed to experienced car owners, by age, 2025
- The format-free play style attracts younger people
- Frank questions, frank answers trump orchestrated shows
- Graph 16: car brand campaigns that leave a lasting impression, by age, 2025
- Open discussion among media professionals, experts and executives
- Exploration is not the only way to exhibit courage
- Graph 17: activities that promote purchase, by age, 2024
- Social elements are prominent drivers for marketing to the young
- Graph 18: selected attitudes towards car purchasing, by age, 2024
- Buying a car during a live stream on social media is also for the thrill
- Graph 19: preferences for selected car retailing channels, by age, 2025
- Interest-free combo offers on live streaming platforms lower the down payment threshold for younger people
- Younger car owners are more focused on practicality and reliability, especially connectivity and software security
- Graph 20: selected attitudes towards car purchasing, by age, 2025
- Provide the peace of mind and control that younger car owners seek through instant response
- Graph 21: methods to enhance a brand’s favourability – sum of the top three options, by age, 2025
- Differences in energy types and price bands: empiricism and sentiments of car owners
- Among prospective BEV owners, there are more middle and high-income car owners compared to fuel cars
- Graph 22: age of current car owners vs prospective car owners, by energy type, 2025
- Graph 23: income of current car owners vs prospective car owners, by energy type, 2025
- Prospective BEV owners have higher expectations for safety performance and driving experiences
- Graph 24: selected car purchase attitudes of prospective car owners vs current car owners, by energy type, 2025
- Consumers are witnessing a showdown of real strength in China’s auto industry
- The highly regarded China Health and Automobile Research
- Graph 25: winning features in final comparison – current vehicle, by energy type and car price, 2024
- Owners of domestic brand cars are willing to try related technology products of the same brand
- Graph 26: attitudes towards car purchases, by preferred brand nationality, 2024
- A new model of smartphone-car connectivity ignites the battle between Chinese brand ecosystems
- Incorporate elements of technology and cultural tourism, expand the poetic imagination of distant places
- Graph 27: activities that promote purchase, by purchase price, 2024
- The rise of Chinese-style off-road journeys: showcase the business cards of Chinese car owners
- Become the designated vehicle for international events and promote Chinese cars to the world
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Marketing opportunities and inspirations
- Co-create memories: embed scenarios that connect products with user needs
- Multichannel collaboration boosts the mention of ‘family reunion’ during the Spring Festival
- Combine citywalk to promote local business district interaction and external reach
- Reinforce eHMI to turn cars into playmates
- Leverage events to showcase a daring and dependable brand image
- Establish an omnichannel customer interaction and feedback mechanism
- Document real rescues to convey omnipresent companionship and support
- Incorporate courage into actions that shape the core values of the brand
- Mesmerise the fans: enhance the sense of connection with the era and pride
- Resonate with the times: framing the brand as a leader in a dialogue with the past
- Deft industry boundaries and showcase a shared Chinese sentiment and humanistic care
- Participation in ecological and cultural protection transcends national borders
- What we think
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Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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