Tai Demura-Devore
Research Mentor(s): Bruce Belzowski
Mentor Department: Automotive Futures
Authors: Bruce Belzowski, Tai Demura-Devore
Session: Session 4 (1:00pm – 1:50pm)
Presentation Type: Poster 38
Abstract
The automotive industry is eager to learn about the preferences and purchasing behaviors of undergraduate students, a key demographic of future car buyers. As of now, there are roughly 15.4 million undergraduate students in the US. This study uses the undergraduate student population at the University of Michigan as a sample of the larger undergraduate population in the US. A Qualtrics mail survey was sent to UM undergraduate students, first testing the knowledge of the automotive industry through a questionnaire about their knowledge of the automotive industry, then inquiring about the students’ plans of buying cars and the level of importance they put on different aspects of car ownership. The data was analyzed using SPSS statistics and R, looking at the relationship between automotive IQ—the score generated by the questionnaire completed by participants—and their responses about their future plans of buying cars. Also, trends with demographic data and preferences were observed. The findings provide valuable insights into how automotive knowledge influences purchasing intentions and highlight key trends in undergraduate students’ car-buying preferences.
