Only around half of UK drivers own their car outright, recent poll findings show.
The poll of 2,000 UK adults found that 40 per cent said owning a car outright wasn’t a necessity, with a preference for month-by-month or even more short-term payment solutions.
Hire purchase, personal contract purchase, personal hire leases and the like allow minimal deposit and monthly payments, with the premise that consumers return the car after an agreed period of time and within a set mileage.
The research, which was commissioned by Turo UK – a firm that allows car owners to rent out their own vehicles – also found that as many as 17 per cent of owners said they’d be willing to rent their car to others.
Xavier Collins of Turo UK said: “We’re living in a post-ownership society.
“From the homes we stay in, to the cars we drive, the sharing economy is dominating more and more corners of our lives.
“Brits are feeling empowered to own less, and those who do own assets are becoming more entrepreneurial with them, accelerating the UK’s sharing culture.”
Do you agree with the poll findings? What could it mean for the future of the UK’s automotive aftermarket?