Customer acceptance of Chinese EVs in Europe

Charging process of an electric car. Zoomed and focused on the charger.
German car brand

2022
Germany, UK, Spain, France, Italy and Norway (EU5 + NO)

In a comprehensive quantitative study, the customer acceptance of a German car brand was contrasted against its Chinese competitors. The study includes Europe's five biggest automobile markets, the EU5 (Germany, UK, Spain, France, Italy), and Norway, the nr. 1 market for New Energy Vehicles (NEV) per capita and the first European stepping stone for many Chinese EV brands. The exploration, focused on user perceptions, preferences, and cultural influences, unveiled distinct areas for improvement. The actionable insights from the study provide the German brand with opportunities to enhance its market position.

A Quantitative Study Comparing a German Car Brand and Chinese Competitors.
Challenge

The automobile landscape is fiercely competitive. The German car brand, while holding a strong reputation, sought clarity on how its products and services matched against emerging Chinese competitors. There was a need to determine areas of strength, weakness, and overall user satisfaction across multiple markets. The challenge lays not just in identifying discrepancies, but understanding cultural nuances and user expectations in each region.

Process

The process is built around gaining insights that support strategic decision making. Defining what type of insights this requires formed the input for the study. For data collection, Lomi Agency collaborated with quantitative research specialists URANOS. With the vast amount of data collected from the EU5 and Norway, advanced data analytics tools enabled Lomi Agency to uncover insights that are visualised and elaborated on in a comprehensive report.


1
Defining research areas for strategic decision making
  • Defining strategically relevant topics were defined together with the German car brand
  • Structuring the method for gathering statistically significant data together with URANOS
2
Data collection
  • Creation of the structured questionnaire with URANOS
  • URANOS disseminated the large-scale survey across the EU5 and Norway
3
Data processing
  • Interpretation of the data using advanced data analytics tools
  • Mapping the interpreted data to distil strengths, weaknesses and other insights
4
Communication
  • Visualisation of the insights
  • Creating a comprehensive report for executive management
Outcome

The result of the quantitive study are condensed into a comprehensive report with analyses, insights and recommendations for executive management of the German car brand. This includes analyses of segmentation, trends and cross-market comparisons and insights into customer acceptance, key influencing factors for user satisfaction and cultural insights.

Armed with these insights, the German car brand is now positioned to refine its offerings, enhance user experience, and address market-specific nuances. This enables the company to reinforced market position and create stronger competitive edge, preparing for the entry of many new Chinese EV brands into the European market.