The car is losing popularity among European youth

Young Europeans are increasingly uninterested in obtaining a driver’s license, according to Jeroen Smeesters of Federdrive, the umbrella organisation of Belgian driving schools.

Research shows that 40% of 30-year-olds in Berlin do not hold a driver’s license. "We see this same trend in all cities across Europe,” says Smeesters. In Belgium, the average age of youth pursuing their driver’s license has gone up significantly in recent years. Smeesters confirms: "In our driving schools, we used to see mostly 18- and 19-year-olds, but now they are almost all 20 to 22 years old.”

Public transport alternatives in the city are one reason for the trend, as is the increasing cost of owning and maintaining a car. But the Internet may also play a role, according to Smeesters: "Young people are simply less mobile in the sense that they do more and more online, from shopping to talking to their friends. Basically, they get out less."