Middle-Aged Women Sacrifice Second Cars
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Forty-nine-year-old homemaker Kim Jung-ay was promised a brand new four-door, silver frost metallic Honda Accord LX sedan last June by her husband for their 20th year wedding anniversary.
But almost 10 months later, she's still stuck inconveniently sharing her husband's car on days he decides to take the bus or subway, which are few and far between.
``Last fall was when the economy started sinking, so we're planning to make the purchase after things get a little better,'' said Kim who, like many other middle-aged women, has recently postponed or given up the luxury of owning a car due to worsening household finances.
Tight cash conditions have not only pushed two-car couples to sell off their extra wheels, but have forced one-vehicle families to kill their purchases plans altogether.
According to Hyundai Motor, the percentage of female car buyers shrank from 27.1 percent in 2007 to 21.3 percent in 2008, showing a near six-percent drop.
The situation is no different for other automakers.
GM Daewoo says female customers decreased from 25.1 percent in 2007 to 24.4 percent last year and sales of Matiz, a popular city car, generated by women, recorded almost 33 percent in 2007, but the figure sank to less than 30 percent last year.
Industry experts say that the financial downturn starting last quarter of 2008 has driven female shoppers, particularly the middle-aged, to turn skittish in making costly investments.
``Even though there are good promotional deals to attract careful shoppers, continued maintenance fees and high gas prices are affecting their decisions,'' said a Hyundai official.
According to market data, local gas prices have gone up 10.9 percent compared to last month. Opinet, a real time nationwide gas price indicator, showed Sunday that the average price at the pump hovered past 1,520 won per liter.
Although 40- to 50-something women have cut back on purchases, carmakers say shoppers in their 20s and 30s, many of whom are new to the workforce, have become bigger consumers, as they see cars as a necessity.
For example, Hyundai Motor says 22.7 percent of its Verna buyers were women in 2007, but the figure climbed to almost 30 percent last year.