Are Car Makers Chasing the Wrong Buyers?

By Bill McLauchlan

Could it be that car companies these days are looking through the wrong end of their marketing telescopes?

Look at it this way. Check out any auto show in your neck of the woods and you’ll find manufacturers’ displays desperately trying to project themselves as being youthful and hip. Their displays abound with new technology offerings social media connectivity, head-up interfaces, and infotainment platforms for audio, navigation and communication content.

Yet the reality is that younger people are buying fewer new cars and, in fact, many are even delaying the acquisition of a driver’s licence. Proof of that can be found in a U.S.-led study in 2011 that found only 79 percent of drivers aged 20 to 24 had licences, compared with 92 percent in 1983.

Contrast that with a report yesterday out of Britain that there are now more than seven million drivers over the age of 65 on U.K. roads. According to the Institute for Advanced Motorists, a road safety charity, the figure comes from driving licence data published by the government licensing agency DVLA.

The DVLA data also shows: There are just over four million over the age of 70 and another 1.1 million drivers over the age of 80. It seems there are even 195 motorists behind the wheel who are over 100 years old.

Turning to this side of the pond, it’s a similar picture. According to the latest information from the U.S. Department of Transportation there are 11.9 million licensed drivers over age 65 on American roads. A further 14.7 million are over age 70 and a rather astonishing 7.8 million drivers on the road who are beyonf age 80.

Photo: PR NEWSWIRE/Newscom

North of the border, Canada numbers some 2.8 million licensed drivers age 65 or older. Unfortunately, there’s no definition by decade of that total.

Another interesting revelation from the British data is that, generally, only about five percent of the drivers over age 65 have demerit points on their record. This compares favourably with middle-aged drivers. The age group most likely to have points on their licence is 42 year-olds. That group shows 10 percent have accumulated points for driving infractions. For younger drivers the figure is eight percent.

While similar figures for North America are hard to find, if available at all, the UK experience shows that older drivers are, in fact, safer than many other drivers. Where older drivers have slower reaction times, they use their experience on the road to compensate by driving at slower speeds on all occasions and allowing more space between them and other road users.

Taking middle-aged licence holders into account the numbers become even more staggering. Adding drivers over 45 years of age to the mix we get a North American total of just under 122 million potential car buyers, who may or may not be fans of all the latest, and often confusing to understand or use, electronic gadgetry.

So, overall, the numbers make the car makers quest for younger buyers are exercise in diminishing returns. There’s a silver tsunami building to a critical crest – a vast group with control of a good chunk of the nation's wealth – that auto makers ignore at their peril.