The propensity of consumers in Germany to save is an ongoing theme - unaffected by economic crises and natural disasters. As in the previous year, one in five consumers intends to spend less money on cars and garages in 2011. However, there is one ray of hope for the automotive industry: 14 percent of those surveyed would like to buy a new car in 2011. A third of them are already planning to do so in the next six months. This is the result of the latest Trend-Tacho study by the expert organization KÜS and the trade magazine "kfz-betrieb".



On the wish list of prospective buyers, the VW brand is in first place (24%), followed by Audi (18%), Mercedes-Benz (13%), BMW (12%) and Opel (9%). Drivers who are not older than 30 (41%) or who drive 10,000 to 15,000 kilometers a year (38%) have above-average sympathy for Volkswagen.

Thirty-three percent of owners want to have minor vehicle damage done privately or illegally. A quarter of drivers also do not necessarily want to postpone necessary repairs.



Peter Schuler, Federal Managing Director of KÜS: "As much as the positive car sales figures may be pleasing, the market in Germany is difficult - especially in the maintenance and repair segment. Service and customer friendliness must therefore remain the watchwords for the automotive industry."



Eckhard Brandenburg, Senior Consultant at BBE Automotive GmbH: "The Trend-Tacho results show that consumers are primarily saving on their maintenance and repair costs. To prevent this, costs must be kept within acceptable limits for customers throughout the entire vehicle life cycle. Market participants must offer differentiated, price-performance-oriented and value-for-money service offers. In this way, existing customer relationships can continue to be strengthened and migration to competitors can be prevented."



You can obtain a press copy of the complete study at info@kfz-betrieb.de.



"kfz-betrieb" is the most widely read trade magazine in the automotive industry and has been informing the automotive trade and service sector for 100 years. "kfz-betrieb" is the official organ of the German Motor Vehicle Trade (ZDK), the professional interest group for around 38,000 car dealerships and workshops. Daily news from the entire automotive industry is available at www.kfz-betrieb.de and in the daily newsletter. The parent company Vogel Business Media is one of the leading German providers of specialist information with around 100 trade journals and 60 websites as well as numerous international activities. Its headquarters are in Würzburg. The company celebrates its 120th anniversary in 2011.