Moreover, vehicles over 10 years old account for half of Russia’s vehicle park. Russia’s huge unsaturated market and an increase in the purchasing power have attracted major car manufactures which fearlessly compete against each other and local manufactures. To win consumers’ fancy over competition car manufactures carry out extensive research seeking answers, for instance, to the following questions:

• What is my brand’s market share, what is my brand’s image on the Russian market (for example, broken down by regions of distribution)? – Recommended research method: qualitative penetration research, interviews with owners of the relevant vehicle types.
• What is the consumers’ perception of an automotive facelift (also known as mid-generational refresh,or minor model update)? What is the optimal and maximum price a manufacturer can charge for the model given the competitive environment? – Recommended research method: Qualitative testing for the model update concept, body and interior, identification of price sensitivity by means of target audience evaluation (current users of similar class vehicles and prospective buyers with a purchase intention for a particular type of vehicle).
• Non-typical passenger car launch potential evaluation on the Russian market. – Recommended research method: Qualitative research; body and interior evaluation, price and image assessment by users of “neighboring” vehicles class to identify a proper balance between the vehicle class and its product features.