Drivers rethink car ownership in Ontario due to inflation

A new report suggests many Ontario residents are reconsidering car ownership due to inflation.

Turo, a car-sharing marketplace, released their third annual Car Ownership Index in partnership with Leger.

The report found many Ontario residents “are increasingly unable to afford car ownership due to inflation despite many viewing vehicle access as essential.”

Nearly half of Ontario survey respondents (44 per cent) said they are less likely to buy/lease a vehicle this year due to recent inflation rates.

Over one in 10 (12 per cent) of Ontario residents plan to stop owning or leasing their car in the future.

Of the Ontario residents surveyed who plan to stop owning or leasing a car in the future, 29 per cent cited financial reasons.

This year, “having a car is too expensive” is the number one reason as to why Ontarian respondents without a vehicle don’t own/lease one currently.

And as in previous years, many drivers with cars don’t actually use them that often.

While 85 per cent of Ontario respondents own/lease a car, their cars sit idle 95 per cent of the time.

Despite using their vehicles so infrequently, 77 per cent of Ontario respondents who own/lease a car feel it would be impossible to not have one, and 55 per cent agree they would have to change jobs if they didn’t have one.

Additionally, the survey found young millennials are struggling to both retain and buy cars.

More than half (56 per cent) of young millennials (aged 25-34) in Canada said they are less likely to buy or lease a vehicle this year due to recent inflation rates, which is significantly higher than the average across all ages (46 per cent) in Canada.

Young millennials also have the highest estimated cost of ownership at $6,176 per year. This is significantly higher than the average of $5,025 per year across all age groups