Urban Science Harris Poll Study: U.S. Auto Buying More Fragmented, Digital in 2026

Key findings from 3,012 U.S. auto buyers and 252 dealers surveyed explore the evolving buyer journey, predictive AI, EVs and more

DETROIT, May 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Urban Science^®, a global automotive consultancy and technology firm, has announced the release of its sixth annual automotive research study in collaboration with The Harris Poll. Findings from the 2026 survey highlight notable shifts across the U.S. automotive retail segment, where the purchase journey is becoming increasingly fragmented and digital.

"While affordability-related worries have begun to ease over the past year, capturing service and sales revenue across the automotive retail landscape remains challenging. Auto buyers are more willing to cross-shop across brands, dealers and marketplaces, extending the buying journey over one to three months," said Amy Bowering, Global Marketing Director, Urban Science. "In response to these shifts, dealers are making significant investments in digital media, bringing more data to their disposal than ever before. Often delayed, this data leaves automotive firms without the real-time insights they need to sync offline sales with digital spend, accurately validate ROI and optimize future campaigns. The key to navigating this complexity lies in leveraging the power of daily sales data to sell more cars, drive efficiency and increase profitability across service and sales operations."

Key findings from this year's survey include:

• Dealer confidence remains high, with 74% believing they play an essential role in the new-car buying journey and 63% strongly agreeing the traditional car dealership is optimized for the future. Auto buyers, on the other hand, are less convinced, but their sentiment grew more positive year over year.
  
  
• Nine in 10 U.S. auto buyers said a traditional dealership is their top choice for purchasing a vehicle, but fully online experiences are not out of the question. Two-thirds (66%) of auto buyers indicated they would consider purchasing directly from a traditional dealership's website.
  
  
• Economic pressures are notably shifting how consumers shop. Nearly one-third (31%) of consumers prioritize price and value over brand loyalty. As a result, 44% of auto buyers spend more time researching before contacting a dealer, and 25% are more likely to buy entirely online than they were a year ago.
  
  
• When choosing which dealership to purchase from, auto buyers consider many factors. Still, price and vehicle availability win out, with 59% saying they would drive further to get a better vehicle price. In comparison, almost half (45%) of U.S. auto buyers say they would be less willing to travel far for service as for a new-vehicle purchase.
  
  
• Federal policy changes have impacted EV readiness among auto buyers. 36% of respondents said they are now less likely to purchase an EV and nearly half (47%) said they will never be ready to accept an EV. This hesitancy is contributing to a split in powertrain preferences among auto buyers and dealers, with a majority (60%) of the latter excited about EVs.
  
  
• While EV readiness declined among auto buyers, longstanding barriers to purchase continued to decline. Range anxiety was down 4% year-over-year and worries about charging time and high MSRP were down 4% and 3%, respectively. Auto buyers are increasingly turning to hybrids, and 31% think automakers should prioritize them until challenges with EVs are fully addressed.

Conducted in January 2026, the latest Urban Science Harris Poll survey gathered data from adults aged 18+ who currently own or lease or plan to purchase or lease a new or used vehicle in the next 12 months, including 3,012 adults from the United States, 1,001 from Germany and 1,001 from the United Kingdom. In addition to the auto-buying public survey, data was also collected from 252 OEM automotive dealers across the United States with the title of sales manager, general manager or principal/VP/owner. This collaborative report is the result of the only survey in the industry today that positions dealer and auto-buyer perceptions, concerns and expectations side-by-side. 

For additional findings, download Urban Science's 2026 Harris Poll survey.

About Urban Science
Urban Science is a leading automotive consultancy and technology firm that serves automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and dealers, and AdTech companies that support them, around the world. Headquartered in Detroit and operating in 20 office locations globally, Urban Science taps the power of its science – and its unrivaled data, solution offerings and industry expertise – to create clarity and business certainty for clients in even the most chaotic market conditions.

Visit UrbanScience.com for more information about how Urban Science helps the automotive industry gain a competitive edge by taking the guesswork out of critical business decisions. This in turn, drives improved efficiency and profitability industrywide.

About The Harris Poll
The Harris Poll is one of the longest-running surveys in the U.S., tracking public opinion, motivations and social sentiment since 1963. It is now part of Harris Insights & Analytics, a global consulting and market research firm that strives to reveal the authentic values of modern society to inspire leaders to create a better tomorrow. We work with clients in three primary areas: building 21st Century corporate reputation, crafting brand strategy and performance tracking and earning organic media through public relations research. Our mission is to provide insights and advisory to help leaders make the best decisions possible.

Method Statement
This survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Urban Science among 3,012 U.S., 1,001 Germany and 1,001 UK adults aged 18+ who currently own or lease or plan to purchase or lease a new or used vehicle in the next 12 months (referred to in this report as "auto-buyers" or "auto-buying public") and 252 U.S. OEM automotive dealers, whose titles were Sales Manager, General Manager or Principal/VP/Owner.

The auto-buying public surveys were conducted from January 5 to January 28, 2026. Data are weighted where necessary by demographics to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. The dealer survey was conducted from January 5 to February 4, 2026. Data were weighted as needed based on the average of current and previous waves for gender, car types sold, job title and urbanicity.

The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within ±2.3 percentage points for U.S. auto-buyers, ±3.6 for Germany auto-buyers, ±3.5 for UK auto-buyers and ±7.2 for U.S. OEM automotive dealers using a 95% confidence level.

For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Amy Bowering ([email protected]).

SOURCE Urban Science