NinetyEight

“Gen Zs are shunning driving” “Gen Zs are done with cars” “Gen Zs aren’t getting licenses anymore”

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What’s that? Oh, it’s just our Gen Z BS radar ringing through the roof. While the data and headlines suggest that Gen Zs will not be buying cars, we’re here to paint a different picture:

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Gen Z’s Economic Reality

In Gen Z’s eyes, driving and cars aren’t automatically classified as a universal necessity. With car sharing, Uber / Lyft, and scooter options, we may just not need it (depending of course on our situations). As it stands, a lot of Gen Zs work remotely or moved home in the pandemic, both scenarios which delay the necessity of a car. But in all honesty, at this point in our lives – with the oldest Gen Zs being 27 – we simply can’t afford cars, at least without our parents’ help.

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21-year old Gen Z Koi Ponder¹ says “I’m struggling to pay rent while in college currently, so buying a car would be a terrible financial decision for me.”

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In the list of basic necessities, rent comes first and we’re barely even making that. After all, if there’s anything Gen Z is, it’s cost effective. Contextualized with the economic hell that is 2023 and the general delay of traditional life stages, it’s not that Gen Z doesn’t want a car, it’s just not the right time for it… yet. In fact when surveyed, only 64.3% of Gen Z Koi Pond respondents indicated that they currently drive and yet 85.7% of respondents say they want a car.

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The Stress of Driving & Car Ownership

Then there’s the ~ fear ~. Gen Z’s been criticized for being an overly anxious generation. But how can you not be with all the media we’re consuming? It’s common knowledge that car accidents have been a leading cause of death among teens for years, and the 3rd leading cause of death among adults in the US until the pandemic hit. So from news on car accidents to safety test videos of Broncos getting crushed (spoiler alert - they definitely failed the crash test), there’s no longer such a thing as “ignorance is bliss” for our generation. It’s not just news though that contributes to the fear, but influences from our parents and personal experiences as well. 23-year old Koi Ponder says “My dad is an aggressive driver, and it just transformed into this fear of driving. I don’t like the thought of being in charge of this large machine where even if I do everything right, someone else could still severely injure me.” While this doesn’t represent the majority, Gen Zs still generally find driving stressful, rating it an average of 5.3/10 in stress level.

And yet despite the fear, most Gen Zs still want a car. For Gen Zs, any purchase is a high-involvement one where we’re not just looking at the product and price before deciding to buy. In reality we’re researching the background of the company, asking our friends for their experiences, looking at peer reviews on TikTok or Reddit, you name it. The same goes for cars – the general “fear” is simply fuel for us to be much more vigilant when considering our options.

Cars In Gen Z’s Identity

Gone also are the days where cars are indicative of your personal identity. For Gen Z, the car they drive was ranked as least important to their personal identities. Instead, Gen Zs place much more weight on their interests, gender / sexuality, and jobs as their top 3 identifiers. While it’s not a key identity definer for Gen Z, cars are still a marker of success. 23-year old Koi Ponder says, “It feels like it’s an achievement in life to own a car.” Gen Z's relationship to cars has clearly departed from the traditional viewpoint but again, this doesn’t mean they want it any less.

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Interestingly, when asked, Gen Zs struggled to define what their dream car is. There’s little to no brand affinity or loyalty in the auto space for Gen Zs right now. Car brand marketing and ads are all the same, that nothing really stands out to Gen Z. What little perceptions we have on car brands are just leftover influences from our parents. If there was a car brand, though, that most Gen Z Koi Ponders liked, it was Toyota, which incidentally was also perceived to be the safest car brand. Conversely, it was much easier for Gen Z Koi Ponders to define a car brand they DIDN’T like, with shared sentiments on Tesla coming out on top: as 26-year old Gen Z Koi Ponder says, “Tesla, cause fuck Elon Musk.” Soon, Gen Zs are going to be developing our own opinions about car brands and it’s important for car brands to be building affinity and loyalty now, before it’s too late.

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Gen Z’s Take on EVs

While environmental factors are touted as a decision-making factor for Gen Zs, the reality is that it doesn’t actually affect our day-to-day behaviors as much as you think (we’re totally the biggest consumers of mega fast fashion brand, Shein). So while Gen Z drivers are most likely to be behind the wheel of an EV (18% followed by Millennials at 11%), it has less to do with environmental factors and more to do with potential savings on gas expenses and feasibility with charging infrastructure. 23-year old Gen Z Koi Ponder says “I love the idea of EVs but the charging infrastructure in my area isn’t great enough that I’d personally buy one as my only car (yet, I may in the future).” All in all, most Gen Z Koi Ponders support EVs, some were neutral, but none were actively against it.

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18-year old Gen Z Koi Ponder says “I think it's a bad solution for the environmental problems cars pose, but at least it could work if done differently. Most house's electricity runs off fossil fuels, so we're not actually cutting down on fossil fuel use by charging our cars instead of getting gas. They also are still single person vehicles exerting carbon emissions like any other car, as opposed to public transport. I know very little about the manufacturing or lifespan of EVs, but I've heard it's not really sustainable either. Really we should just fix our infrastructure to include a more robust public transport option, and we shouldn't give Elon Musk more money, but if it makes you personally feel better to buy a Prius or electric Honda, I think that's great and you should be able to do that.” So while it’s not a perfect sustainable solution, it’s at least a step in the right direction for people who genuinely rely on cars.

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Painting Gen Z’s Ideal World

What we’re seeing is a massive rise in Gen Z’s desire for safer and more equitable modes of travel. As it stands, Gen Zs are feeling financially constrained, socially isolated, and mentally drained by the current system that, as one Gen Z Koi Ponder puts it “caters to cars instead of people.” One even described cars by saying “They are your legs, a must have” and that’s just downright sad.

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When asked to describe car culture in the U.S. today, Gen Z Koi Ponders described it as:

Exhausting. Isolating. Expensive. Irremovable. Overwhelming. All-consuming. Pervasive.

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Like damn, that’s rough. In an ideal world, Gen Zs in the U.S. would be living in walkable cities with a reliable, accessible, and safe public transportation system that allows for freedom of movement for everyone:

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“Sometimes I daydream about all the stuff I would do if instead of driving to work, I could take a train and not have to be on edge the whole time. I could knit or read or something.” - 18-year old Gen Z Koi Ponder

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“The US needs to get rid of mega parking structures and create walkable, inviting communities where people can work and play with the necessary freedoms they need to find everyday fulfillment.” - 24-year old Gen Z Koi Ponder

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“I think we need more walkable cities and communities, yes. We've lost a lot of the community feel, and it would be great to get that back (and improve health and wellbeing in the process).” - 26-year old Gen Z Koi Ponder

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“Smaller cars, GIVE THE CITIES BACK TO PEDESTRIANS.” - 25-year old Gen Z Koi Ponder

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This shift towards a less car-centric culture depends on smarter, better, and more efficient urban planning. Knowing how our society works, we understand that our ideal world likely won’t happen in our lifetime. So how can we work with what we’ve got with the current car culture in the U.S.?

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What Car Brands Can Do About It

It’s clear that the same standardized car commercial template isn’t going to work with Gen Z given our nuanced perspective, circumstances, and values that will be shared and continue to evolve for generations to come. Some advice? Car commercials need to acknowledge reality, especially in urban areas where most of Gen Z resides. Traffic exists, parking is hard to find. Stop selling us "the thrill of the drive" and focus on the practical, real life applications of cars. In fact, Gen Z Koi Ponders rated themselves an average of 2/5 in their knowledge on cars, which is a prime opportunity for car brands to do some much needed educating.

It’s critical for car brands today to be speaking with Gen Zs to better understand their transportation needs and implement that in product designs and offerings. For instance, it's likely the majority of Gen Z's first cars aren't new. What are car brands doing to make sure their cars stand out to their 2nd or 3rd owners? To make Gen Zs comfortable driving, car brands need to ease their fears and anxieties. What are car brands doing to promote the safety features in their cars? How can their cars improve Gen Z's driving abilities? We also know Gen Z needs a smooth and seamless user experience and yet… the car buying experience SUCKS. In fact, it's safe to say that the car buying experience is the direct antithesis of the Gen Z ideal. It's slow, it's complex, it's belittling, and it's frustrating. Car salespeople are universally hated. Car brands can market their cars all they want, but how are they keeping their sales people in line with their brand? How are they making the car purchasing experience simpler and more straightforward for Gen Z?

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The lack of car brand affinity we found with Gen Z could be cause for worry but could also provide an opportunity: one where car brands are working on a level playing field to win Gen Z over. What Gen Z is really yearning for after all is ease, flexibility, and connectivity to their community and environment. All things they currently believe is the byproduct of walkable cities and better public transportation. This doesn’t mean that we can’t shift car culture today to provide the ease, flexibility, and connectivity that Gen Zs are searching for. With car culture being on life support, how can we reimagine and revive it with Gen Z? Things like Ducking in Jeep culture is a small example and great start to how car brands can build community. But the fact of the matter remains that there’s not one car brand that we have yet to see make an intentional effort in anticipating and meeting Gen Z’s needs. Who is innovative enough to be the first?

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