This Article about car ownership is brought to you by CarMark Hawaii
If you don’t have a car in 2022, you’re not alone
Some sources attribute the drop in car ownership to millennials in big cities, while others say ride-booking services may be to blame for the decline. Even further speculation debates the rise in the number of people working from home. However, some sources believe that the decrease may be a ‘tipping point’. It can be difficult to know the exact reason behind the downward trend in automobile ownership. In some areas, people may also be prone to misinterpretation.
Still, regardless of the reasons, these statistics can be entertaining to observe. Moreover, they might just be a little bit of entertainment for you!
Car ownership over the past decade
- Household car ownership has been declining since 2010 and reached its all-time lowest in 2017. Approximately 11 million households reported having no access to a vehicle in the 2019 census.
- In 2018 there were 111,242,132 registered vehicles in the United States and in 2019, that number dropped to 108,547,706. That is over 2.5 million fewer vehicles on the road in just one year. These statistics vary from state to state, with New York and New Jersey having the highest number of households without access to a vehicle.
- Conversely, Washington, Nevada, and California have seen the biggest increases in vehicle registrations from 2012 to 2018. However, adjusting for population, Delaware, Alabama, and Montana has the largest rates of vehicle registrations per capita according to the data from 2019.
- The lowest number of registered vehicles by population was in New York, Alaska, and Mississippi, which also ranked highly for uninsured motorists.
- A recent study by Planetizen found that 9.3 percent of American households did not own a car in 2010, but that number dropped to 8.6 percent by 2017. That figure has risen slightly but remained around 8.7 percent through 2021.
- While it is difficult to measure the number of new sales and car ownership in the rest of the world, we can still recognize the global trend in the automotive industry.
- On the flip side, the rate of car ownership is rising rapidly in China, where it has surpassed the U.S. in vehicle ownership. In fact, the average household in China owns a car. That is 92.14 percent of the population that is old enough to drive. In 2019 there were 253,763,816 reported vehicles registered in China. The nation’s car population is now over 300 million in 2022. This is an incredible number and continues to increase. The rate of car ownership is a huge factor in the economic health of a country.
Brand Popularity Car Facts
- The largest American brand is Ford; however, Toyota and Honda are more popular than any other car brands.
- GM owns the most brands in the United States. They have 27 models in 2021, and their sales are second only to Ford. Ford currently makes 14 models.
- The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling vehicle of all time, followed by the Ford F series trucks, and Volkswagen Golf.
- Subarus are a popular high-end Japanese-owned company, however, most of their cars are built in the United States.
- Volkswagen is by far the most popular European car brand in the U.S. and worldwide.
Just Fun Car Facts
- Did you know that the heaviest limousine in the world weighs over 50,000 pounds?
- Did you also know that Cadillac and Lincoln were started by the same person?
- White and yellow cars are 10% less likely to be in an accident than black or red cars.
- In 1886, the first gasoline-powered automobile was introduced by German inventor Carl Benz, however, the very first motor vehicle was the steam-powered car invented in 1672 by French inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot.
- Toyota was originally a Japanese company that produced agricultural looms. The company was originally called Toyoda, which means fertile rice paddy. In 1933 the company ventured into the automotive market and changed the name to Toyota, a similar sounding name, but intended to distinguish the new division of the company from the farming industry.
In Summary
New vehicle sales will continue to grow in the U.S., but likely at a slower rate. Experts are projecting about 2% per year. New modes of transportation may result in a decline in private car ownership but sales are likely to be offset by an increase in sales of shared vehicles.