Will young people respond to the Paris Motor Show, October 14-20 in Paris? And why not? Defying a preconceived idea, they love the car and are not at all willing to do without it: this is the conclusion of a study carried out in fourteen countries by the Cetelem Observatory, coordinated by its director, Flavien Neuvy. The same survey was conducted in 2011. “It was then the beginning of environmental awareness”explains the economist, and this concern has increased since then. Therefore, he expected a greater rejection than in 2011 and admitted “surprised by the testimonies of people under 30”who say the opposite.
“To put it simply and directly, they love the car, they are not prepared and, above all, they do not want to do without it”, concludes. They are even willing to bet, with 47%, that the car will take up more space than it does today in thirty years. Only 29% thought the same in 2011. “Surprising enthusiasm”considers Flavien Neuvy, which is also reflected in the popularity of Formula 1 or motorcycle Grand Prix. Although not everything is rational, he sees it as a double sign of confidence in electricity and in the brands’ progress to reduce emissions and pollution.
Across Europe, more and more young people (seven out of ten according to the observatory) have adopted the bicycle for their trips, but this does not lead them to give up the car. Especially if they have one. Certainly, 38% say they can imagine their life without it, a proportion that has increased in fifteen years, but for six in ten it is inconceivable. They are increasingly open to car sharing: on average, in the fourteen countries, one in two young people under 30 years of age practices it, compared to less than one in three fifteen years ago. If the Japanese and Italians avoid sharing, the Chinese and Turks are very diligent.
The license is still obtained at an early age, for those who take the step: 91% do so before the age of 25 in France and three out of four before the age of 21. One in two young French, German or Italian people buys their first car before turning 20. Young Chinese wait five more years. But they prefer new items, which young Europeans have difficulty affording. Above all, they dedicate a much larger part of their income to it. According to the Cetelem survey, young people (under 30 years old) surveyed in China say they earn an average of 15,537 euros per year, compared to 22,800 euros for a young Frenchman, but the former are willing to spend 21,518 euros on their first vehicle compared to at 12,290 euros for a Frenchman. Logically, the Chinese (97%, plebiscite) are the ones who say they are the most “attach” to his car, like to a person, almost sentimentally. The most distant are the Dutch or the Japanese. Young French people find themselves between the two.
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