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The truth about prestige car buyers
July 1, 2026
Data from Australia’s Car Buyer Report reveals where the real opportunity lies for brands competing in the prestige space
Prestige automotive brands have long questioned whether marketplaces can deliver the right environment for premium buyers. But the data tells a different story.
Australia’s Car Buyer Report 2026 reveals that the prestige buying journey is longer, more complex and far more open to influence than many brands realise. Here’s what we’re seeing, and what it means for brands and dealers competing in this space.
Your buyers are already here
More than one million prestige shoppers visit carsales every month1, that’s a big share of potential buyers that you can actively reach. And they’re not just browsing. Prestige shoppers drive one third of searches2, more than a quarter of all vehicle views3 and one in five leads on carsales4.
The appetite outpaces the supply, with prestige vehicles making up just 12% of new and near-new stock5, a small slice of inventory but a large slice of demand. With prestige vehicles also de-listing 28% faster than the industry average6, it’s a clear signal that when the right vehicle appears, buyers move quickly.
Buyers arrive undecided and open to influence
With a bigger financial commitment comes deeper consideration. Before submitting a single enquiry, the average prestige shopper considers 10 segments, 20 models and 5 makes7. That creates a window of opportunity to influence and win share from competitors, while decisions are still being shaped throughout the journey.
And content plays a measurable role. Buyers who engage with prestige editorial content on carsales are 89% more likely on average to submit a lead on prestige vehicles8, shifting behaviour at the point of decision.
The journey is long and buyers are coming back
The average prestige buying journey stretches 7.4 months, nearly six weeks longer than the typical car buyer journey9. More than half (59%) of prestige buyers backtrack at least once10, revisiting earlier stages to re-evaluate their options.
The triggers? Budget shifts, financing concerns or not finding the right vehicle at the right price11, needing reassurance at multiple touchpoints. And when they do loop back, carsales is the number one automotive site they return to (nearly twice as often as any other platform)12, making consistent presence across the journey not a nice to have, but a necessity.
The takeaway
Prestige buyers are researching longer, considering more options and making decisions across a complex journey. They rely on trusted environments to help build their confidence. carsales is rated the most used, most trusted and most important comparison site at every stage of the prestige buying journey13, why wouldn’t you want to be at the centre of that?
The opportunity isn’t about reaching more prestige buyers, it’s about showing up consistently where they’re making decisions, across months, not in short bursts. Brands and dealers that deliver clear, useful information throughout the journey won’t just earn attention, they’ll earn the enquiry.
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Sourcing
1. carsales internal audience data, Google analytics, deduped users, Oct 2025 - March 2026 and Consumer Sentiment Survey (Apr2026, n=1,590). Based on the proportion of respondents indicating a prestige vehicle budget, $70k+.
2. carsales internal data, Prefacts, Prestige vs Industry, Jan2025 – Feb 2026. 33.5% based on carsales on-platform activity. Prestige vehicles defined per carsales Prefacts category as: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Alpina, Audi, BMW, Denza, Genesis, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Polestar, Porsche, Tesla, Volvo, Zeekr. Industry vehicles comprise all carsales Prefacts categories.
3. carsales internal data, Prefacts, Prestige vs Industry, Jan 2025 – Feb 2026. 28% based on carsales on-platform activity. Prestige vehicles defined per carsales Prefacts category as: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Alpina, Audi, BMW, Denza, Genesis, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Polestar, Porsche, Tesla, Volvo, Zeekr. Industry vehicles comprise all carsales Prefacts categories.
4. carsales internal data, Prefacts, Prestige vs Industry, Jan 2025 – Feb 2026. Prestige vehicles defined per carsales Prefacts category as: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Alpina, Audi, BMW, Denza, Genesis, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini,Polestar, Porsche, Tesla, Volvo, Zeekr. Industry vehicles comprise all carsales Prefacts categories.
5. carsales internal data, Prefacts, Prestige v Volume, Jan 2025- Feb 2026. New/Near new definition is dealer used vehicles less than 3yrs old and < 7000kms
6. carsales internal data, Average time to delist, Feb2026. Prestige vehicles defined per carsales Prefacts category as: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Alpina, Audi, BMW, Denza, Genesis, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover,Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Polestar, Porsche, Tesla, Volvo, Zeekr. Industry vehicles comprise all carsales Prefacts categories.
7. carsales internal data, actions taken before submitting a lead on a new vehicles, Jul-Oct 2025. Aggregation of Prestige averaged. Aggregation of mass brands averaged. Mass vehicles are defined per carsales Prefacts as excluding Prestige, Luxury and Unique vehicle categories. Prestige vehicles defined per carsales Prefacts categoryas: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Alpina, Audi, BMW, Genesis, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Polestar, Porsche, Tesla, Volvo, Zeekr.
8. carsales internal data, Lead average comparing prestige brands v comparison brands behaviour after engaging with carsales editorial articles . Jan-Mar 2026. Prestige cohort(Audi, BMW, Genesis, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Porsche, Tesla,Volvo, Zeekr) vs comparison cohort (BYD, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota,Volkswagen) vs comparison cohort (BYD, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, Volkswagen).
9. carsales Australia’s Car BuyerReport 2026, Prestige buyers = Intenders or recent spenders of $70,000or more on a vehicle, n=199. Q. Thinking about each stage of the journey so far, how much time, approximately, have you spent at each stage below?
10. carsales Australia’s Car Buyer Report 2026, Prestige buyers =Intenders or recent spenders of $70,000 or more on a vehicle, n=199. Q. At any point during your vehicle purchase process did you stop or pause? Did you go backwards, start-over or re-evaluate your decision?
11. carsales Australia’s Car Buyer Report 2026 , Prestige buyers = Intenders or recent spenders of$70,000 or more on a vehicle, n=119. Q. Why did you stop, pause, start-over or re-evaluate?
12. carsales Australia’s Car Buyer Report 2026, Prestige buyers =Intenders or recent spenders of $70,000 or more on a vehicle, n=199. Q. At any point during your vehicle purchase process did you stop or pause? Did you go backwards, start-over or re-evaluate your decision?
13. carsales Australia’s Car Buyer Report 2026, Prestige intenders or recent buyers that visited a dealership, n=199, 2025 Total sample, car buying intenders or recent owners, n=2,008 A1. Which of these automotive websites / apps have you heard of before today? Q14. Which specific car rating, comparison/ aggregator or review/ independent car valuation website / app have some influence? A4.Which of the following websites / apps are relevant to you? A6. Most Important.Which one website/app is the most important to you? A6a. Which one website/app is the most trusted by you?
Buyers arrive undecided and open to influence
With a bigger financial commitment comes deeper consideration. Before submitting a single enquiry, the average prestige shopper considers 10 segments, 20 models and 5 makes7. That creates a window of opportunity to influence and win share from competitors, while decisions are still being shaped throughout the journey.
And content plays a measurable role. Buyers who engage with prestige editorial content on carsales are 89% more likely on average to submit a lead on prestige vehicles8, shifting behaviour at the point of decision.
The journey is long and buyers are coming back
The average prestige buying journey stretches 7.4 months, nearly six weeks longer than the typical car buyer journey9. More than half (59%) of prestige buyers backtrack at least once10, revisiting earlier stages to re-evaluate their options.
The triggers? Budget shifts, financing concerns or not finding the right vehicle at the right price11, needing reassurance at multiple touchpoints. And when they do loop back, carsales is the number one automotive site they return to (nearly twice as often as any other platform)12, making consistent presence across the journey not a nice to have, but a necessity.
The takeaway
Prestige buyers are researching longer, considering more options and making decisions across a complex journey. They rely on trusted environments to help build their confidence. carsales is rated the most used, most trusted and most important comparison site at every stage of the prestige buying journey13, why wouldn’t you want to be at the centre of that?
The opportunity isn’t about reaching more prestige buyers, it’s about showing up consistently where they’re making decisions, across months, not in short bursts. Brands and dealers that deliver clear, useful information throughout the journey won’t just earn attention, they’ll earn the enquiry.
Sourcing
1. carsales internal audience data, Google analytics, deduped users, Oct 2025 - March 2026 and Consumer Sentiment Survey (Apr2026, n=1,590). Based on the proportion of respondents indicating a prestige vehicle budget, $70k+.
2. carsales internal data, Prefacts, Prestige vs Industry, Jan2025 – Feb 2026. 33.5% based on carsales on-platform activity. Prestige vehicles defined per carsales Prefacts category as: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Alpina, Audi, BMW, Denza, Genesis, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Polestar, Porsche, Tesla, Volvo, Zeekr. Industry vehicles comprise all carsales Prefacts categories.
3. carsales internal data, Prefacts, Prestige vs Industry, Jan 2025 – Feb 2026. 28% based on carsales on-platform activity. Prestige vehicles defined per carsales Prefacts category as: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Alpina, Audi, BMW, Denza, Genesis, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Polestar, Porsche, Tesla, Volvo, Zeekr. Industry vehicles comprise all carsales Prefacts categories.
4. carsales internal data, Prefacts, Prestige vs Industry, Jan 2025 – Feb 2026. Prestige vehicles defined per carsales Prefacts category as: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Alpina, Audi, BMW, Denza, Genesis, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini,Polestar, Porsche, Tesla, Volvo, Zeekr. Industry vehicles comprise all carsales Prefacts categories.
5. carsales internal data, Prefacts, Prestige v Volume, Jan 2025- Feb 2026. New/Near new definition is dealer used vehicles less than 3yrs old and < 7000kms
6. carsales internal data, Average time to delist, Feb2026. Prestige vehicles defined per carsales Prefacts category as: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Alpina, Audi, BMW, Denza, Genesis, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover,Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Polestar, Porsche, Tesla, Volvo, Zeekr. Industry vehicles comprise all carsales Prefacts categories.
7. carsales internal data, actions taken before submitting a lead on a new vehicles, Jul-Oct 2025. Aggregation of Prestige averaged. Aggregation of mass brands averaged. Mass vehicles are defined per carsales Prefacts as excluding Prestige, Luxury and Unique vehicle categories. Prestige vehicles defined per carsales Prefacts categoryas: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Alpina, Audi, BMW, Genesis, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Polestar, Porsche, Tesla, Volvo, Zeekr.
8. carsales internal data, Lead average comparing prestige brands v comparison brands behaviour after engaging with carsales editorial articles . Jan-Mar 2026. Prestige cohort(Audi, BMW, Genesis, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Porsche, Tesla,Volvo, Zeekr) vs comparison cohort (BYD, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota,Volkswagen) vs comparison cohort (BYD, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, Volkswagen).
9. carsales Australia’s Car BuyerReport 2026, Prestige buyers = Intenders or recent spenders of $70,000or more on a vehicle, n=199. Q. Thinking about each stage of the journey so far, how much time, approximately, have you spent at each stage below?
10. carsales Australia’s Car Buyer Report 2026, Prestige buyers =Intenders or recent spenders of $70,000 or more on a vehicle, n=199. Q. At any point during your vehicle purchase process did you stop or pause? Did you go backwards, start-over or re-evaluate your decision?
11. carsales Australia’s Car Buyer Report 2026 , Prestige buyers = Intenders or recent spenders of$70,000 or more on a vehicle, n=119. Q. Why did you stop, pause, start-over or re-evaluate?
12. carsales Australia’s Car Buyer Report 2026, Prestige buyers =Intenders or recent spenders of $70,000 or more on a vehicle, n=199. Q. At any point during your vehicle purchase process did you stop or pause? Did you go backwards, start-over or re-evaluate your decision?
13. carsales Australia’s Car Buyer Report 2026, Prestige intenders or recent buyers that visited a dealership, n=199, 2025 Total sample, car buying intenders or recent owners, n=2,008 A1. Which of these automotive websites / apps have you heard of before today? Q14. Which specific car rating, comparison/ aggregator or review/ independent car valuation website / app have some influence? A4.Which of the following websites / apps are relevant to you? A6. Most Important.Which one website/app is the most important to you? A6a. Which one website/app is the most trusted by you?
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