{"id":36411,"date":"2026-10-06T12:34:04","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T10:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/observatoirecetelem.com\/?page_id=36411"},"modified":"2026-10-06T12:34:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T10:34:04","slug":"national-preference-a-sliding-scale","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/observatoirecetelem.com\/en\/lobservatoire-cetelem-de-lautomobile\/observatoire-automotive-2027-country-or-price-motorists-have-made-their-choice\/national-preference-a-sliding-scale","title":{"rendered":"National preference: a sliding scale"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DOMESTIC PREFERENCE PREVAILS IN MAJOR CAR-MAKING NATIONS<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Is this down to the ambiguity surrounding what constitutes a vehicle\u2019s nationality? Whatever the cause, automotive nationalism varies dramatically when it comes to choosing the brand of one\u2019s next car. While on average only 1 in 5 respondents would choose to buy a car from a domestic brand, the divergence in viewpoints is stark. On this point, Japan shows an overwhelming preference for buying Japanese first and foremost. China and the US align with Japan, albeit more moderately, with a clear majority favouring domestic brands. Germany follows suit, as does France to a lesser extent. Conversely, \u201cbrandless\u201d markets such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal logically pay little heed to this criterion. Meanwhile, the sharp drop in Italian car production may account for the modest score recorded there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n Fig. 19 \u2013 Preference for purchasing a brand from one’s own country, by country (% of respondents)\n <\/p>\n \n \n Download this infographic for your presentations\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

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\n \"Preference\n \n Vertical bar chart showing, for 13 countries, the share of respondents who prefer or would prefer to buy a brand from their own country (“From your country” option). All respondents, in percent.\nSource: Observatoire Cetelem de l’automobile 2027.\n\u2022 Germany: 53\n\u2022 Belgium: 14\n\u2022 China: 52\n\u2022 Spain: 26\n\u2022 United States: 51\n\u2022 France: 48\n\u2022 Italy: 30\n\u2022 Japan: 83\n\u2022 Netherlands: 12\n\u2022 Poland: 20\n\u2022 Portugal: 18\n\u2022 United Kingdom: 31\n\u2022 Turkey: 28\nKey takeaways: Japan (83%) is far ahead. Germany (53%), China (52%), the United States (51%) and France (48%) follow. The Netherlands (12%) and Belgium (14%) are lowest.\n <\/span>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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NATIONAL CHAMPIONS OFTEN HOLD SWAY<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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In Germany and Japan, the two countries where automotive nationalism is most pronounced, the top three sales slots are held entirely by domestic brands. In France, the picture is identical if Dacia, a subsidiary of Renault, is counted as a domestic brand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n Fig. 20 \u2013 Top 3 brands by market share in the countries in 2025 (% of passenger vehicle sales)\n <\/p>\n \n \n Download this infographic for your presentations\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

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\n \"Top\n \n Table showing, for 13 countries, the three brands with the highest share of national passenger car sales in 2025, with their percentage share. A final row gives the top 3 concentration, i.e. the sum of the shares of the three brands shown. Source: Marklines. For each country: brand ranked 1; brand ranked 2; brand ranked 3; top 3 concentration.\n\u2022 Germany: Volkswagen 20%; Mercedes-Benz 9%; BMW 9%; concentration 38%\n\u2022 Belgium: BMW 11%; Volkswagen 9%; Mercedes-Benz 7%; concentration 27%\n\u2022 China: BYD 14%; Geely 6%; Volkswagen 6%; concentration 26%\n\u2022 Spain: Toyota 8%; Renault 7%; Volkswagen 7%; concentration 22%\n\u2022 United States: Toyota 13%; Ford 12%; Chevrolet 11%; concentration 36%\n\u2022 France: Renault 17%; Peugeot 14%; Dacia 9%; concentration 40%\n\u2022 Italy: Fiat 9%; Toyota 8%; Volkswagen 7%; concentration 24%\n\u2022 Japan: Toyota 26%; Suzuki 16%; Honda 16%; concentration 58%\n\u2022 Netherlands: Kia 10%; Volkswagen 8%; Skoda 7%; concentration 25%\n\u2022 Poland: Toyota 15%; Skoda 11%; Volkswagen 7%; concentration 33%\n\u2022 Portugal: Peugeot 10%; Renault 8%; Mercedes-Benz 8%; concentration 26%\n\u2022 United Kingdom: Volkswagen 9%; BMW 6%; Ford 6%; concentration 21%\n\u2022 Turkey: Renault 12%; Volkswagen 18%; Toyota 7%; concentration 27%\nKey takeaways: Toyota ranks first in four markets (Spain, United States, Japan, Poland). Volkswagen leads in Germany and the United Kingdom, Renault in France and Turkey. Japan is the most concentrated market (58%), ahead of France (40%) and Germany (38%). The United Kingdom (21%) and Spain (22%) are the most fragmented.\n <\/span>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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LOCAL ORIGIN STRUGGLES TO WITHSTAND FOREIGN COMPETITION…<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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National preference falters when faced with attractive foreign alternatives. On average, only 3 in 10 drivers have decided against buying a foreign-branded car they liked in order to opt for a local or regional vehicle instead. On this measure, the US, followed by China, demonstrates the strongest resistance (43%). The exact opposite is true, once again, in Italy, where automotive patriotism appears to have run its course. One must look to major cities and younger, predominantly male demographics to find the strongest expressions of brand patriotism.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n Fig. 21 \u2013 Have you already given up a foreign brand you liked in favor of a brand from your regional area? Percentage of “yes” (%)\n <\/p>\n \n \n Download this infographic for your presentations\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

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\n \"Bar\n \n Vertical bar chart. Question: “Have you ever given up on a foreign brand you liked in order to choose a brand from your own region?” Base: all respondents, in %, proportion answering “Yes”. Source: Observatoire Cetelem de l’automobile 2027.\nAcross all countries combined, 32% answered yes. The United States has the highest share (43%) and Italy the lowest (20%).\nData by country: Germany 35%, Belgium 29%, China 39%, Spain 29%, United States 43%, France 30%, Italy 20%, Japan 27%, Netherlands 29%, Poland 36%, Portugal 37%, United Kingdom 24%, Turkey 37%. The European average is 30%. The total for all countries is 32%.\n <\/span>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\u2026YET DRIVERS REMAIN WILLING TO PAY A SMALL PREMIUM FOR A DOMESTIC CAR<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Even so, consumers show a modest degree of financial goodwill when purchasing a car from their own country or a neighbouring state. Fully 76% state they are prepared to pay more, with Chinese, American, Turkish and Polish buyers leading the way. Paying more, but only up to a point: typically around 5%. Younger drivers reinforce their support for local brands by showing significantly greater generosity. Indeed, 9 in 10 young buyers would accept a price premium, with 4 in 10 estimating this mark-up at between 5% and 10%.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n Fig. 22 \u2013 Maximum additional cost accepted for the purchase of a car from a brand in their country or geographical area (% accepting an additional cost)\n <\/p>\n \n \n Download this infographic for your presentations\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

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\n \"Bar\n \n Vertical bar chart. Question: “What is the maximum price premium you would accept to buy a car from a brand originating in your country or geographical region?” Base: all respondents, in %. “Would accept a price premium” groups the answers “1\u20135%”, “6\u201310%”, “11\u201320%” and “20% and above”. Source: Observatoire Cetelem de l’automobile 2027.\nAcross all countries combined, 76% would accept a premium. China is the highest (85%). Italy and the Netherlands are the lowest (69% each).\nData by country: Germany 78%, Belgium 74%, China 85%, Spain 72%, United States 80%, France 77%, Italy 69%, Japan 75%, Netherlands 69%, Poland 80%, Portugal 74%, United Kingdom 73%, Turkey 80%. The European average is 74%. The total is 76%.\n <\/span>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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CHOOSING LOCAL: A MATTER OF TASTE<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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If drivers are indeed willing to pay extra for a local car, what actually motivates them? While no single factor emerges as the dominant driver from the list of options, 1 in 5 motorists ranks sheer appeal first. Behind this hedonistic, personal criterion\u2014championed most strongly by Portuguese, British and German drivers\u2014 economic logic and supporting domestic industry rank second, with American and French consumers placing the greatest weight on this argument. It is also worth noting the desire for a reliable local service network, a topic explored in greater detail in Part 4.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n Fig. 23 \u2013 Reasons for choosing a national brand vehicle (% of respondents who gave up a foreign brand)\n <\/p>\n \n \n Download this infographic for your presentations\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

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\n \"Horizontal\n \n Horizontal bar chart. Question: “Why did you choose a domestic brand vehicle?” Base: all countries total, respondents who have previously chosen a domestic or European brand over a foreign brand they liked, in %. Source: Observatoire Cetelem de l’automobile 2027.\nReasons, from most to least cited:\n1. Simply because you like the car: 20%\n2. To support local employment and the domestic economy: 17%\n3. To benefit from an after-sales network in your country: 16%\n4. Because it suits your personality: 14%\n5. Because resale is easier and more reliable in your country: 14%\n6. Out of attachment to national brands and their heritage: 11%\n7. Out of pride: 8%\nPersonal liking therefore comes first. Economic and practical reasons follow, and emotional or identity-based reasons come last.\n <\/span>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DOMESTIC PREFERENCE PREVAILS IN MAJOR CAR-MAKING NATIONS Is this down to the ambiguity surrounding what constitutes a vehicle\u2019s nationality? Whatever the cause, automotive nationalism varies dramatically when it comes to choosing the brand of one\u2019s next car. While on average only 1 in 5 respondents would choose to buy a car from a domestic brand, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1945,"featured_media":0,"parent":36450,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"t-etude-chapitre.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36411","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/observatoirecetelem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/36411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/observatoirecetelem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/observatoirecetelem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observatoirecetelem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1945"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observatoirecetelem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/observatoirecetelem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/36411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36412,"href":"https:\/\/observatoirecetelem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/36411\/revisions\/36412"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observatoirecetelem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/36450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/observatoirecetelem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observatoirecetelem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}