How important is the car?

Result

For four out of ten German citizens, the importance of cars has decreased in recent years. The significance in rural areas is significantly greater than in metropolises. In terms of age, it is not younger people for whom the car has become less important, but rather older people. However, the size of the location also plays a decisive role in terms of age.

Reasons

Germany was and is a car country - but not exclusively. Although the number of cars per German citizen has continued to rise in recent years (2021: 58 cars per 100 inhabitants), high petrol prices, the "9-euro ticket", subsidies for alternative drive systems, more and more car-sharing services and expanded cycle paths are causing people to rethink. The urban-rural divide is still huge: If the next bus doesn't leave for another two hours, people are still dependent on their own car.

Forecast

A mobility turnaround is slowly but surely emerging. The political will is there, technological development is progressing and social acceptance is increasing. The prerequisite - in addition to affordability - is the networking of individual transport and local public transport. If this happens, the majority of citizens will be prepared to do without their own car even more often.