French study shows European youngsters still want a car

According to driving schools, there is a renewed interest among young people in being able to drive independently as soon as possible after their 18th birthday, and a new French study confirms this fact.

Despite its high cost, young people worldwide remain attached to the car precisely because they consider it essential for their daily lives, and it will occupy a more important place in the future.

EV represent progress

According to the annual study by the Cetelem Observatory, nearly half of young people under 30 (47%) believe that the car will have a more important place in the future, compared with 33% who predict an identical place.

Moreover, 50% think the electric car embodies “progress” and is “more environmentally friendly.” Two-thirds (63%) think EVs will definitively replace vehicles with internal combustion engines, compared to 47% for those over 50.

39% of young people are also against the ban on internal combustion engines, which the European Union wants to introduce from 2035, compared to 46% of seniors. People are rather skeptical about the benefits of EVs, especially in France and Germany. Moreover, only 4% refuse to own a car because it is too polluting a means of transportation.

No car bashing

Another significant generational difference is that 44% of young people think the car is mainly responsible for global warming, compared to 30% of seniors. Even 60% of young people in China and Turkey are convinced of this.

At the same time, half of 18-to 29-year-olds think car manufacturers are “making enough efforts to make environmentally friendly vehicles.” Only 4% refuse to own a car because “it is too polluting a means of transportation.”

Finally, almost eight in ten young people think the car is essential to their daily lives, a score significantly higher than that of seniors (70%). 80% of young drivers also say they are “attached” to their car, and 63% would not be able to live without it.

At the same time, they do not hesitate to use other means of transportation. Similarly, 69% travel by bicycle (52% for seniors), and 56% carpool (23% for seniors). In 2011, for example, only 30% of young people did carpool.

Getting driver’s license fast, but a car remains expensive

The annual study on drivers’ expectations and behavior was conducted in 14 countries: Belgium, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. A total of 16,000 respondents participated.

Compared to a similar study about a decade ago, the percentage of under-30s who own a driver’s license dropped from 92% to 73%. However, 85% of those with a driver’s license obtain it before age 25.

Young people are also slightly more likely to choose a used car than a new one when buying a first car (51% versus 49%). The average amount spent on this purchase is 14,881 euros. Six out of ten young people with a driving license but no car in their possession also consider a car far too expensive.