NEW YORK- Many car owners would consider giving up car ownership in the future in favor of autonomous mobility solutions, such as self-driving buses or taxis, according to a new report from Accenture.
The report “Mobility Services: The Customer Perspective,” looks at the key challenges for car manufacturers now and in the future in relation to the rise in mobility services. Based on a survey of 7,000 consumers in the U.S., Europe and China, 85% of whom were car owners, it notes that revenues from mobility services are projected to reach nearly €1.2 trillion by 2030, with the exponential growth in the market for mobility as a service driven by constant improvements in autonomous vehicle technologies.
A key finding: Despite the fact that 96% of car owners said they think they will own a car in the future, nearly half (48%) said they would consider giving up car ownership if autonomous mobility solutions were available.
Perhaps somewhat surprising, owners of premium-brand cars were more likely than owners of non-premium brands to say they’d be willing to give up car ownership for autonomous mobility solutions. Among owners of premium-brand cars, those in China were twice as likely than those in the U.S. to say they’d consider giving up car ownership (78% vs. 39%), with those in Europe falling in between (55%).
“The transition from car ownership to mobility-as-a-service seems inevitable, so traditional auto manufacturers will be at great risk of losing customers to new mobility service providers that can establish mature offers,” said Axel Schmidt, a senior managing director at Accenture who leads its Mobility industry practice globally. “Traditional car companies need to begin fully embracing alternatives to the ownership model — becoming brokers of mobility solutions rather than just car manufacturers. And given the greater willingness among the Chinese for autonomous mobility solutions, manufacturers might consider China as a blueprint for their efforts before rolling out solutions to Europe and the U.S.”
