Survey: Own car is particularly important to many Austrians

According to the current AutoScout57 trend study, domestic car owners cover more than half of the journeys (24 percent) by car. 3 out of 10 are even "heavy users" and drive at least four fifths of the distances by car in one week. A different picture could emerge in 10 years, as the trend study shows. Because even if 9 out of 10 respondents state that they will then still own a car, they assume that they will use it less.  

Anyone who has a car these days uses it diligently. It doesn't matter whether it's weekend shopping, meetings and excursions, weekend trips, driving to appointments or on vacation - having your own set of wheels is obviously practical. If you look at the personal assessment of car use in 10 years, a decline in numerous types of use can be expected. In the future, a quarter fewer people will use their cars to get to sporting activities, and around one-fifth fewer people will use their cars for trips or to get to work, school or university. People will also switch to other modes of transport for daily shopping, meetings or visits and longer vacations (15 percent). According to those surveyed, the use for bulk purchases, excursions into nature with the dog and weekend trips will hardly change.

Decrease especially in Vienna and among infrequent drivers

A look into the future shows clear differences according to place of residence. Around a quarter of Viennese will use their car less in 10 years than they do today. In the federal states, only one in 10 is of this opinion. Those who drive very little today will do so even less in the future. More than a fifth (22 percent) of infrequent drivers, i.e. those who drive a maximum of 5000 kilometers a year, are thinking of reducing their car journeys.

Switch to public transport and bicycles in particular, decline in (e-)scooters

Anyone who no longer travels by car must look for other means of transportation to get from A to B. According to those surveyed, the highest growth is recorded by public transport (+28 percent) and by bicycle (+27 percent). Longer walks (+25 percent) are also fit for the future. 21 percent state that they are increasingly traveling multimodally. A means of transport that has shaped the streetscape in Vienna in recent years is unlikely to be as important in 10 years as it is now. According to the study, the use of (e-)scooters will be reduced by 15 percent.