Car Customization Important for Gen Y

Even though it's pretty obvious that Generation Y is not as interested in owning a car as Baby Boomers are, it doesn't necessarily mean that the auto industry should give up on them as potential buyers. The younger population today is not very keen on getting a driver's license and buying a car, with the high costs of owning a car being one of the main reasons for that, and feel that it's more important to own a cool smartphone, instead.

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Gen Y Car
Image Credit: images-images-2

They are connected to their friends and family through social media, and they don't need to leave home that often in order to see someone and have a conversation. This have made cars somewhat obsolete, at least for teenagers, and car makers are having trouble figuring out what they can do to attract this very important demographics.

What most car manufacturers have been doing in efforts to appeal to the Millennials is making cars with cooler, more modern designs, and equipping them with various features that provide great in-car connectivity. This might have helped them a bit, but it's not enough to get a whole generation to start loving cars. It's a fact that young people want to be able to choose what types of features the product they buy will have, and have a wide range of accessories for that product. This applies to almost all products, and cars are no exception.

Personalization is very important to Generation Y, and if they are offered a car that can be easily customized, then owning a car might become a way for expressing their personality, which is pretty important for today's youngsters. Honda has already realized that and has discovered that their buyers are willing to spend a lot of money to buy various aftermarket parts to customize their newly-purchased Hondas.

Gen Y's interest in cars can be boosted if they have the chance to improve their car's performances, or make changes to the exterior design, by choosing a different body paint, or putting some flames or stripes on it. Some of them may want to be able to put custom wheels, install a high-tech sound system, put bucket seats and a custom steering wheel inside the car, or maybe replace the traditional doors with gull-wing doors, while others might want to improve the car's performance and install better brakes or a performance exhaust.

That's why we can see more car manufacturers that offer a great range of personalization options, such as Toyota, which is trying to make its luxury brand, Lexus, more appealing to the Millennials by giving buyers the opportunity to choose forged alloy wheels, that are more attractive than the ones that are part of the standard equipment, lowering springs, a performance air intake, sway bars, shock absorbers, a customized shift knob, and other cool features that can make young drivers think of cars as more than just a simple means of transportation.

If major car makers become aware of the fact that personalization is very important to Gen Y, they should be able to avoid losing a whole generation of potential car buyers.
Rizwan Ahmad
About the Author:

Jordan Perch is an automotive fanatic and “car tech” specialist. He is a writer for DMV.com, which is a collaborative community designed to help ease the stress and annoyance of “dealing with the DMV”.

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