In 10 years, a smaller car market?

In 10 years, a smaller car market?

The number of U.S. households with no vehicles is small but growing rapidly, according to new research from CNW Research. In 1991, just 5.7 percent of households were carless. That number held steady for many years. But from 2007 to 2012, carless households grew to 9.3 percent.

The recession was partly responsible for the trend. But a growing number of Americans felt they didnt need or want a personal car, says CNW president Art Spinella. Another study, by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, found that millennials (born between 1980 and 2000) arent as interested in owning a car as their parents were at that age. Miles driven per capita peaked in 2004.

Says Spinella, a longtime observer of the auto industry, we can see the formation of a future that includes more car-sharing, increased use of public transportation and diminishing status of owning a new vehicle. This is years away – perhaps a decade – but the shift is clearly taking root.