Car buyers are getting younger for the first time: that's behind the trend reversal

Created: 01/05/2022, 09:42 AM

From: Marcus Efler

Buyers of new cars in Germany tend to be more mature semesters.

But now their age is falling for the first time in many years - a younger group in particular is growing significantly.

Duisburg - A new car is an expensive pleasure, and older people in particular who have already climbed a few rungs of the career ladder have money.

This is a brief explanation of why Germany's new car buyers are no longer the youngest: On average, they are well over 50 years old, although there are sometimes significant differences between the individual brands.

Her age had risen steadily by 2015 - from 46.1 years in 1995 to 52.7 years two decades later.

Since then, the age of customers in Germany has stagnated, while in other countries such as the USA and especially China they are significantly younger.

(Study: Germans want to buy a car - one type of drive is becoming increasingly popular)

Car buyers are getting younger for the first time: that's behind the trend reversal

In 2021, however, there was a trend reversal, as reported by 24auto.de: For the first time, the average age fell again - to 52.4 years, as the Center Automotive Research (CAR) at the University of Duisburg-Essen has determined.

At 0.3 years, i.e. around three and a half months, the rejuvenation is not exactly revolutionary, but according to the institute's director Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, the long-term “Methuselah effect” on the new car market is noticeably stopped.

(Generation Greta prefer car-free? Study shows what makes young people really tick)

Trend reversal: buyers of new cars are getting younger.

(Symbolic picture) © Viktor Cap / Imago

Car buyers are getting younger for the first time: Much more 30 to 44 year olds

The age group of 30 to 44-year-olds plays an important role in the counter-trend that has now begun; their share of new car buyers has grown from 19.3 to 22.1 percent since 2015.

The proportion of people over the age of 60, on the other hand, fell to 31.1 percent.

"The frequently diagnosed turning away from the car by the younger generation is not recognizable," believes Dudenhöffer.

The corona pandemic could also help to rejuvenate: It makes having one's own car appear more attractive again, especially for professionals who can not only work from home, and for families compared to buses and trains.