A number of millennials are shying away from public transportation due to the novel coronavirus, and are considering purchasing a vehicle instead, according to a new study from EY.
Thirty-one per cent of consumers plan to buy a car in the next six months and 45 per cent of those consumers will be millennials aged 24 to 39. This group, who will be first-time car owners, are expected to lead a car ownership boom during this timeframe across the globe, according to the 2020 EY Mobility Consumer Index.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping the marketplace. Millennials leading the increase in global car ownership would have been unthinkable a year ago, particularly in terms of buying non-electric cars,” said John Simlett, EY Global Future of Mobility Leader. “The industry should recognize that there is a new market out there that didn’t exist until very recently.”
Simlett said that, as more consumers are expected to purchase a vehicle and car usage is anticipated to increase, the situation will leave policy makers with some difficult questions to answer.
“How (will they) accommodate all these cars on our roads (and) aim for a more diverse mobility mix?” said Simlett. “How will this trend impact public transport investment? Quite simply, is this sustainable, and if not, what needs to be done and by whom?”
Nearly a third of survey respondents who do not currently own a vehicle plan to purchase one in the next six months, while 20 per cent (one in five) already own a car but would be open to buying another vehicle. For both of these groups, COVID-19 is a key reason for their purchases.
Furthermore, 78 per cent of respondents are more likely to use their vehicles for travel in a post-pandemic world, with millennials making up 52 per cent of that number. And 71 per cent of consumers that do not own a car are looking at purchasing a new vehicle — and specifically, a gasoline-engine vehicle or diesel model. Only 6 per cent plan to purchase a purely electric vehicle and 23 per cent will look at buying a hybrid model.
Elsewhere in the world, respondents from Italy (47 per cent) and Germany (46 per cent) are also more likely to purchase a new car. In China, 90 per cent were most likely to increase their car usage), followed closely by India (85 per cent) and Germany (81 per cent).
“The numbers in emerging markets like India and China will bring optimism to automotive executives who will have been concerned about the expected sales recovery in those regions,” said Simlett. “While sales in these markets have already bounced back to some extent, there is room for that trend to continue and this seems to suggest that there is healthy demand on the horizon.”
The survey includes 3,300 consumers across nine countries.
