People are willing to look further for the perfect car this year, according to a recent report by Edmunds.
The report shows that 2021 car-buyers searching for the previous year’s outgoing models will drive an average of 65 miles to find it. This is an increase in mileage from 2020, when the average range was only 47 miles.
Edmunds compiled a list of the top 25 cars for which people will travel long distances to purchase.
The top cars for which people are willing to drive the furthest include the Mercedes-Benz G Class at 363 miles, followed by a Toyota GR Supra at 167 miles and a Kia Stinger at 166 miles, according to the report.
This willingness to go an extra mile or 200 is the result of a few factors, the report stated.
Ivan Drury, Edmunds senior manager of Insights, points to the shortage of vehicle inventory across the states when it comes to last year’s models, of which Edmonds data shows a 20% decrease.
“Those vehicles are being phased out faster than normal because of the pandemic,” Drury told Mega Dealer News. “So the reaction we’ve seen on the consumers is that they’re having to hunt and really fight for that inventory, whereas in the past you really could keep it local.”
It’s reasonable to expect someone to drive further for specialty vehicles or models of newly redesigned vehicles with special features, but Drury points out the Volkswagen Jetta is on the list of 25 which was typically seen as a point A to point B commuter car.
“It’s one of those things where you’re beginning to tap into the mass market having to expand their search radius simply because the inventory isn’t there at their local dealer or it isn’t the color they want, as silly as it sounds, but color is such a huge determining factor for where someone is willing to go,” Drury said.
Contributing to the inventory shortage was of course the coronavirus, which slowed overall vehicle production over the last year, but now a growing chip shortage is constricting production further, Drury said.
Whether this shift will be lasting after conditions return to normal will depend on the individual, he said.
“I think that for some consumers, their mindset will have permanently changed,” Drury said. “They will always do this kind of behavior, and for some other people it’ll just be back to business as usual years ago, and they’ll go back to their old habits.”
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