Europ Assistance: sustainable mobility on the rise in Europe

Europ Assistance’s first edition of the “Auto & Mobility Barometer” carried out together with IPSOS across six major European countries has identified that Europeans have increasingly adopted personal mobility, there is strong interest in new forms of protection and coverage, and that the car remains resilient, despite barriers to adopting electric vehicles.

The survey carried out in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain has found that there has been an increase in walking (+31%) as a mode of mobility, while both standard bikes (+25%), electric bikes (+30%) and personal scooters (+28%) have also seen strong increases.

63% of Europeans surveyed own at least one bike in their household, with one-in-five adopting electric bikes. 17% shared that they owned a scooter, split evenly between standard and electric, with particularly high adoption in young generations.

There has also been sharp decrease in frequency since the pandemic in car-sharing (-30%), car-pooling (-27%), taxi and ride hailing (-25%) and public transportation (-25%).

Europeans cited the drivers for these changes were cost and environmental impact. Over 64% of Europeans said that they have adapted their mobility habits due to inflation and fuel price increases. 64% also agreed that they were seeking to become greener in their mobility.

The car remains widespread throughout Europe with 88% of those survived indicating that they own at least one car in their household. However, there are concerns, particularly acute in Spain and Portugal, about the ecological impact from driving, with 54% of Europeans concerned about their ecological footprint due to this mode of transport.

However, only one-in-three consider not having a personal car in the future – with only 8% stating that they could “definitely” continue without it.

The report also found that despite these concerns – and with 31% of those survived expressing interest in purchasing an electric or hybrid car – barriers were stalling adoption of this new form of sustainable mobility. 56% of Europeans identified cost as a strong barrier, 30% cited range - impacting on the ability to make long-distance trips – and 32% were concerned about access to charging points. 

Europ Assistance & IPSOS found that despite the increase in personal mobility, there remained concerns about safety and protection. 38% of bike and scooter users shared that they never wear any protection.

However, there is emerging demand for person-based insurance coverage for mobility. Over half of 18-34 year-olds would be interested in this type of policy, rising to 56% for bicycle users and 70% for scooter users.

While price remains the leading criteria for drivers when selecting an insurance company, the most requested service is assistance, where 87% of drivers indicated a preference. This was followed by a replacement car in the case of accident, theft or breakdown, at 84%.

Those who had accessed assistance services - 4/10 survived – indicated a preference for telephone as the primary means of contact to access the service (59%), with contact via app (16%) and instant messaging (11%) further behind.

Four out of ten survived also expressed openness towards a digital wallet for mobility, in alternative to a replacement car. This would provide a sum for personal transport costs and increase mobility options for the insured. Italians expressed the strongest interest for this, at 49%, followed by Spain and Portugal, at 44% respectively.