Affordable luxury means buying a fancy car that still costs less than the most expensive models, so you get style and quality without paying a fortune.
A vehicle walkthrough is like a guided tour of a car, showing its inside and outside so people can see what it looks like before buying.
LIVE
Hi everyone, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and welcome to the December 26th, 2025 episode of the Automotive News Canada Podcast. I'm your host, Greg Lason, the digital and mobile editor at Automotive News Canada. Coming to you from just outside Windsor, Ontario, the Automotive Capital of Canada. Today on the show, we're revisiting one of our most listened two shows of the year. Because it's the holiday season, we'll forego the weekly headlines and get right to the interview.
Today we're flashing back to the May 30th episode. We'll hear from Google Strategic Insights Lead, Nisha Harry Harron. She's here to offer some insight into Gen Z car buyers. She tells us who they are, what they want, what they need, and most importantly, how they shop for new vehicles. So, without further ado, here's a conversation between Automotive News Canada publisher Tim Demopolis and Google Strategic Insights Lead, Nisha Harry Harron.
So, Nisha, how do Gen Z's view the car ownership of Journey, and how does that help shape what they look for or when shopping for a vehicle? Yeah, great question, Tim, and thanks for having me on today. First off, just to set the stage, Gen Z is roughly anyone between the ages of 13 to 28 years old. And that's really a wide range, if you think about that, right? Some of Gen Z is just starting to turn 16, thinking, dreaming about their first license.
Because I know I did, and the rest are actively in the workforce, maybe starting a new job, getting married, and buying a car to meet that life event. I'll be talking about the latter half today. One of the key defining features of Gen Z is that they are the first digital native generation out there. And what that means is that visual storytelling really rules their world. I feel that it's super necessary to call this out and keep this in mind when thinking about Gen Z because it really defines how they buy well anything out there. And when it comes to buying a car, there are three main things.
To keep in mind for how they shop for and buy for a vehicle. First off, they are digital first and tech savvy. They're researching online, watching videos, and getting information digitally. And we've seen that 88% of Gen Z first discovered their car online. This is consistent also what we see with what we see at Google in general. Gen Z are heavy users of Google search, signed in users 18 to 24 actually issue more queries each day than any other age group. The second piece that I want to keep in mind when it comes to the car
and buying journey is that this is the first car they're buying likely, right? Which definitely shapes their approach to the whole process. In fact, Gen Z is two times more likely to be buying a new car relative to other age groups. And think back to how much research you did when you got your first car, like I spent a whole summer just going around to different dealerships and test driving and mind you. This was a different time. I won't date myself too much, but that's when there wasn't as much information available online. Today, Gen Z is doing the same thing except they're doing that in a digital way.
And lastly, it's really important to keep in mind that Gen Z does share with your peers, with their friends think what they see others driving or talking about. That's a big influence for them. And that's why we see so many trends go viral with Gen Z as well. It's a digital first generation, sharing those experiences online is a natural extension of their lives. So, Nisha, what are the top priorities for Gen Z car buyers? Can you walk us through why value matters so much to this group compared to other generations? Yeah.
Great question, Tim. And before I start talking about value, I want to first focus on the top priorities for Gen Z when it comes to buying a car. First off, Gen Z is similar to the rest of the car buying population when it comes to what factors matter most, like reliability and safety. We all want cars that we can depend on and Gen Z is no different. Now, where it does get interesting and what is different, and this is where I want listeners to really focus in on, is that Gen Z does over index on valuing tech features,
exterior styling, so the look and feel of a car, and is much more likely to be open to a new EV brand. Let me break that down even further. On valuing tech features, like automatic parking, some of the fun stuff you see in cars these days, Gen Z tends to value this by about 52% more than the rest of the new car buying population. Similarly, exterior styling, so look and feel 40% more likely to value this relative to the rest of the car buying population.
And yes, they are open to new tech and brands, and they are 40% more likely to be interested in and consider a new and pure electric OEM.
So, fuel economy seems to also matter to most demographics, but Gen Z seems particularly driven by this. What does it tell us about how their priorities are evolving?
Yeah, fuel economy is definitely a big piece of the puzzle for Gen Z. However, I think it would be a miss to say that Gen Z is solely driven by, and sorry I had to throw in a pun, by fuel economy, even though it's super important.
I think it goes back to this concept of understanding what value truly needs to know. So, for instance, our data does show that Gen Z is two times more likely to reject a car if it has poor fuel economy, super clear signal on the fact that this does matter.
But where it does get really interesting is the fact that they are also 62% more likely to have considered a luxury car like a BMW during the buying journey.
And on the surface that might seem contradictory, right? You're thinking fuel efficiency than boom, a luxury brand shows up.
But it really highlights this idea of affordable luxury and what they define as value for money. It's not just about the lowest price tag, it's also about getting the best overall value for money for them, and they're often trying to hit that sweet spot of affordable luxury.
And we've actually seen this pattern pop up time and time again when we look at Gen Z across in different industries as well.
So, for example, think about premium, at leisure wear, like brands like Lululemon and Aloe that do this really well with this age group.
We see Gen Z are willing to pay a little bit more for that, for that feeling of accessible quality and style.
And we see that that mindset also really applies when it comes to buying a car as well.
Now, this is a very tech driven generation and when it comes to in-car technology and battery electric power, how does that figure into Gen Z's past the purchase?
We touched on that earlier and the resounding answer is that in Tarteck is really important to Gen Z and that they are more likely to consider a new and electric brand and we clearly see that from the research.
One example that I'd love to bring up right now that really brings us to life for me is through YouTuber Marcus Brownlee. Tim, are you familiar with him?
Tell me all about him.
Sure. So, for those who don't know, he's one of the top tech reviewers out there and is quite popular with Gen Z.
His channel autofocus has over a million subscribers and some of his top car review videos have over 4 million views.
His videos tend to be about 10 to 15 minutes long for each car and what does he focus on for most of these videos? Well, it's features and in-car tech.
I took a look at his latest video. I won't call out the name plate or the model here but he spent over half his review so that's basically 5 to 6 minutes of a 10 minute video talking about the in-car tech, tech features, stylistic features, right down to his assessment of cup holders.
He's not doing that because he really loves cup holders. He's doing that because he knows his audience Gen Z really well and he knows how much these different bells and whistles mean to Gen Z when they make that decision to buy a new car.
Okay, so we know that Gen Z is digital first but the many still see the dealership experiences an important part of the overall buying experience.
So how should brands and retailers think about blending online discovery with in-person experiences for this generation?
Also a great question and yes, Tim, you're right. As mentioned earlier, Gen Z does primarily discover cars online but the dealer visits also really do inform their decision making process and that relationship is important.
I'd encourage dealerships and OEMs to explore how you merge both of those worlds together. And what do I mean by that? Think about how you bring the dealership and your brand to the virtual world.
So one example of that or actually a couple of examples of that are ones that I've seen right here on YouTube in Canada.
For example, O'Neill Nissan, a dealership in Newfoundland, their top video on YouTube has over 100,000 views.
That's close to the size of St. John's in Newfoundland itself.
Kia Brandford is another example here in Ontario. They've got over 150,000 subscribers on YouTube just higher than the population of Brandford itself.
These dealerships are doing vehicle walkthroughs, highlighting promos and sales and I've seen that Kia Brandford even has their own podcast.
I think these are some great ways to blend online discovery, the in-person experience through that idea of visual storytelling that I talked about earlier and building a relationship with Gen Z even before they walk into the dealership.
Okay, so we just outlined that the Gen Zs are far more likely to trust recommendations from digital creators.
How should automakers rethink their overall marketing and influence strategies to reach these buyers effectively?
Like what do they need to do to optimize their marketing to make sure they're they're hitting the right notes here?
Yeah, so you're right. Gen Z does really value the opinions of digital creators.
Our research has shown that 65% would watch content from digital creators while buying a car.
But one point I really want to make is that they also really want to hear from automakers as well.
We also found on the same note that 43% of Gen Z would watch videos from an automaker.
And I think that's really important for automakers to keep in mind because you need to keep showing up digitally and along the digital paths of purchase
to reach Gen Z. You can't rely on recommendations from digital creators alone, but you yourself need to show up along that journey as well.
Catering to some of those values that we talked about Gen Z really overindexing on, right?
All of the features, value for money, making sure that you think about the tech that's within your car and how you really bring that message across to Gen Z.
Great, Nisha, anything you'd like to add?
Yeah, I'm overall I'm really excited for how marketing will evolve in the auto space to meet the needs of Gen Z.
But my main two points would be to sum this up. Gen Z is a digital first generation and eager to adopt new technology.
Show up where they are doing their research, which is online, personalized to what they value the most, and really highlight what makes your cars and brands unique and special.
And the second point is don't forget that magic and special moment of buying your first car.
That's what Gen Z is mostly likely doing right now. They just really need the right information to help them understand why you are right for them.
Really appreciate your time, Nisha. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Tim.
I'd like to thank Nisha for giving us your time and Tim for conducting the interview.
If you'd like to be a guest, have a suggestion or simply want to comment.
Email me at glasonatautonews.com and remember you can listen to all our previous podcasts on Spotify, iTunes, Google Play or on our website, automotivenews.ca.
Just scroll to the podcast hub in the middle of the homepage.
And don't forget you can follow automotive news Canada on X where we're at auto news Canada.
And you can find me there too under at glason ANC.
And finally, you can find us on LinkedIn. Just search automotive news Canada.
That does it for this episode of the automotive news Canada podcast.
We hope you'll join us next time.
So long everybody.
About this episode
Insights from Google’s Nisha Hariharan reveal how Gen Z, the first digital native generation, approaches car buying. With a focus on online research, they prioritize tech features, exterior styling, and value for money, often leaning towards new electric vehicles. The discussion highlights their unique buying journey, emphasizing the importance of digital creators and the blend of online and in-person dealership experiences. Nisha also shares how automakers can effectively reach this demographic by showcasing their brand's unique qualities and engaging with Gen Z's preferences.
In this replay of the May 30, 2025 episode, Google Strategic Insights Lead Nisha Hariharan offers some insight into Gen Z car buyers. She tells us who they are, what they want and need, and most importantly, how they shop for new vehicles.
