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Decline predicted in vehicle ownership in the US

NCR Mobility

Auto dealers and consumers are more closely aligned on the future of mobility than many industry experts may imagine with both expecting significant reductions in personal vehicle ownership. In fact, dealers are predicting an even sharper decline in ownership than consumers in the next five years (28 percent versus 18 percent).

However, while most of the dealers surveyed recognise this eventual reality, only 1-in-10 dealers see mobility as a threat to their current business, according to the 2018 Cox Automotive Evolution of Mobility Study: A Dealer’s Perspective.

Not unlike any industry undergoing transformation, consumer acceptance over time is often the key driver. While still in its infancy, mobility is no different. In the next 10 years, nearly half (47 percent) of dealers see consumers owning or leasing fewer vehicles per household as a direct result of the increasing number of mobility options and the introduction of autonomous vehicles to the mass market. Ride-hailing (87 percent) is predicted by dealers to see the most growth, followed by car subscriptions (82 percent), car-sharing (81 percent) and autonomous vehicles (81 percent).

With dealers challenged by declining new-car sales and margin compression, 45 percent say they see new shared mobility models as new revenue streams. Three out of four dealers see a benefit in offering these shared services at their dealerships, with 40 percent viewing mobility as an opportunity to appeal to a new consumer base. Almost 3-in-5 dealers (59 percent) also believe fixed operations will play a more important role with vehicles used for ride-hailing and car-sharing logging more miles and requiring more service.

Any hesitancies by the dealers surveyed toward these new mobility solutions are due to the uncertainty surrounding operations rather than rejection of the models themselves. This includes knowledge of how to set these services up, outside support to get these services off the ground and the overall cost benefit.

“Dealers are approaching the evolving mobility landscape with their eyes wide open,” said Joe George, president of Cox Automotive Mobility. “While traditional car ownership isn’t going away anytime soon, we’re focused on enabling dealers with innovative consumer mobility and shared fleet service solutions to keep their businesses relevant.”

This article courtesy of Russell Thrall III, publisher CollisionWeek. Check out their website at: www.collisionweek.com

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