Germans Buying More Cars Despite Pressure To Embrace Bikes, Traffic-Free Cities; Report

Bike and public transport zealots want to persuade us to dump our cars and SUVs in the name of cleaning up the environment, but according to a survey from Germany’s Center for Automotive Research (CAR), motorists are resisting and clinging on vehemently to their personal wheels, not least because of convenience, and coronavirus fears.

CAR director Professor Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer said in a report, policy makers must get used to the strength of the car’s attraction and include it in their policy plans.

“Transport policy in the big (German) cities is therefore not an “either-or” but a “both-and”. Those who define it as “either-or” run the risk of losing their influence in the political process. A policy against the car therefore makes little sense. But a pure auto policy doesn’t work either,” Dudenhoeffer said.

The media is full of academics insisting that will be no choice for citizens. They will have to get out of their cars and cram on to buses and trains, or on to bikes as though every city center was perfectly flat with no wind, rain or snow and that everybody was fighting fit and under 40. It also seems that European Union policymakers have decided that the internal combustion engine’s days are numbered and they can’t wait for the only cars available to be electric. Given that currently available electric cars are unaffordable to average wage earners, that effectively amounts to the same thing; only buses, trains bikes and e-scooters will be available to the masses.

Dudenhoeffer says his data shows this would be a mistake. He said the trend towards more car ownership is not concentrated in rural areas where there is often poor public transport, but also in large cities where buses and trains are constantly available.

“The often-asserted trend away from the car cannot be seen. The opposite is the case. People (in Germany) want more cars, even if they drive fewer kilometers with them,” Dudenhoeffer said.

The number of cars in Germany rose to a record 48.2 million at the end of 2020 with 580 for every 1,000 citizens and the trend is growing.

“The data show that the trend that is often claimed that the Germans want to get away from cars is wrong,” he said.

Frost & Sullivan analyst Anjan Kumar says the coronavirus impact made car use in Europe more attractive because of the health protection aspect, while home working generated more local, shorter journeys.

“This lifestyle change suits the proposition of EVs (electric vehicles) and can be considered a positive for their use,” Kumar said.   

According to the report, most major German cities – 22 out of 25 including Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Duesseldorf, Stuttgart and Dortmund – increased car ownership through 2020. Cities that bucked that trend were Munich, Wolfsburg and Ingolstadt, the headquarter of BMW, Volkswagen and Audi. Dudenhoeffer said in these car “strongholds” most vehicles are company cars and because of the lockdown, use dropped.

Dudenhoeffer said because of this liking for cars, it is important that electric ones are bought by people in cities.

“Charging infrastructure in city centers plays a key role in this. But it is also important to improve the quality of life in city centers with good and safe provision for cyclists and pedestrians. The question that remains is how to bring both sides under one roof in the right space available. One answer can be to let the cities grow more broadly and in area. Consolidation of living space sounds good, but it unbalances our infrastructure,” Dudenhoeffer said.  

He said this trend of more car use seems to clear across Europe too, although he didn’t have data for individual cities.

Consumers want 24/7 car availability.

“We can afford it and it provides comfort and security, in contrast to public transport. The trend to rising densities should also be the case in other big cities in Europe,“ Dudenhoeffer said.

More cities across Europe are gradually shutting down city center access to cars and SUVs in the name of creating cleaner air and trying to nudge or badger their citizens on to buses, trains and bikes.

Meanwhile, car use increases.  

The trouble is cars can provide unmatchable comfort, privacy and security and the coronavirus pandemic has underlined this massive advantage.