Study: Better-Equipped Cars Means Reduced Spend On Options

A study by JATO Dynamics of selected factory options taken by new car buyers in Germany and the UK shows the total value of options ordered fell by 13 per cent in 2005 compared with 2003. JATO estimates that the total value of all options bought by drivers in both countries last year was more than 7 billion euros. JATO’s study looked at 10 specific options, including audio and navigation systems, additional airbags, lights and wheels, which were ordered with new cars in Germany and the UK.

The total list value of orders for these 10 options in 2003 was 5.5 billion euros. In 2005, this dropped 13 per cent to 4.7 billion euros.

JATO spokesperson Laura Kirk said: “The fall in the total value appears to be due to two main factors. Several options, particularly air conditioning, were more widely available as standard equipment in 2005. And, certainly in the UK, the list prices of the options we looked at fell by an average of 10 per cent between 2003 and 2005.”

Of the 10 options included in the study, satellite navigation systems were the leading option by value in Germany and the UK last year. German buyers spent 1 billion euros and UK buyers 160 million euros (GBP 100 million) on factory-fitted SatNav systems in 2005.

Air conditioning was second by value in Germany, although the value of sales last year fell by nearly 25 per cent compared with 2003, to 850 million euros. In the UK, the value of air conditioning options sold fell by more than 60 per cent to 70 million euros (GBP 45 million). This was due to increased standard availability, plus a 25 per cent fall in the average cost of having it fitted as an option.

Audio options accounted for almost 1 billion euros worth of orders in 2005. UK buyers benefited from a 10 per cent fall in the average price of audio options compared with 2003, while the total value of audio options ordered in Germany fell by 30 per cent over the same period.

Apart from the massive difference in the size of the two countries’ automotive options market – Germans bought a third more cars than the British last year but spent nearly six times more on extra equipment because comparatively few items are supplied as standard – there was a discernible difference in buying patterns last year.

Compared with 2003, the main growth in Germany was in external options that enhance the car’s appearance, in particular larger wheels (up 40 per cent) and fog lamps (up 70 per cent) fitted to mainstream cars such as Astra, Focus and Vectra. UK drivers were more likely to steer towards in-car technology such as ‘smart’ keys (up 270 per cent), traffic information systems (up 260 per cent) and SatNav (up 85 per cent compared with 2003).

Not all extras bought by German and British car buyers were ‘added’, however. Last year, buyers ordered front airbag options worth a total of 40 million euros, even though airbags are almost universally fitted as standard in both markets. In many cases, owners were paying extra for a switch to allow them to switch off the passenger airbag in order to carry a child seat in the front passenger seat.