The emergence and growth of ride-hailing services is encouraging millennials to buy new cars, a surprising new report states.
A report from market research firm Mintel suggests that about 15 per cent of millennial car buyers in the United States are purchasing new vehicles with the intention of driving for the likes of Uber, Lyft and other services.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Mintel automotive analyst Buddy Lo said “A lot of millennials have the mind-set that they’ve got to have a side hustle, something like Uber to supplement their income. And now that the recovery is taking hold, they’re starting to buy new cars.”
Many millennials, who are defined as born between around 1980 and 2000, have entered the workforce in the midst of record house prices and living expenses and Mintel believes that spending $15,000 on a new car doesn’t seem out of reach for the younger generation.
“The emergence of ride-sharing has been a boon to millennials. It’s become a great way for people to make money off a depreciating asset: their car,” Lo said.
Rather amazingly, Mintel’s research says that 84 per cent of millennials plan to buy new cars rather than used ones in the pursuit of the latest technologies and safety features.
PHOTO GALLERY
