Car ownership demand increasing among young drivers

New research has revealed that car ownership among 17-24-year-olds is more important than ever.

According to an Auto Trader study of over 2,000 young drivers, 90% said car ownership was important to them, with independence and poor public transport among the main reasons cited.

In fact, 70% of those surveyed said having their own car has become even more important over the last 12 months, which is more than double the percentage of drivers aged over 45 (31%).

Car ownership

However, car ownership is becoming increasingly challenging for young drivers. According to the DVLA, an already lengthy backlog for driving tests is only set to grow, with current forecasts suggesting that by the end of 2025, the gap between demand for tests and the number available will be over 1,100,000.

The other main challenge is cost, with supply of vehicles under £11,000 down by 46% since 2016 and those under £5,000 falling by three quarters (75%), while car insurance premiums for 18-year-olds has riven 84% in a year and 98% for 17-year-olds.

Auto Trader’s Head of Strategy & Insight, Marc Palmer, said: “There’s been some recent suggestion that young people aren’t interested in having their own car anymore, but that simply isn’t the case. The desire for the independence and freedom that a car offers is as strong, if not stronger, for young people today than it has been for decades. But what has changed is how difficult it is to get behind the wheel of their first car, which we as an industry need to respond to.

“Unless we make the car buying process more transparent, more convenient and more sensitive to the barriers young people currently face, an important and growing audience will struggle to enter the market.”