The freedom provided by a car are key to women’s growth
- Nearly 50% of new driving licences are issued to women in countries with a high standard of living. In Germany, 42% of all licences are in the hands of women, the same as in Spain; in the Czech Republic it rises to 48%; in Canada and New Zealand, 49%; in Israel it is 45%, and in Argentina 27%.
- In some countries, such as the United States, 62% of new vehicle purchases are made by women.
- With car sales at one of their lowest ebbs, women drivers may be the motor Industry’s salvation.
- The freedom provided by a car are key to women’s growth in developing countries.
On 24th June just three years ago, the last barrier in the world to women wanting to get behind the wheel of a car came down. Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on women driving. The last obstacle to women’s mobility around the world was removed.
This 24th June, with a reduced market, women are back in the news because they have become the focus of attention for car company brands. They make up half of the population in most countries and can give the industry a major shot in the arm. Connecting with them is the goal because women have not traditionally been the priority target for car manufacturers.
WWCOTY, promoting International Women Drivers’ Day, wants this year to reverse this trend so that women regain the prominence they had in the early history of the automobile.
Mirrors would not exist if Dorothy Levitt (1882-1922) had not used the mirror of her compact to see the cars following her at the beginning of the 20th century; roads would not have dividing lines if June McCarroll (1867-1954), had not been obsessed with reducing road deaths; we would all have to carry blankets on board if Margaret Wilcox had not come up with a heating system for the automobile and patented it in 1893; and the accident rate would be much higher if another inventor, Florence Lawrence (1886-1938) had not designed the first direction indicators. Of course, the first person to get behind the wheel of a car was Bertha Benz.
Today, women are part of the engineering departments of brands, while as users they account for 62% of new car purchases in some countries such as the United States, according to Forbes.
Women’s greater purchasing power is behind this trend, which translates into a preference for cars in the upper segments and a high level of demand when choosing a particular model.
That is why the Women’s World Car of the Year has taken action to declare 24th June as the International Women Drivers’ Car, because the future of the automobile depends on women drivers.
2021 will be remembered as the year in which many things changed, particularly the role of women in motoring.
