Features
15 mar 16

Generation Z prefers car ownership over sharing

The next generation of car users will still prefer to buy their own vehicle rather than share it with others. Generation Z is heavily inclined towards safety and self-driving cars, but cares less about brands and buying cars online. 
 
Those are some of the findings of a study by Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader. 

Shared mobility
The so-called Generation Z (born from the late 1990s through the 2010s), now 12 to 17 years old, does not seem inclined to follow the trend watchers who sense a shift towards alternative transport or shared mobility among younger generations (e.g. the so-called Millennials, a.k.a. Generation Y, born in the late 1980s through the 1990s).
 
No less than 92% of Gen Z'ers says that when the time comes, they still want to own their own cars, most from when they are 18 or 19 years old. As for driving licenses, 97% already have one, or plan to get one as soon as possible. These kids say they prefer to drive their own vehicle to sharing a ride with someone else – an option more popular among Millennials. 

Social media
To indicate how serious Generation Z are about car ownership, 72% said they'd prefer a year without social media over a year without a car. 
 
Price trumps the environment: 43% of Gen Z'ers prefer fuel-economic vehicles because they save money, 30% because they prevent global warming.
 
Brand and style of the car matter less to the youngest generation. Only 49% of Gen Z'ers find car style important (vs. 57% of Millennials), and 23% say brand matters (34% of Millennials). 

Safety more important
On the other hand, safety is far more important to Gen Z (43%) than to Millennials (25%). Compared with previous generations, a remarkable trend emerges: only 11% of Generation X, and only 9% of Baby Boomers finds safety of paramount importance. No less than 43% of Gen Z even said they found safety more important than infotainment. 
 
Gen Z is also highly favourable (54%) to autonomous driving, and 47% said they'd want one themselves. 

Buying online
However, only 26% of Gen Z said they would want to buy a car online. Just over half (52%) said they would need at least two test drives before buying a vehicle. 
 
In the U.S., Generation Z currently represents 23% of the population, and by 2020, their population should total about 80 million. Right now, their average weekly allowance is $17 (€15), but by 2020, they collectively will have $3.2 (€2.9) trillion in purchasing power, writes mlive, quoting Isabelle Helms, VP of research and market intelligence for Cox Automotive.

Image: public domain
Authored by: Frank Jacobs