Why Younger Drivers Are Buying Fewer Cars and Driving Less

December 19, 2014

Recent figures published shows that younger drivers are not as keen on owning automobiles as they were 10 years ago. There is a decline in the number of cars sold to teenagers. The used car market usually is buoyant after the summer with a few youngsters putting the money they earned from their summer jobs to buying cars.

It appears that this is not the case lately as fewer teenagers buy used cars. According to CNW Research only about 11% of used cars were purchased by teenage drivers as opposed to about 17.5% only 5 years ago. This means that only 4.2 million vehicles are sold to youngsters and this is over 3 million less than 5 years ago.

This may be a temporary trend mainly due to higher teen unemployment figures. Last year teenage unemployment was twice what it was in 2005. A few years ago, youngsters could get summer jobs and jobs after school pretty easily thanks to expanding economy. However, we have seen job losses following financial crisis. As a result, companies can find more qualified staff when they start re-employing before they give youngster a chance to train.

In addition, there are a few other items like smart phones, laptops and other gadgets that are competing for teenagers’ attention today. Inevitably they would be spending some of their money on those items instead of automobiles. You can imagine a teenager without a car but cannot imagine them without cell phones and laptops.

Also, the new graduated licensing rules may mean that youngsters are not rushing into getting their driving licenses and buying cars. They are simply waiting until they are 18 instead of bothering to comply with graduated licensing system. There are noticeable drops in 16 and 17 year olds with driving licences in states with graduated licensing system that supports this reasoning.

High auto insurance rates for teen drivers are probably a very influential factor as well, according to http://cheapautoinsurance.net. Buying a car is only one part of the equation. The other part is to insure it, pay for petrol and maintenance. They are high enough to put off teen drivers who could spend the money somewhere else. Furthermore, they wouldn’t have to pay as much for automobile insurance if they were to drive their parent’s cars and insured under their policies. They can wait until they are established enough for their insurance premiums to come down and buy their own cars.

It may in a way be good news as statistics suggest that there are fewer teen accidents and deaths. This would be the natural outcome of teenagers owning fewer cars. Another recent report suggest that 20 – 30 year olds drive about 8% less miles than 10 years ago. All these factors including the tougher driving license test reduce the accidents caused by teen drivers and it can only be good news.

Certainly automotive industry may not be happy with these figures as they would be selling fewer automobiles. However, there is hardly ever all round winners and there are usually winners and losers when a trend changes. Looking at these figures it is safe to say that there is a change in the trend of teen auto ownership.