Number of cars per household is dropping

Number of cars per household is dropping

According to analysts at the Citi Investment Research Group and IHS Automotive, the number of vehicles per American household is dropping and could fall below one per driver in the household as early as 2020.

According to IHS analyst Rebecca Lindland, the number of vehicles per home was 1.05 per driver in 2007, and that this figure dropped to 1.0 vehicles per driver in 2010 and .99 in 2011. She is forecasting the decline to continue and that the number could drop to .96 by 2020.

Lindland says various conditions may be causing this trend, but it has mostly to do with economics. She notes that young people, defined as the Gen Y and Millennial generations, are being crushed by bankruptcy, job loss, student loans, and a tight job market, and simply cant afford anything but the most basic vehicles.

She also notes that even as gas prices have dropped, Americans have stubbornly refused to make more trips or purchase larger”and more profitable”crossovers and SUVs.

Meanwhile, Citi Investment Research reports that U.S. car owners have gotten rid of”and not replaced”one million vehicles since 2008, a first. Citi researchers say the young will continue to adjust to this brave new world where cars are an option, not a necessity, in their lives.