The rise of on-demand transportation services such as Uber and Lyft may
have automakers spooked, but it hasn?t yet weakened car ownership in the
U.S., according to a survey conducted by vehicle valuation firm Kelley
Blue Book.
The survey results, released Thursday, reflect the
responses of 1,900 U.S. residents ages 18 to 64 across the country. It
found that while many people are aware of ride-hailing services (73
percent), most have never used them. Those who have are mostly
millennials and city dwellers.
When it comes to car-sharing
services such as Zipcar and Getaround, 43 percent of respondents had
heard of them, but only 7 percent had used them.
Seventy-six
percent of respondents expressed intent to buy or lease their own
vehicle within the next two years, and the majority said they believed
owning a car was more reliable (81 percent), safe (80 percent) and
convenient (74 percent) than depending on sharing services.
?While
there are numerous benefits to ride-sharing and car-sharing, our data
reveals that owning a car still reigns supreme, with reliability, safety
and convenience all being major factors,? said Karl Brauer, senior
analyst for Kelley Blue Book.
Good as this news may be for car
manufacturers, companies such as General Motors have nevertheless
invested heavily in autonomous vehicles and ride-hailing.
GM
announced a $500 million investment in on-demand transportation company
Lyft in January, acquired assets from Sidecar, and launched a
car-sharing program called Maven.
?We see the future of personal
mobility as connected, seamless and autonomous,? GM President Dan Ammann
said in a prepared statement in January. ?With GM and Lyft working
together, we believe we can successfully implement this vision more
rapidly.?
(Source: TCA)
