MORE than 75 per cent of Australian new-car buyers enter the buying process with no fixed brand in mind and take less than three months to decide on their next car, giving dealers and OEMs only a small time window to get their attention.

Gumtree Group national auto lead Christie Taylor

This insight comes in the latest survey by Gumtree Group – encompassing CarsGuide, Gumtree Cars and Autotrader – which has released its comprehensive report that shows a changing new-car market that is moving away from tradition. 

‘The Influence Engine’ report, released late last month, states that the Australian automotive industry is standing at a critical inflection point that – after several years marked by supply shortages, elevated consumer demand, shifting global production hubs, and steady technological disruption – is now “settling into a new rhythm that is defined by accelerated consumer openness, heightened digital sophistication, and rising expectations for transparency and convenience.”

“The traditional linear pathway from awareness to purchase has given way to a dynamic, multi-channel, digitally weighted journey where brands must compete earlier, faster, and more intelligently than ever before,” said Gumtree Group national auto lead Christie Taylor. The study was conducted with 4400 Australians and looks at contemporary vehicle buyers and how they think, how they buy, and how their behaviour will shape the industry’s trajectory through 2026 and beyond.

Gumtree said that the findings point to four major thematic forces:

1. A broadened but fast-moving consideration window, where open-minded consumers quickly narrow their decisions.
2. A hybrid research journey, increasingly digital,human-driven, and how AI fits into the customer journey. 
3. The influence of country of origin, tradition, trust and the importance of new entrants in the market. 
4. A transitional approach to alternate powertrains, where hybrids surge and EV adoption remains pragmatic. 

“Together, these forces illuminate not only what is changing, but why and what OEMs, dealers, and mobility providers must do to remain competitive in an environment that is rapidly evolving,” the survey said.

The research found that new-car intenders now consider just over three brands on average, which is up 27 per cent year-on-year and reflects a willingness to compare and challenge long held assumptions.

“Crucially, 78 per cent of buyers begin with no fixed brand preference, a statistic that repositions the earliest stage of the journey as the most strategically important moment for influence,” it said.

“While consumers may start broadly, their openness does not imply indecision. Instead, decision making has become sharply compressed with most buyers moving from initial exploration to final purchase in about 2.7 months, leaving OEMs with a narrow window to capture attention before customers lock into their preferred shortlist.”

Gumtree said that compounding this urgency “is a major behavioural shift driven by availability”.

“Nearly half of consumers indicate that they would switch brands immediately if the vehicle they want is not in stock,” the research said.

“This willingness to pivot represents a significant departure from pre-pandemic behaviours, where brand loyalty often endured through long waiting periods. 

“Today, immediacy is valued as highly as brand affinity. For OEMs, this elevates supply chain transparency down to real-time stock visibility, and a back-end function to a critical front-end requirement that directly influences conversion.”

The survey said that in the future, it expects this trend to intensify. 

“As more brands enter Australia, particularly highly competitive EV and hybrid powertrains, the pressure on the consideration phase will grow,” it said.

“Consumers will have more choice than ever, but less patience and less tolerance for friction. 

“The brands that win will be those that appear early, provide clarity quickly, and meet buyers where they research not only where they transact.”

In seeking information on which to judge their next car purchase, the report said that the purchase journey “has become a layered ecosystem of digital exploration, multisource validation, and selective human interaction”.“Independent review platforms have emerged as the most trusted voices in the market, particularly as EVs and hybrids introduce unfamiliar concepts, new jargon, and less intuitive ownership considerations,” it said.

“These sites offer comparative frameworks, real-world testing, and third-party perspectives that consumers perceive as more authoritative than brand-produced content.

“Online marketplaces (including Gumtree, CarsGuide, Autotrader, and mainstream classified environments) serve as essential tools for price benchmarking, stock scanning, and expectation setting. 

“By the time consumers reach OEM or dealer websites, they often possess a detailed understanding of market pricing, vehicle features, and realistic availability.”

Carsguide head of editorial, Justin Hilliard

CarsGuide head of editorial, Justin Hilliard, said trust has officially overtaken price and performance to become the primary currency of the Australian automotive industry. 

“The mass entry of new Chinese OEMs, coupled with an influx of electrification and safety technologies, has created a market that is fundamentally confusing for the consumer,” he said.

“In 2026, the primary barrier to a sale is no longer price or availability, it is a lack of buyer confidence.”

The Gumtree research said that this has repositioned official channels as functional, rather than persuasive, critical for specifications, warranty detail, financing tools, and test-drive booking, but secondary as discovery environments.

“In this context, the dealership experience has undergone a profound shift,” it said.

“Nearly two-thirds of buyers report researching extensively before visiting a dealership, and only a small minority begin their research on site. 

“The dealership has become a confirmation point where questions are answered, impressions are validated, and confidence is secured.

“It is no longer where opinions are formed, but where decisions are finalised.”

The Gumtree report also looked at how consumers viewed artificial intelligence. It said the responses showed consumers thought AI showed both promise and scepticism.

“Awareness is high, usage modest, and trust limited,” the report said.

“Only a small fraction of respondents consider AI tools among their most important research resources, and concerns persist around bias, accuracy, and transparency. 

“Yet there is clear openness with many Australians believing AI could support decision-making if used responsibly.”

It said that around the world, AI was beginning to shape automotive retail in three emerging ways:

• Personalised vehicle matching using lifestyle, usage patterns, and budget inputs.
• Ownership prediction, highlighting lifetime costs, charging needs, and maintenance expectations.
• Inventory intelligence that bridges online and physical stock in real-time.

“In Australia, adoption will lag until transparency frameworks mature and consumers understand how AI-derived recommendations are generated,” it said.

“However, the long-term opportunity is substantial. AI will not replace human expertise in automotive retail but will sharpen, contextualise, and accelerate it.”

Asked about how consumers reacted to the country of origin of new cars, the report said that despite the increasingly global automotive supply chains, country of origin remained a deeply ingrained influence in Australian automotive decision-making.“The research shows that more than half of new car intenders factor country of origin into their purchase considerations, which is an impressive figure in a market now home to around 70 OEMs,” it said.

“Japanese brands continue to dominate perceptions of reliability and long-term durability, particularly among older cohorts. 

“Korean manufacturers have rapidly gained trust through strong value propositions, advanced safety technology, and bold design evolution. 

“European manufacturers retain premium equity, appealing to buyers drawn to engineering, performance, heritage, and luxury aesthetics.”

But it said that the most significant shift is occurring around Chinese brands. 

“Long viewed as lower-tier options, these brands have transformed rapidly, investing heavily in design, safety, and electrification,” the report said.

“The research shows a powerful tension. While 57 per cent of intenders say country of origin is important and express hesitance about Chinese vehicles, the actual brand lists consumers consider tells a different story, with 11 Chinese owned brands appearing in Australian consideration sets.

“This contradiction highlights an important truth that brand equity can overcome origin concerns when product quality, price, technology, and availability converge. 

“BYD, MG, GWM and others have demonstrated how quickly sentiment can shift when products deliver high perceived value and when independent reviews validate performance.

“Looking ahead, competition from Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean OEMs will intensify significantly. 

“Manufacturing scale, EV capability, and aggressive pricing strategies will place pressure on traditional brands to evolve their offerings, refresh their positioning, and innovate faster. 

“Country of origin will continue to matter especially emotionally but it will be challenged more aggressively in the next five years than in the previous 50 years,” the report said.