It’s an age-old question: What do women want? While the answers to this question could fill a set of encyclopedias, let’s limit the question somewhat and just discuss what ‘cars’ women want. Last year, Edmunds.com researched this topic and came up with a list of cars that almost no women drive. Can you guess which car was at the top of the list? It’s a sports car, very pricey, very fast, and starts with “L” ….
Yep, you guessed it. Number one on the list was Lamborghini with male owners accounting for 93% of the buyers (tied with McLaren also at 93%), Ferrari at 92%, Maserati at 84%, and Tesla at 83%. Indeed, 90% of ALL sports car buyers are men. Although men seem to prefer loud, fast, impractical cars, this is a problem for automotive manufacturers as women play a significant role in roughly 85% of all car purchases.
So, what cars do women buy? Overwhelmingly, women prefer cars that are affordable with good fuel economy – and these tend to be mostly from Korean automakers such as Kia and Hyundai, along with Japanese automakers Nissan and Mitsubishi. These findings are based on automotive research company iSeeCars.com which analyzed 54 million car sales and more than 500,000 consumer inquires over a nearly three-year period.
The average price of the top 10 cars preferred by women is $14,870 compared to the average price of cars on the top 10 list preferred by men at $49,224. Let’s compare.
The top five cars women want:
| Rank | Car | Ave. Price | Inquiries by Women |
| 1 | Hyundai Tucson | $16,722 | 66.2% |
| 2 | Nissan Versa | $12,144 | 64.0% |
| 3 | VW Beetle | $18,179 | 63.9% |
| 4 | Kia Forte | $13,730 | 62.8% |
| 5 | Ford Fiesta | $13,237 | 62.8% |
The top five cars men want:
| Rank | Car | Ave. Price | Inquiries by Mean |
| 1 | Nissan GT-R | *40,450 | 99.1% |
| 2 | BMW Me | $35,763 | 92.2% |
| 3 | Porsche Cayman | $43,303 | 91.9% |
| 4 | Porsche 911 | $65,081 | 91.5% |
| 5 | Lexus GS 350 | %33,004 | 91.3% |
There are no overlaps on the top ten list. Lest we think this is an inconsequential difference, consider the size of the automotive industry. There isn’t any car company that wouldn’t like to increase the size, and diversity, of its customer base.
Think about it – what do women want?
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Ask students about their car preferences.
- Divide the class by gender. Ask women what cars they think the men will prefer, and what cars they prefer. Ask men what cars they think the women will prefer, and what cars they prefer. Why these choices.
- Ask the women to list the factors they look for when buying a car. Ask the men the same question. Compare the findings on the board.
- Still in gender-based teams, have the teams examine the marketing mix of the top companies, and adjust the mix to attract the opposite gender.
- Debrief the exercise.
Source: Ad Week, Edmunds.com, Market Watch, iSeeCars.com
