Safety and comfort of own cars and eLCVs are in focus in the "New Normal"
The Covid-19 crisis has shown us how unthinkable events can change the world overnight. Since the beginning of the pandemic, borders have closed, planes stopped flying, and entire countries went into different phases of lockdown. All social norms that society took for granted for decades suddenly changed, and we are now living in a "New Normal" that has fundamentally altered the way the world thinks about a range of topics, including mobility.
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Amid these unprecedented circumstances, LeasePlan is publishing it’s annual Mobility Insights Report (formerly the LeasePlan Mobility Monitor). The Insights Report is a comprehensive survey of driver opinion regarding the most important subjects facing the industry, produced in partnership with leading research firm Ipsos. This year, the survey was conducted across 22 countries. This first edition looks at ‘the New Normal’, probing driver opinion of how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we think about mobility, including: how respondents now prefer to travel, how they feel about their role in fighting climate change, as well as the role of delivery vehicles (or LCVs) in towns and cities given the recent boom in online shopping.
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Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, respondents across all 22 countries have become much less likely to use public transportation (65%), and **more likely to use their own private car (76%). **
2.
Most respondents (79%) say the pandemic has made them more aware of the safety and comfort of having their own vehicle.
3.
More than half of respondents (53%) say they** take climate change more seriously** as a global threat since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. For many (47%), this increased awareness has made them much more likely to switch to a zero-emission electric vehicle in the future in order to reduce their own carbon footprint and maintain the improved air quality experienced at the beginning of the pandemic.
4.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, respondents are more likely to use online shopping and opt for home delivery for discretionary spending (47%), bolstering demand for LCV and electric LCV (eLCV) delivery vehicles.
5.
Many respondents (47%) are worried about increased congestion and pollution from delivery vehicles post- Covid-19 – but the solution is clear: a vast majority (61%) of delivery drivers are willing to share their LCVs with other businesses to reduce congestion, as well as switch to zero-emission electric LCVs (75%) to reduce pollution.