Luxury cars became increasingly popular right across the UK during the pandemic, with Northern Ireland picking up a luxury car in its top three, as Audi moved from 4th in 2019 and 2020 up to 2nd in 2021 – the only region in the UK to feature the brand and indeed any luxury car in the top three.
BMW also moved up from 6th to 5th position throughout the pandemic and Mercedes-Benz entered the top 10 list in 2021, for the first time in three years, at number eight.
Across the overall UK chart, Mercedes-Benz cars jumped two places in the rankings of most popular cars, climbing from 8th before the country’s first lockdown, to 6th in 2020 and 2021.
A luxury motor might not be the obvious choice amidst a penny crunching global pandemic, but many consumers have surplus savings given their lack of holidays and socialising during lockdown.
Research from a consumer insight report shows households earning over £28,000 were able to save more than usual during the pandemic*.
According to data from CompareNI.com, the top three reasons people borrowed money during the pandemic were to purchase a car, consolidate their debts and to do home improvements – with car purchase as number one.
Other luxury cars, such as Landrover, are also on the move up the UK top 20 table, jumping from 19th in 2019 to 17th in 2020 and then 14th in 2021. BMW and Audi held steady at 4th and 5th respectively across all three years, despite the pandemic.
Scotland followed a similar trend to the rest of the UK with Mercedes-Benz at 9th across 2019 and 2020, then jumped up to 8th in 2021. Wales saw Audi enter the top five for the first time in three years.
Greg Wilson, Founder of CompareNI.com, comments: “The pandemic has given some drivers in Northern Ireland the opportunity to trade in their motor for the luxury car they’ve always wanted – with work from home keeping mileage to a minimum and reducing the need for inner city parking which can be both risky and expensive.
“In a year without foreign holidays and weekends away it perhaps makes sense that people took the opportunity to upgrade their vehicles. However just because customers bought a high-end motor doesn’t mean they should pay high-end prices. Comparison sites help customers compare and save, no matter how expensive the car.”
For those choosing to invest in a luxury motor this year, there are still ways to keep insurance premiums to a minimum, such as;
CompareNI.com is Northern Ireland’s largest financial comparison website, and has helped over 650,000 users compare policies from over 200 providers across products such as Young Driver Insurance, convicted driver insurance and car insurance. Recommended by 97% of reviewers on Reviews.co.uk
Figures from ConsumerInsight Data
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