Young people “very interested” in car-sharing - Continental

ERJ staff report (LMH)

Hanover, Germany - Young people in cities across the world have varied opinions on the role of cars in their lives but they all agreed on one thing: they are very interested in the car-sharing model, according to Continental's Mobility Study 2011, published 15 Dec.

The study surveyed around 500 young people in each of the following cities on their current and future use of cars: Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, Moscow, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Delhi, Singapore, Beijing and Bangkok. The findings vary widely, reflecting the respondents' different experiences of individual mobility and social backgrounds, Continental said.

Many young inhabitants in megacities have access to a car - 80 percent to 98 percent use one either on a regular basis or occasionally. The rate of car use is the highest in Los Angeles, where almost nine out of ten young people have access to a car at any time, and is the lowest in Berlin, where 19 percent have no access to a car whatsoever.

Factors that explain this lack of a car include the financial situation (most frequently mentioned in Singapore), health limitations and the lack of parking (particularly in Bangkok and Delhi), but also the conscious decision to do without a car.

For many young city-dwellers, renting a car on a flexible basis is a genuine alternative to buying a car. On average, one in two would give car sharing a go at the very least. In Sao Paulo and Bangkok, one in three would go without owning their own car if they were able to use an inner-city car fleet on a flexible basis.

In Germany, 71 percent of respondents in Berlin and 68 percent in Hamburg see car sharing as an attractive option. This model received lowest approval in Moscow, where more than one in four young people regard it as unappealing. For them, it is important to drive your own car, whereas just 21 percent of respondents in Hamburg and Los Angeles were of this opinion.

“In the future, individual mobility will be characterised by increasing variety and ever greater complexity,” said Dr Elmar Degenhart, chairman of the Continental executive board, commenting on the study.

“To stand a chance of succeeding as a supplier on the global market on a sustainable basis, a company will have to be adept at mastering this complexity and capable of translating this mastery into a steady stream of market innovations that cater to automotive megatrends in the industry.”

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Press release from Continental