Although the personal car will remain at the top of consumers’ mobility preferences in the European Union as a result of the pandemic, alternative modes will make a comeback in the medium to long term, with the strongest advance expected for car sharing and rental platforms, according to “The 2021 Digital Auto Report” by the global strategy department of the PwC network.
Thus, the market share of car sharing and rental platforms is expected to grow from 6% this year to 10% in 2025 and 21% in 2035. Harder hit by the pandemic, ride sharing mobility platforms (i.e. Uber or Bolt) will have a harder time recovering, growing from 2% in 2021, to just 3% in 2025 and then to 7% in 2035. Personal car use is expected to fall from 92% this year to 87% in 2025 and 72% in 2035.
“Consumers are increasingly concerned about their health and safety and will continue to use their personal car to get around after the pandemic. And this trend is reflected in the figures, with the EU-wide market growing by more than 11% in January-August compared to the same period in 2020, according to ACEA, despite problems caused by component shortages. Romania is following the trend, with sales up 7% in the period, boosted by the Rabla programme. However, even if the personal car remains on top of mobility preferences, we see positive prospects for mobility alternatives, especially for car sharing platforms, which also rent electric cars, but also for cycling and walking”, said Daniel Anghel, Partner and Leader for the Automotive Industry at PwC Romania.
For example, in Germany fewer and fewer consumers are planning to use alternative modes of mobility such as taxis, ridesharing platforms and public transport, even after the pandemic, and will instead use their own car, cycle or walk more.
In light of the changes brought about by the pandemic, Europe’s car fleet will stagnate (-0.6%) by 2035, at 281 million vehicles, after the previous edition of the report estimated a 1.2% decrease.
The green car market is at an inflection point in Europe, driven by a strong government push (incentives and regulations). New electric car sales are expected to reach 27% of total new car sales by 2025 and 78% by 2035.
The slow build of charging infrastructure will soon become the biggest obstacle to growth.
Edited for English