Car Ownership Data

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

Despite what people think of Europe and car use, Italy has always been near the top for auto ownership for developed countries.

Yeah, once you leave the historic city centers, you see that cars are very much loved in Italy, and car-oriented development is not uncommon, at all. Even right outside Florence's historic core, you see autocentric development a few km away.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by yuriandrade

Guys, what about states/provinces/metro areas/cities on the rest of the world? Does someone have such data to share with us?

I'm guessing, for the U.S., car ownership is pretty flat nationwide because 1. U.S is very rich and cars are rather cheap and 2. Differences in relative wealth/development across regions is somewhat less dramatic than in other countries.

Possibly the only exception would be the NYC area, because of the transit orientation. Even in the NYC area, though, car ownership would be high for global standards.

[nei]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I'm guessing, for the U.S., car ownership is pretty flat nationwide because 1. U.S is very rich and cars are rather cheap and 2. Differences in relative wealth/development across regions is somewhat less dramatic than in other countries.

Possibly the only exception would be the NYC area, because of the transit orientation. Even in the NYC area, though, car ownership would be high for global standards.

I suspect the US has large differences compared to most developed nations. However, the US is wealthy enough that most can afford to own a car, and in much of the country not owning a car is inconvenient poorer will try to own a car if at all possible.

From the census data, looking at just household car ownership (commercially own vehicles excluded), NYC has 227 cars per 1000 people. Manhattan south of Harlem has 139 cars per 1000 people. I could post similar numbers for other cities if people are interested.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by nei

I suspect the US has large differences compared to most developed nations.

Possibly. To me, though, the wealth differences between, say, Connecticut and Mississippi are not bigger than the wealth differences between, say Lombardy and Calabria.

The U.S. is much bigger than any other rich nation though, and has more wealth inequality, so perhaps it has more geographic inequality too. I think it may depend on the size of the geography compared (so for localities, yes, definitely, but big areas like states, not so sure).

Originally Posted by nei

From the census data, looking at just household car ownership (commercially own vehicles excluded), NYC has 227 cars per 1000 people. Manhattan south of Harlem has 139 cars per 1000 people. I could post similar numbers for other cities if people are interested.

I would be interested in hearing the numbers for other cities, if not too much work

[tablemtn]

Italians feel very strongly about their cars

On a related matter, the World Bank's statistics claim that the country with the highest rate of car ownership in the entire world is the enclave of San Marino, with 1,263 motor vehicles per 100,000 (compared to 797 in the US by their count).

San Marino is mostly surrounded by the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna (with its capital at Bologna), and I would guess that its rate of car ownership is also quite high, if not quite as high.

[Yuri]

That's probably due Italians registering cars in San Marino due taxes reasons or something.

Originally Posted by Crawford

I'm guessing, for the U.S., car ownership is pretty flat nationwide because 1. U.S is very rich and cars are rather cheap and 2. Differences in relative wealth/development across regions is somewhat less dramatic than in other countries.

Possibly the only exception would be the NYC area, because of the transit orientation. Even in the NYC area, though, car ownership would be high for global standards.

So basically you're saying an US list would be boring?

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by yuriandrade

So basically you're saying an US list would be boring?

I would be interested in seeing such a list.

[tablemtn]

The US Department of Energy put out this chart and list back in 2009, citing data from 2007:



Vehicles per Capita by State

However, some of those numbers seem dubious, as it cites Colorado as having a lower rate per capita than DC.

That's probably due Italians registering cars in San Marino due taxes reasons or something.

It's mostly due to the local car culture, which is a big deal over there. San Marino produces a lot of racecar drivers for its tiny 35,000-person population, and even had an F1 grand prix race from 1981 to 2006 (at which point Belgium bumped it off the calendar). That was the grand prix where Ayrton Senna got killed, by the way.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by tablemtn

On a related matter, the World Bank's statistics claim that the country with the highest rate of car ownership in the entire world is the enclave of San Marino, with 1,263 motor vehicles per 100,000 (compared to 797 in the US by their count).

San Marino is mostly surrounded by the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna (with its capital at Bologna), and I would guess that its rate of car ownership is also quite high, if not quite as high.

Maybe, but they don't use them much. Highways are the typical very narrow Italian-like version. The tourist core (top of the peak) is pedestrian only. I bet a lot of it is rich residents who don't visit often, and maybe even cars sheltered there by non-residents for tax purposes. Further, I imagine much of the workforce isn't residents, meaning the denominator would be artificially low.

[miketoronto]

A thing about car ownership. Poverty does not always mean less cars.

In fact more poverty stricken areas can sometimes have higher amounts of car ownership than down right rich areas where viable public transit is available.

Same goes for other things like bike riding. Usually people who commute to work by bike, have higher incomes than car drivers.

So do not always view car ownership as a sign of wealth.

[Yuri]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

A thing about car ownership. Poverty does not always mean less cars.

In fact more poverty stricken areas can sometimes have higher amounts of car ownership than down right rich areas where viable public transit is available.

Same goes for other things like bike riding. Usually people who commute to work by bike, have higher incomes than car drivers.

So do not always view car ownership as a sign of wealth.

That depends the country you are talking about. In wealthy countries, where cars are cheap goods, that might be true. On the other hand, in Brazil, cars are very expensive goods due high taxes and car ownership reflects exactly the size of the middle-class in a state or metro area.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by yuriandrade

That depends the country you are talking about. In wealthy countries, where cars are cheap goods, that might be true. On the other hand, in Brazil, cars are very expensive goods due high taxes and car ownership reflects exactly the size of the middle-class in a state or metro area.

And, even in the U.S., it's usually true. There are a few urban exceptions, but generally speaking car ownership is correlated with wealth and transit ridership correlated with poverty.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by Crawford

And, even in the U.S., it's usually true. There are a few urban exceptions, but generally speaking car ownership is correlated with wealth and transit ridership correlated with poverty.

In Europe, does the high cost of gas deter people from getting cars or does everyone just switch to diesel? Every time I'm there, I rarely see a gas car. Always diesel? Is there a reason gas is so expensive there versus the U.S.?

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by chris08876

In Europe, does the high cost of gas deter people from getting cars or does everyone just switch to diesel? Every time I'm there, I rarely see a gas car. Always diesel? Is there a reason gas is so expensive there versus the U.S.?

Both gas and cars and much more expensive in Europe than in the U.S. Salaries are also somewhat lower.

Combine that with much better transit and it's obvious why transit share is generally higher in Europe.

[hughesnick312]

Originally Posted by chris08876

In Europe, does the high cost of gas deter people from getting cars or does everyone just switch to diesel? Every time I'm there, I rarely see a gas car. Always diesel? Is there a reason gas is so expensive there versus the U.S.?

No, petrol cars are by far the most used in Britain, Britain is dominated by cars unfortunately. In cities more people use trains, subways, taxis etc, but even there most people have cars and the country as a whole, from north to south, urban to rural, young to old, male to female, rich to poor, is totally car obsessed and oriented. Most people pass their driving test when they are teenagers and continue to drive until they are pensioners

[hughesnick312]

Diesel is more expensive than petrol in Europe.

[Wizened Variations]

In the US, as I suspect in many countries, many lower middle and working low class communities in single family residential areas have very high car to house ratios.

Often, two or three registered cars are used to keep one car functioning. This is not via stripping parts, etc., but, due to having to save money over weeks or months to either take the vehicle to legal repair business, or to take the car to a cash only backyard mechanic.

The philosophy- which I have practiced- is to purchase the most mechanically sound used car for the least money, based upon gut instinct and mechanical knowledge. Generally, such cars demand a simple tool kit, and an extra spare in the trunk, in addition to extra oil, tranny fluid, a spark plug, a couple of spark plug wires, and an spare serpentine engine belt as insurance. The required extra cars are used when the primary car has a small fender bender, minor damage to suspension parts, or when an unforeseen repair arises whose cost is large, but, less than the value of the car is*, when the repair work is completed. Combine this with adult children, and, two working parents and owning three and four older used cars per residence becomes a money saving proposition.

If you decide to do this, depending on your local jurisdiction, you likely will have to park all of your cars that are not run daily, off the street. As such cars generally are not high up on car thieves want to steal lists, parking extra cars in the drive way and using one's garage for a massive storage facility works well

*If the best effort to repair is worth more than the car and a spare car works, sell the car for scrap, and, begin looking for another used car. My wife hates this, but, I point out to her that over the last 20 years I have spent less than $60,000 on cars (total purchase prices for all cars paid in cash, as well as all licensing, insurance, gas and repair) while driving over 300,000 miles at approximately $.20/mile. Compare this sometime to running a new car which at 15,000 miles per year cost between $35k or so for five years for an econobox, and $100,000 for 5 years at 15k miles per year for a new decked out Mercedes CG63 AMG Coupe. For such money saving reasons, millions of us here in the US do this.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

Despite what people think of Europe and car use, Italy has always been near the top for auto ownership for developed countries.

They may not use them for every trip, but Italians in general are very very into cars.

I know in the little town my family is from in Italy, people drive just to go a two block down the road, when one could walk very easily. The mayor of Milano got bullets mailed to him in the mail when Milano started a congestion charge in the city centre. Italians feel very strongly about their cars

This shouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone since Italy has a relatively large domestic auto industry.

[Yuri]

BRAZILIAN FLEET 2015 (Cars + SUVs + Pickup trucks)

Brazil's fleet is about to reach 60 million registered cars as in Dec 2015. In 2000, there were 2.5 times less: 23,098,456. Data for all the states. I'll post metro areas later:


2015

--------- Cars + SVUs + Pickups Dec 2015 --- Dec 2010 --- Growth

BRASIL --- 59.319.755 --- 43.333.074 --- 36,9%

1. SUDESTE --- 32.006.490 --- 24.197.387 --- 32,3%

2. SUL --- 12.687.519 --- 9.256.587 --- 31,1%

3. NORDESTE --- 7.480.222 --- 4.964.526 --- 50,7%

4. CENTRO-OESTE --- 5.121.360 --- 3.581.506 --- 43,0%

5. NORTE --- 2.024.164 --- 1.333.068 --- 51,8%


1. São Paulo --- 19.653.374 --- 15.260.318 --- 28,8%

2. Minas Gerais --- 6.498.808 --- 4.592.149 --- 41,5%

3. Paraná --- 4.907.148 --- 3.581.553 --- 37,0%

4. Rio de Janeiro --- 4.779.080 --- 3.561.407 --- 34,2%

5. Rio Grande do Sul --- 4.643.775 --- 3.394.649 --- 36,8%

6. Santa Catarina --- 3.136.596 --- 2.280.385 --- 37,5%

7. Goiás --- 2.084.750 --- 1.433.634 --- 45,4%

8. Bahia --- 2.017.805 --- 1.324.948 --- 52,3%

9. Pernambuco --- 1.451.570 --- 1.006.037 --- 44,3%

10. Distrito Federal --- 1.369.355 --- 1.044.561 --- 31,1%

11. Ceará --- 1.238.937 --- 818.151 --- 51,4%

12. Espírito Santo --- 1.075.228 --- 783.513 --- 37,2%

13. Mato Grosso --- 841.581 --- 544.459 --- 54,6%

14. Mato Grosso do Sul --- 825.674 --- 558.852 --- 47,7%

15. Pará --- 682.592 --- 438.327 --- 55,7%

16. Rio Grande do Norte --- 589.843 --- 400.666 --- 47,2%

17. Paraíba --- 559.944 --- 375.067 --- 49,3%

18. Maranhão --- 504.079 --- 317.267 --- 58,9%

19. Amazonas --- 465.389 --- 336.169 --- 38,4%

20. Piauí --- 391.712 --- 234.882 --- 66,8%

21. Alagoas --- 378.226 --- 252.046 --- 50,1%

22. Sergipe --- 348.106 --- 235.462 --- 47,8%

23. Rondônia --- 333.533 --- 207.059 --- 61,1%

24. Tocantins --- 252.635 --- 159.089 --- 58,8%

25. Acre --- 104.486 --- 68.111 --- 53,4%

26. Amapá --- 96.143 --- 66.749 --- 44,0%

27. Roraima --- 89.386 --- 57.564 --- 55,3%



---- Car/1,000 Inh -- Inh 2015

1. SUL --- 434 --- 29.230.180

2. SUDESTE --- 373 --- 85.745.520

3. CENTRO-OESTE --- 332 --- 15.442.232

-- BRASIL --- 290 --- 204.450.649

4. NORDESTE --- 132 --- 56.560.081

5. NORTE --- 116 --- 17.472.636


1. Distrito Federal --- 470 --- 2.914.830

2. Santa Catarina --- 460 --- 6.819.190

3. São Paulo --- 443 --- 44.396.484

4. Paraná --- 440 --- 11.163.018

5. Rio Grande do Sul --- 413 --- 11.247.972

6. Goiás --- 315 --- 6.610.681

7. Minas Gerais --- 311 --- 20.869.101

8. Mato Grosso do Sul --- 311 --- 2.651.235

--- BRASIL --- 290 --- 204.450.649

9. Rio de Janeiro --- 289 --- 16.550.024

10. Espírito Santo --- 274 --- 3.929.911

11. Mato Grosso --- 258 --- 3.265.486

12. Rondônia --- 189 --- 1.768.204

13. Roraima --- 177 --- 505.665

14. Rio Grande do Norte --- 171 --- 3.442.175

15. Tocantins --- 167 --- 1.515.126

16. Pernambuco --- 155 --- 9.345.173

17. Sergipe --- 155 --- 2.242.937

18. Paraíba --- 141 --- 3.972.202

19. Ceará --- 139 --- 8.904.459

20. Bahia --- 133 --- 15.203.934

21. Acre --- 130 --- 803.513

22. Amapá --- 125 --- 766.679

23. Piauí --- 122 --- 3.204.028

24. Amazonas --- 118 --- 3.938.336

25. Alagoas --- 113 --- 3.340.932

26. Pará --- 83 --- 8.175.113

27. Maranhão --- 73 --- 6.904.241

[nei]

Originally Posted by Crawford

And, even in the U.S., it's usually true. There are a few urban exceptions, but generally speaking car ownership is correlated with wealth and transit ridership correlated with poverty.

And maybe rural exceptions; among the rural and low-density suburban poor, almost everyone owns cars because it'd be difficult to earn an income otherwise. The poor will have more one car families but the correlation of car ownership and income would be weaker than in a more urban area.