Why we won't run out of work in the future

Why we won't run out of work in the future

130 years ago we replaced the horse. Now it’s the coachman’s turn.” This was an advertising slogan from Mercedes-Benz in 2016. That's right, it's about autonomous driving. This topic - alongside electromobility - was the essential basis for discussion at this year's AkzoNobel management conference in Frankfurt. “We will all be passengers,” proclaimed Rajko Groeger (Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen). But wait, autonomous driving doesn’t work that fast. BMW doesn't have to immediately change its slogan “Pleasure to drive” to “Pleasure to ride along”. Statistics show that 90 percent of accidents occur due to human error, explains Groeger. Although this number will decrease with autonomous driving, insurers have calculated that the total number of claims will only be reduced by 15 percent by 2035. In fact, less damage would be prevented than expected because, for example, the highway assistant provides assistance in 90 percent of cases, but only four percent of accidents occur on highways. There is no doubt that our repair companies will not run out of work for the time being.

“Interest in owning a car remains high.”WOLFGANG BAUER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SIGNIFICANT INCREASE Despite the omnipresent calls of Cassandra, there is no reason for pessimism. In the period from 2009 to 2019, the number of cars in Germany increased by 5.8 million vehicles. That's an increase of a whopping 14 percent. In Austria the increase is even clearer: Here the increase is 16.2 percent (almost five million cars in total). Due to the continuously growing vehicle inventory, the repair business is definitely secured for at least the next ten years. What other industry can rely on such certainty? The ignorant want to convince us that owning your own car is anachronistic. People - especially in urban areas - don't care how they get from A to B, they would rent a car or do car sharing. All nonsense. It should be noted that there is a drastic urban/rural divide. Car sharing models etc. are only really relevant in big cities.

CHANGE AS AN OPPORTUNITY Interest in owning a car remains high. This is shown by a study by the Center Automotive Research by Professor Ferdinand Dudenhöffer. Even in major German cities there is an increase. In Berlin, the number of cars rose to 1.21 cars by January 1, 2019, an increase of 11.3 percent compared to January 2009. In Hamburg the increase was 11.7 percent, in Munich as much as 18.5 percent. There are currently just 20,200 vehicles on offer from car sharers in Germany. That corresponds to 0.04 percent of all cars. Dudenhöffer gives subscription models even more opportunities. The monthly rate covers all costs for your own car. All you have to pay is the fuel.

Of course, the automotive industry is currently changing faster and more fundamentally than ever. It is important to see all of this as an opportunity.

I wish you, dear reader, a wonderful Christmas holiday. And a good start to 2020. See each other in the new year. I look forward to it.