Putting the brakes on car ownership
DO you actually need to own a car? It’s a question many, especially city dwellers, will ask themselves over the next few years, as rising costs of ownership, not least insurance, continue to block young drivers from becoming mobile while also placing a greater financial burden on existing drivers.
We already have seen the rise of car-sharing services such as GoCar, which is now present in urban areas nationwide, and that’s a very suitable model, as it allows those who live in city centres use a car occasionally when public transport isn’t appropriate, and even lets you hire vans by the hour for those quick runs to the likes of IKEA, or to do the monthly grocery shop. But car sharing is a growing phenomenon worldwide. Analysts Frost & Sullivan say the worldwide vehicle ‘park’ now sits at 983,000, and will grow to 1.23million by the end of this year. Companies such as Nissan already are trialling shared ownership of the Micra, a scheme in which maybe five or six people living in the same apartment block buy the car between them and work out a usage schedule that suits them all.
Add in the likes of ride sharing, already very popular in the US because there are dedicated lanes for cars carrying more than one passenger, and ride hailing, dominated by Uber, and there are many more options available than ever was the case before.
In many countries, employers now offer a fleet of vehicles in the office car park that workers can use as needed, and increasingly those cars also are electric, a useful and visible sign of the company’s commitment to the environment.
Another disruptor of sales is uncertainty over when, and if, traditional combustion engines will be banned. Anyone buying a car today will be nervous about residual values down the line when it comes to buying the next car, so it makes sense to rely instead on shared ownership or on-street car hire by smartphone.
Did we ever think we’d stop buying CDs and DVDs and switch to streaming services instead? Now, not only might you never again buy a greatest hits album or a personal copy of your favourite movie, it’s entirely possible that you never will actually own a car again either.