Romanian young consumers perception of car brands: a personal construct theory approach

Owning a “renown” car brand, a “latest hour” model, with a futuristic design, etc. is the ultimate dream of any driver. Thus, the car producers always take into account the real or the ideal needs of consumers, including on the emergent market. The research of car brand perception among consumers is possible with quantitative and qualitative methods statistics, respectively. The combine use of these leads to the qualitative improvement of the research, in the sense that it fathoms the aspects belonging to endogenous and exogenous variables, direct noticeable, of the consumers. This research regarding the perception of the car brands most often encountered on Romanian highways, among young Romanian consumers is based on a combined use of a repertory grid and the Principal Component Analysis method for the data elaborating and construing phase. The results show: the perceptions of consumers are grouped in: the ideal image of the future, youth – sportivity, reliability; a strong perception of the symbolic significance, subjective related to car brands; good perceptions according to the history of the car brands; good perceptions according to aspects connected to reliability and maintenance of the car brands; good perceptions according to the design of the body car and aspects connected to it.