Postcodes Point To Brand Popularity

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday July 12, 2008

Richard Blackburn

Drive has searched census data to find out what cars live where. Richard Blackburn reports.

You may not be able to judge a book by its cover but you can, it seems, gauge the price of a car by the postcode it parks in. Drive has scoured the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics census figures to match car brands with the suburbs in which they are most popular and it seems that badge snobbery is alive and well in Sydney.

It comes as no surprise that the leafy lower North Shore suburb of Mosman and the CBD - where most executive chariots are garaged - have the most sought-after driveway eye candy.

But more surprising is that off-road brand Jeep has made its spiritual home in Bondi, far from the rugged terrain it was built for.

Mosman is the No. 1 postcode for a host of expensive imported brands, from Audi and BMW to Range Rover, Mercedes and Volvo.

In fact, the suburb has three times as many Porsches as it has Kias. In the rest of Australia, Kia outsells the German brand by 13 to one. But even Mosman can't claim as many registered Porsches as the Melbourne bayside suburb of Brighton and Queensland's Gold Coast.

Brighton can also lay claim to having the highest concentration of BMW owners, while Toorak has the most Ferraris and Bentleys, according to the most recent Australia census figures.

The Gold Coast has the highest concentration of Mercedes owners.

Despite the skew towards prestige brands in well-heeled suburbs, Toyota, the country's best-selling brand, is still the top choice in Mosman and other exclusive suburbs. Not so Australia's second and third most popular brands, Holden and Ford, which rank behind Mercedes and BMW in the harbourside suburb.

That scenario is repeated across the harbour in the eastern suburbs haven for the mega-rich, Vaucluse, where Mercedes-Benzes outnumber Fords by two-to-one but still play second fiddle to Toyotas.

Sydney's CBD is more exclusive still. It garages more Aston Martins, Bentleys and Ferraris than any other postcode in the state.

All up, the 2000 postcode has 118 Jaguars, 28 Maseratis, 27 Bentleys, 25 Ferraris and 14 Aston Martins.

The No. 1 Rolls-Royce suburb is Potts Point, followed by Mosman and surprise packet Brighton-le-Sands. Bentleys are popular in the eastern suburbs, with Dover Heights home to 16 and residents of Bellevue Hill garaging 15.

Ferraris, on the other hand, are popular in Mosman and Potts Point. Of more surprise, though, is the fact that the Prancing Horse's third- and fourth top-selling suburbs are Baulkham Hills and Castle Hill. Jaguars and BMWs are also popular in the latter.

A social analyst, David Chalke, says exorbitant housing prices have driven even the well-heeled into outlying suburbs.

"There's been a lot of movement out of the traditional wealth areas as those places have become stratospherically expensive," he says, adding that it is logical that posh postcodes attract posh cars.

"People who share postcodes usually have a great deal in common. They tend to congregate in areas of similar social outlook," he says.

"If they are upwardly mobile they need to demonstrate that by the sort of car they drive, be it a Peugeot, Renault or BMW convertible. It all becomes a tribal thing."

He believes the proliferation of certain brands in certain suburbs is a self-fulfilling prophecy. When a person moves to a new suburb, the cars that are common in that suburb become familiar to them. Then there is an element of mimicry and wanting to fit in - a case of keeping up with the Joneses.

"Then there is recommendation of a certain model or brand, which is an incredibly powerful marketing tool," he says.

Edward Rowe, the spokesman for the Ferrari and Maserati importer, says the prestige makers target certain suburbs in promotions, although all the advertising is done on a national basis.

"Maserati is no different to any other company that advertises, in that we know what the profile is of our typical customer and we place advertising that matches that profile, be it in terms of income, occupation, hobbies and lifestyle interests or geographical location," he says.

"With both Maserati and Ferrari, it goes without saying that we are focused on a handful of postcodes that provide a number of quality potential customers.

"We know where our customers live. We can pull out postcodes from the ABS data and look at things like average per capita income, disposable income and median house prices. You can then pinpoint by postcode the people who are going to be in the market for your car."

In Sydney that is the North Shore and eastern suburbs and the companies will often direct public relations initiatives to local newspapers in exclusive areas.

Chalke says that if a vehicle proves popular in a suburb, the local dealer does well and can then employ more staff and expand the marketing budget, which again builds recognition of the brand in a suburb.

Based on that theory, Jeep would do well to set up a dealership in Bondi - there are more Jeeps in the beachside suburb than anywhere else in NSW.

Bondi also has the highest number of registered Lamborghinis - two. But despite its high proportion of British residents, the suburb doesn't go for Land Rovers.

Hondas are popular in Surry Hills, where they outnumber Holden. It also has the equal highest number of Aston Martins, while Volkswagens and Volvos are popular as well.

Sydney's Italian quarter is predictably loyal to Alfa Romeo. In Leichhardt, the brand outnumbers the more established luxury brands of Audi and Lexus. The loyalty doesn't stretch to sports cars, though.

There are twice as many German-built Porsches in the suburb than Ferraris and Maseratis combined.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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