Sunday 31st January 2021
Better to have your own vehicle than public transport
Study sees cars as pandemic winners
During the Corona crisis, the car has risen sharply in favor of consumers. At least that's what a new study says. Accordingly, more people around the world are using their own car again. The issue of new purchases also plays a bigger role.
According to a study, the corona pandemic has greatly increased the use of one's own car and purchase intentions. "87 percent of consumers worldwide prefer the use of a private vehicle in order to be safe on the road," said the management consultancy Capgemini after a survey of 11,000 consumers. At the beginning of the pandemic, it was only 57 percent.
According to this, 78 percent of respondents worldwide prefer "their own vehicle to public transport; in Germany the proportion is now 74 percent". 81 percent of those surveyed want to avoid carpooling because of health concerns. 72 percent said that "they appreciate being able to use their own vehicle at any time more than they did before the pandemic".
The proportion of respondents who would like to buy their own car in the next twelve months has risen from 25 to 39 percent in Germany since April and from 35 to 46 percent worldwide. Cheap car loans, government grants for electric cars and an economic recovery after the pandemic should drive demand, the management consultants said.
However, more than half of those who are considering buying a car have "scaled down their wishes compared to last year": They would now prefer a smaller car and fewer features. That will depress the profit margin of the automobile manufacturer, said Capgemini.
The management consultancy surveyed 11,000 consumers in Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, the USA, India and China in April 2020 and October and November 2020. The countries included in the study represent 62 percent of global annual car sales in 2019.
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