Millennials Want Cars, Even If They Can’t Afford Them

Millennials consumers between 16 and 32 years old are more interested in car ownership than many people think, says AutoTrader.com.

Recent research shows that Millennials are slower to get driver's licenses and buy cars. But AutoTrader's new survey says young consumers still aspire to own a vehicle.

The online auto marketplace also polled Generation Xers (33 to 47 years old) and Baby Boomers (40 to 67 years old). The executive summary of the Next Generation Car Buyer Study is available HERE.

Results find that consumers under the age of 25 say they want to drive eventually, even though half don't own a car and 36% don't yet have a driver's license. Very few respondents blame their delay on having no need to drive (9%), lacking interest in driving (6%) or not having access to a car (5%).

Four in five young Millennials cite cost as their biggest obstacle to car ownership. They cite several reason for delaying plans to get a license: being busy with other things (23%), having a fear of driving (19%), finding driving too expensive (15%) and wanting more time to learn to drive (14%).

Still, the survey cites data from Pew Research indicating that consumers aged 16-32 bought 25% of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. last year and are expected to account for nearly 50% of sales by 2022.

As a group, Millennials are image conscious, have high car-ownership aspirations, aim to buy a luxury model as soon as they can afford one, favor import car brands and demand plenty of infotainment features in their vehicles.

Millennials rely heavily on research to guide their car-buying decision, most often in the form of face-to-face conversations, according to AutoTrader. It says the group also is more likely than older consumers to visit dealer lots and seek information from sales people there as long as the staff sticks to product information and doesn't exert sales pressure.