Trends
The decline in car ownership: what does it mean for our mobility?
3 March 2026
Major European cities have been seeing a clear shift from car ownership to other mobility solutions for years. This is also increasingly true in areas outside of cities, where car ownership is not yet declining, but is stagnating.
The shift to flexible formulas
The biggest shift is seen among younger generations: a whopping 73% indicate they will prefer flexible fare options in the next ten years, compared to 54% among older generations. A similar difference is also evident based on respondents' place of residence. In urban areas, 77% are open to flexible solutions, while in more rural regions, this figure is 53%. It's striking that both older generations and residents of rural areas are still open to these options, with over half of respondents. This indicates that the shift is broadly based and not limited to a single target group.
In several European cities we also see an annual decline in car ownership:
- Berlin: -4% per year
- Amsterdam: -3 to -5% per year
- Brussels: -2.5 to -4% per year
- Paris: -4% per year
- London: -1 to -2% per year
Focus on flexible mobility
A growing number of Belgian, Dutch, and European players are using ProPlanner to enable flexible offerings without burdening their internal processes. With flexible contract types, 100% digital workflows, seamless planning for multiple locations, and open APIs for seamless integration, you can future-proof your rental services.
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