PRWeb: “The auto industry faces transformative times ahead, with potential for the United States market to reach peak car ownership by 2020, according to a new Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) report released [September 26, 2016]. The report, Peak Car Ownership, outlines what to expect as the United States moves away from the traditional model of car ownership to one where mobility is provided as a service, by electric autonomous vehicles. The deployment of electric mobility services, and their gradual takeover of the market, will disrupt oil companies, carmakers and other auto industry incumbents. Findings in the report point to a 60% drop in demand for gasoline by 2035. Conversely, electric and autonomous mobility solutions stand to gain most, driving down costs, decreasing congestion, improving safety, curbing emissions and enhancing convenience.

“These findings should compel automakers to shift their business models and local governments to bring in policies to capitalize on the huge opportunities ahead,” said RMI manager and report author Jonathan Walker. “The total mobility market of the first 26 cities where automated mobility services will likely launch is worth $600 billion dollars, which makes this transition fundamental to our economy.”

“Personal vehicles have dominated the U.S. mobility system for nearly 100 years. But we are now in the formative stages of a powerful confluence of cultural, technological, and societal forces. It is possible that a new mobility system will emerge in the next few years that is superior to our existing system in almost every way. This report offers guidance on what to expect so that stakeholders can prepare today, and provides potential market sizes and plausible rates of mobility service proliferation that could occur under reasonable circumstances.”