In the recent past, futurists believed that millennials aren't that interested in owning cars and trucks, due to the amount of car sharing. Despite these predictions, car sharing might not effect the car industry after all. As reported by, Detroit Free Press, for the first time since the housing bubble of around a decade ago, new vehicle sales are running at levels like they used to be. However, at the same time, according to the University of California Berkeley Sustainability Research Center, in 2014, 1.3 million Americans belonged to a car-sharing network, which was a 34% increase from 2013.
“In fact, a new segment of the car-share industry is also expanding, renting out your personal vehicle to strangers in much the same way Airbnb.com rents out your residence to travelers, if you're out of town or on your own vacation. The San Francisco-based vehicle-share program, which launched in 2009, is called Getaround and has expanded this year to Washington DC, Portland, Ore., and Chicago.”
Millennials, who are now the largest demographic block in the United States, are not abandoning buying cars. 27 percent of new vehicles purchased in the US last year were accounted for by those born after 1980, which is an 18% increase from 2010. Customers are buying cars as well as sharing vehicles. Car sharing is expanding through companies like Zipcar, which is a company much like Getaround. Zipcar car rents out cars to people for as little as one hour, or even up to a week. People can rent a car and don't have to pay for gas unless they use more than 180 miles. In southeast Michigan, Zipcar rents 47 vehicles from 25 locations in Detroit, 43 vehicles from Ann Arbor, and 7 vehicles from East Lansing. Zipcar charges $70 per year or $70 per month, with a $25 activation fee.
Whether or not you have your own vehicle or car share, cars are deadly weapons which can lead to accidents. If you have been injured in a car or motorcycle crash, call us today at 844.MI.FIRM. The Michigan Law Firm, PLLC offers free consultations to those who have been injured in accidents. Our accident attorneys will work hard to recover any and all available benefits under Michigan Law.