How can automotive manufacturers leverage the carsharing trend among young adults?

• Autor(a) principal: Pires, Andreia Meireis
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/28319
• topic: Carsharing; Sharing economy; Automotive; Mobility services; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Economia e Gestão

With the rise of the sharing economy, a cultural shift from property ownership towards sharing systems is being observed, with services like carsharing displaying significant growth. This change poses a challenge to the automotive industry, since its core business relies heavily on car ownership. A lower preference for car as the personal mean of transport of choice among young people is being observed; as young adults are expected to be the car owners of tomorrow, carmakers should draw attention to these phenomena. With the broader goal of understanding how automakers can leverage the carsharing trend among young adults, a survey was conducted among 291 respondents aged 18-35, aimed at understanding the attitudes of young segments about carsharing, the reasons to engage in carsharing schemes, perceived (dis-)advantages of carsharing and the profile of young users. In addition, perceptions about car ownership were audited, as well as to which extent their carsharing experience influenced their connection with car brands and their car purchase intentions. This survey was preceded by consumer and expert interviews, as well as bibliography review on the topic. The results revealed that a series of variables influence the participation in carsharing schemes among young people, among which the ownership of a vehicle. But while young car sharers are less likely to own a car, they do intend to buy one in the future, and here lies and opportunity for car makers to provide a comprehensive mobility offer, that turns young people into carsharing users and later into car buyers, thus enhancing the lifetime value of these customers and shrinking their consumer decision journey for car purchase.